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Polygamy Custody Battle; John McCain's Health; Obama's Potential Number Two; U.K. Terror Threat
Aired May 23, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Who gets the kids? It's a simple question at the center of an agonizing case involving custody, polygamy and privacy.
We're live in Texas with the latest court filing.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, with the Internet as your doctor, drugs are just a mouse click away. This hour, a CNN special investigation, the dangers of cyber pharmaceuticals.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First this hour, a developing story. The state of Texas is fighting yesterday's appeals court ruling in the polygamous sect case. It is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a finding that Child Protective Services crossed the line when it took more than 400 children away from the Yearning for Zion Ranch.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is in San Angelo.
Update us here on what's going on, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Brianna.
We've just had a chance to start reading over the 29 pages that have been filed on behalf of Child Protective Services with the Texas Supreme Court. I'm going to try to condense these 29 pages as simply as I can, but essentially it boils down to this -- CPS and state officials are saying that the appellate court that ruled yesterday has overstepped its bounds, that they should not have stepped over the decision made and the discretion made by the judge here in San Angelo to put all 463 children into state custody.
And part of what they're doing now is requesting an immediate stay. And what that means here, trying to get past the attorney speak here is, right now, as it stands, within 10 days of this appellate court ruling that was issued yesterday stands, these kids would have to be returned to their parents within 10 days. If the Texas Supreme court here acknowledges in the next couple of hours, perhaps today -- it could take a couple of days -- and grant this immediate stay, that kind of puts a halt to all of that and makes this -- kind of puts us all in limbo as to when exactly that might happen, while the court continues to read through what state investigators filed today.
So that's essentially where we stand here. And I hope we've been able to make that as clear as possible.
It's still very much in the air. The kids will remain for the foreseeable future with the foster and the temporary sheltering where they have been scattered throughout the state while we wait for this Texas Supreme Court ruling now to determine whether they will take this case, listen to it, and then issue an immediate stay, which would kind of put everything on hold for an even longer period of time -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Certainly this saga continues here.
Ed Lavandera for us in San Angelo, Texas.
LEMON: Well, if John McCain wins in November, he'll be the oldest man ever elected to a first term as president. Today he's trying to show he's up to the job by releasing eight years' worth of medical records.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has been poring through more than 1,000 documents.
Did you say it was 1,000 or 2,000 pages, Sanjay? And you took -- you were on a conference call, right, with McCain's doctors?
He joins us now live to tell us about that conference call and what was in those documents.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the conference call is ongoing now. It's sort of a telebriefing for people to ask questions about the nearly 1,200 pages. You're absolutely right, it's probably one of the most reviewed medical charts in history.
A few things sort of -- you know, that came out. He's on about six different medications, including hydrochlorothiazide, which is to prevent kidney stones. He takes a cholesterol-lowering medication, he teaks a baby aspirin, he occasionally Ambien. Those are some of the medications. One of the biggest things that I think everyone was sort of paying attention to was his history of melanoma.
Don, he's had five different skin cancers. He's never had a recurrence of any of those, as far as I could tell, but he's had four melanomas and one what is known as Squamous cell carcinoma that was actually operated in February of this year.
I looked specifically for a note from his dermatologist. The most recent one was from May 12. That was just a couple of weeks ago, sort of giving him the clean bill of health.
He's had operations on his prostate in the past, including a biopsy, including an operation to reduce the size of his prostate. But he has no evidence of prostate cancer. He was a smoker, Don -- a pretty heavy one. Two packs a day for 25 years. But he quit in 1980. And there's been no evidence of lung cancer. He's had chest x-rays and CAT scans of his chest to look for those sorts of things.
There was also -- the other thing I was sort of interesting in seeing was any kind of mention of mental health history. I didn't see anything specifically about that, short of the fact that he takes the Ambien for sleep every now and then.
And every note in the chart started off by saying he is a pleasant, cooperative man. So, you know, these are the things that sort of jumped out at me. But there was nothing sort of earth- shattering or very surprising, at least, in these 1,200 pages of notes.
LEMON: OK. You said nothing sort of jumped out at you. But any surprising information that you found in there?
GUPTA: Well, one thing is that this year alone -- this is what, May -- he's seen eight different doctors already this year. So that gives you an idea of just how much attention they're paying to him and he's paying to them.
I mean, everything from a primary care doctor to a cardiologist to a dermatologist, pathologist. These are the doctors that are involved with his care, I should say.
Also, one of the things that was in the chart that I thought was a little surprising was the actual pictures from his colonoscopy. I never thought that, you know, as a reporter I'd be reporting on a presidential candidate's colonoscopy, but there it was, actually in the middle of this chart.
He actually had polyps, benign polyps, what are known as adenomatous polyps, for doctors who pay attention to that, removed from his colon in march of this year. But again, no evidence of colon cancer specifically, just these benign polyps.
LEMON: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us from Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Sanjay, thank you very much. And have a great weekend, by the way.
GUPTA: Thank you. You too.
LEMON: And a reminder. You can see more of Dr. Gupta this weekend. He explores the health demands of being commander in chief and the challenges facing presidential doctors. A one-hour special report. It's "The First Patient: Health and the Presidency."
You can catch that Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN, of course.
And John McCain is cutting ties with two influential but controversial ministers who endorsed him. First, McCain rejected John Hagee, the pastor of a Texas megachurch with a large TV audience.
In one sermon, Hagee said God sent Adolf Hitler to help the Jews reach the promise land. Well, McCain calls that crazy.
He also rejected Ohio minister Rod Parsley because of critical comments about Islam. McCain insists that his ties to the two men were much different than those of Barack Obama to his longtime pastor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But also, I'd like to make something else clear. My church that I attend is the North Phoenix Baptist Church. My pastor and spiritual guide is Pastor Dan Yeary.
I've never been in Pastor Hagee's church or Pastor Parsley's church. I didn't attend their church for 20 years. And I'm not a member of their church. I received their endorsement, which did not mean that I endorse their views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, for his part, John Hagee says he is withdrawing his endorsement of John McCain, but that his comments are being mischaracterized. Hagee plans to make a statement to reporters in the next hour or so. And if he makes those new comments about the controversy, we'll bring them to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: We're continuing to monitor Barack Obama speaking right now about U.S./Cuba relations. This is an event in Miami, Florida. He is a guest of the Cuban-American National Foundation.
We just heard him talk about a more open, diplomatic approach with Cuba, using careful preparations, setting a clear agenda, but talking without preconditions.
We will continue to monitor that in case he makes any more news. But let's talk running mates now.
Barack Obama, he says it is too soon to speculate, but he may be the only person not speculating about his choice of running mate.
Our Jessica Yellin has more on Obama's potential number two.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's said it over...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I still have to win the nomination.
YELLIN: ... and over...
OBAMA: It would be presumptuous of me to pretend like I've already won and start talking about who my vice president is going to be. I've still got some more work to do.
YELLIN: ... and over again.
OBAMA: Until I'm the nominee, I don't want to speculate on running mates.
YELLIN: But now Barack Obama's quietly beginning to search for a running mate. Obama's campaign isn't commenting, but sources say helping in the hunt is Jim Johnson, a longtime Washington insider who performed the same role for John Kerry and Walter Mondale.
CNN's learned that top considerations for the vice presidential slot are likely to be age, since Obama is only 46, and national security experience. The question on everyone's mind, will Obama look to his rival for the number two job?
OBAMA: Senator Clinton has shown herself to be an extraordinary candidate. And she's tireless, she's smart. She's capable. And so obviously she'd be on anybody's short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate.
YELLIN: Or he could pick a major Clinton backer, such as Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, or Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who could help deliver key swing states.
Then there's John Edwards, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Obama this month.
OBAMA: John Edwards is obviously somebody who would be on anybody's short list, but it is premature.
YELLIN: But Edwards was John Kerry's running mate and says he's not interested.
Other possibilities? New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. His resume is long on foreign policy experience, and he'd appeal to Latino voters.
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius would help with the women's vote.
But insiders say the overriding consideration is national security experience. On that front, Senator Joe Biden, former Senator Sam Nunn, retired General Wesley Clark are all contenders.
(on camera): Then there are unconventional options. Former Senator Tom Daschle, an Obama campaign adviser, could help with the senator's small-town America appeal. Or Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican, would make the ticket bipartisan.
Ultimately, the real challenge for Obama will be finding a running mate who brings him Washington but can still run on a change ticket.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Boca Raton, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Jessica.
A bomb scare in the U.K. to tell you about. A man walked into a restaurant in southwest England and set off an explosion. That was yesterday. We now know more details about it, and CNN's Paula Newton joins us now live from London with the latest details.
Paula, what set all of this off?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Don, an interesting development here, and this story has been developing for more than 24 hours.
It was yesterday, lunchtime, when police say that a suspect went into a restaurant and set off a bomb in that restaurant toilet. What has been continuing to unfold here though, Don, is an unprecedented case where police have been releasing a lot of information. Their fear is that this is more about a full terrorist cell now operating in southwest England.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice-over): Looking for answers, British police took the unusual step of releasing this CCTV picture of a man they identify as 22-year-old Nicky Riley (ph), arrested after an explosion in a restaurant in Exeter. Witnesses say he was taken out of a restaurant toilet after three loud explosions were heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chap that was brought out was covered in blood. His hands, his face were covered in blood. And he looked like he had quite a deep abrasion to his forehead.
NEWTON: Described as a recent convert to Islam, police say Riley is mentally ill and easily influenced.
CONSTABLE TONY MELVILLE, DEVON-CORNWALL POLICE: Despite his weak and vulnerable state, he was preyed upon, radicalized, and taken advantage of.
NEWTON: Police evacuated parts of Exeter in parts of southwest England as they continued to scour the city center for more bombs. Police say at least one more device was found and safely removed, but for hours people here waited in a state of confusion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a shock. Not the sort of thing you expect in Exeter.
NEWTON: And that's why Britain's terror threat level remains heightened. The threat is stubbornly unpredictable. Police say Riley road a bus to Exeter from his home in Plymouth, less than an hour's drive away.
British authorities rarely name suspects before they're charged, but this time they're looking for the public's help in tracking Riley's movements. Looking for accomplices and more clues into the character and size of what one police source says could be a terrorist cell in southwest England.
Especially unnerving, police describe the explosive devices as potentially viable. They could have caused serious injury. All of this adds to police concerns that in every corner of Britain remains a menacing vulnerability to terror.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And Don, as the details begin to unfold, it really is alarming for people in the community. At first it was treated really as a precaution to evacuate the city center. But you could imagine being in any small city in the United States and hearing that progressively, hour by hour, the police were saying, this incident became much more serious. And right now they really don't know exactly what they're dealing with -- Don.
LEMON: Paula, thank you.
KEILAR: Well, severe weather is kicking off the long holiday weekend. Reynolds Wolf tells us where the worst is headed as you hit the highways and the airports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Well, the cost of gas shoots up. The value of your SUV shoots down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some '07s were worth $50,000 $60,000 just three or four months ago, and they're in the high $30,000s now. It's just amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh boy. Well, the SUV market turned upside down because gas, well, it's so expensive.
KEILAR: Plus, a new meaning to high-speed connection. The computer is the new drug dealer. Prescription drugs, the new crack and heroin. Our Special Investigations Unit found out what a few mouse clicks can bring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So you're -- you know, you go to the gas pump and it costs you a ton to money to fill up. And then you drive on the street and you wonder why you see so many giant SUVs around with gas nearing, what, about $4 a gallon? Well, you wouldn't be wondering if you tried to sell one of those giant SUVs lately, or even trade one in.
CNN's Chris Lawrence reports on SUV sticker shock in reverse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's been weeks since David Lobby (ph) put his truck on the market.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody's offering what I want.
LAWRENCE: He wants out so he can buy a small car, but gas prices have sent SUV and truck sales plummeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get a lot of calls. People are looking for a better price.
LAWRENCE: So what's flying off the lot now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chevy Impalas, Malibus, Fords, you know, cars that weren't that popular before.
LAWRENCE: Call it revenge of the nerds. But when comparing new to used, remember this -- last year the government adopted a new mileage formula to correct the exaggerated claims made when those old economy cars were first sold. Still, that hasn't stopped the run on four-cylinder cars.
(on-camera): What do people say when they bring in SUVs like this Excursion and say, hey, this is what my truck is worth?
JORGE FERNANDEZ, WHOLESALE AUTO DEALER: When they find out what you think their truck is worth, they think you're trying to rip them off or something. Some '07s were worth $50,000, $60,000 just three, four months ago, and they're in the high $30,000s now. It's amazing.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Some owners now owe $20,000 on a truck that's only worth $12,000. They're as upside down as a bad mortgage and think buying a small car will save them.
But what they might be doing is spending thousands of dollars to save hundreds.
LAWRENCE: Kelley Blue Book editor Jack Nerad says if the numbers are working against you, don't sell your big truck.
JACK NERAD, KELLEY BLUE BOOK EDITOR: Because if you make a trade, you're most often going to spend more to make that move than you would just sucking it up and paying the extra gasoline prices.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Some officials at Kelley Blue Book say we've really reached a tipping point. In the day of SUVs and trucks dominating the market, that's done.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: You've seen the ads where the CEO of an identity theft protection company reveals his Social Security number. Now he's claiming lawsuits claiming his service does not work. The reason? Well, apparently, his number has been used by a thief to get a loan.
LifeLock's CEO, he'll join us just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.
No pilot on board, no pilot in danger, the Air Force's remote control killing machine is on the job over the war zones right now.
LEMON: That's right. We've got some pictures taken from the Reaper that you'll see only, only here on CNN.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We're working on several developing stories for you today in the CNN NEWSROOM, including this one. Memorial Day weekend and the summer travel season begin with no relief from soaring gasoline prices.
AAA reports that the average price of regular gas has hit yet another record, topping $3.87 a gallon.
One U.S. sailor was treated for first degree burns and 23 others suffered heat stress after a fire broke out aboard the USS George Washington. The carrier was off the coast of South America at the time. Its nuclear propulsion system was not damaged.
More violence is reported in South Africa today, directed against immigrants blamed for crime and high unemployment. At least 42 people have been killed and 25,000 people have been displaced since the attacks began earlier this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 457-55-5462. That is my real Social Security number.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you've ever worried about identity theft ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: This -- a great gimmick you see there. The CEO of an identity theft protection company broadcasting his very own Social Security number to the world. You've probably seen this commercial. That's Todd Davis right there.
Well, LifeLock has to be good, right? It actually turns out an identity thief has used that number there to get a lone, and the company is now facing several lawsuits claiming false advertising.
Joining us now, in the NEWSROOM to respond to all of this, the CEO of LifeLock, Todd Davis. Todd, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
TODD DAVIS, CEO, LIFELOCK: Thanks for having me on, Brianna.
KEILAR: So the accusation here from these people who are pushing this lawsuit toward you is that the accusation is that you knew LifeLock was faulty because your very own identity there, that Social Security number you've put up, was used to open a fraudulent account, or get a fraudulent loan.
Is that true?
DAVIS: It's not true.
So this -- in fact, the incident occurred over a year ago, so that isn't new news, and we've always stated that no one can stop all identity theft.
KEILAR: But wait, wait, Todd we have --
DAVIS: Go ahead.
KEILAR: We still have to talk about what happened a year ago.
DAVIS: Sure.
KEILAR: Basically someone took out a loan to the tune, I believe, of $500, right?
DAVIS: Correct.
KEILAR: In such a way that it did not go through the credit reporting bureaus, so that it didn't pop up on your credit report. But they were still able to do this in your name.
DAIVS: Absolutely. So that's what we mean when we say no one can stop all identity theft.
Even when we tell people to go place these fraud alerts on their own or choosing a service like a LifeLock, there are still holes in the system. That's why we need a LifeLock out there to go be the advocate of the consumer because the credit bureaus, like Experian that filed the lawsuit on LifeLock, are not going to be the ones to go protect people's information.
They -- collected revenues of $4.1 billion last year selling our personal data. So we've got to go lead this charge because there are holes in the system. We're going to go make sure we find the most comprehensive solutions for consumers.
KEILAR: But I think, Todd, when people look at the guarantee that you put out there, they think it's a guarantee that my identity will not be compromised.
So is it really instead just a guarantee that if your identity is compromised, hey, you're not going to have to put in the long hours of trying to get it fixed, we'll do that for you? Is there -- there's no guarantee than that an identity won't be compromised.
DAVIS: Actually you just described exactly how we've always described our guarantee -- which was if the system fails, we will go out and fix the problem for you. We'll take the hundreds of hours the Federal Trade Commission says it takes to repair the problem. We'll do that for you. We'll engage the experts. We'll go cover losses and expenses, and that's the peace of mind that the consumers are really looking for.
So you don't see anyone in these lawsuits saying we're not fulfilling that guarantee or that obligation. That's not what they're saying at all.
KEILAR: Sure but it seems like a lot of people would expect first and foremost that the system is going to protect them and that may be really what they're looking for.
Are they just misguided in that assumption?
DAVIS: Not at all.
So the statistics: we have over one million subscribers at LifeLock, and even with these suits, thousands more are being added every day because of the fact that with over one million subscribers, we've had 104 people invoke our $1 million guarantee where something has happened.
But if you look at the FTC statistics, there should be 30,000 to 40,000 victims out of a million people sample size. So that actually does demonstrate the service does work. The fact that I've only been compromised for $500 in two years of my Social Security number being out there, we know we've turned away over 87 people who have attempted to steal my identity.
So I think that's definitive proof the system actually does work as a great frontline of defense.
KEILAR: And Todd I know that you can put certain fraud alert measures on your credit report for free in fact.
What does your system offer? Does it offer anything that you couldn't get for free?
DAVIS: Absolutely. So beyond the fraud alerts that we renew every 90 days and opting out of all those pre-approved credit offers, we're scouring the web with over 10,000 Web sites that buy and sell personal information, we're looking for any of our clients' information being misused so we can detect it early and fix the problem for them.
We're going to authenticate if someone puts in a change of address form, we're going to make sure that it was you making that request, because that's a great indication you may have been compromised. We're going to go fix the problem. And then of course that $1 million guarantee has the experts behind it. So if anything does happen to you, you're not going to be out all that time and money. We're going to go take care of it for you.
KEILAR: OK. All right, Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock, thanks for your time, sir.
DAVIS: Thanks, Brianna.
LEMON: Well the crime tape is long gone, but the red tape is still there. The bodies of four girls were found in this gray home in Washington. Their mother is charged with killing them. That was in early January of this year.
More than four months later, the family still hasn't been able to bury the girls. D.C. officials reportedly are trying to figure out who can claim the bodies. But the attorney for the grandmother of the two victims say all the relatives have agreed on burial arrangements. They've sent a letter to D.C. officials asking that the girls' remains be released.
A plane crashed in Billings, Montana this morning killing the pilot, demolishing a building and destroying hundreds of pounds of mail. The pilot reported trouble shortly after take off and couldn't make it back to the Billings airport.
More than two tons of mail was on board. Much of it buried -- burned I should say -- to cinders. Some was found two miles from the crash site.
KEILAR: Eyes in the skies that never blink, bombs that drop on command even thousands of miles away. Unmanned, aerial vehicles -- they're a weapons system the Pentagon wants to promote and promote big I should say.
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre joining us now with more on this.
It's really fascinating when you see the pictures here, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Brianna we've all heard in the last couple of years about these unmanned spy planes that have been armed with missiles, used for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most common one is the Predator. You may have heard about that.
But now the U.S. Air Force has a new version, basically a Predator on steroids, that it is using in combat. We have some of the first pictures from it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): This video, seen first here on CNN, shows a 500-pound bomb hitting a suspected Taliban bunker in southern Afghanistan earlier this year. It's among several videos declassified at CNN's request. They are the first to be released from the Air Force's newest remote-controlled killing machine. A heavily-armed, unmanned war plane with a grim moniker, the Reaper. LT. GEN. NORMAN SEIP, 12TH AIR FORCE COMMANDER: It flies higher, it flies faster, carries more of a weapons load. The airplanes are flying; they're flying long, they're flying hard, and they are making a big impact.
MCINTYRE: The U.S. military says this strike in Afghanistan shows two insurgents who appear to be making a clean getaway on a motorcycle, until the Reaper cuts off their escape with another 500- pound bomb.
And the pilot pulling the trigger? Half a world away at Creech Air Force Base in the Nevada desert.
The Air Force says there's now an insatiable demand for unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, on the front lines. And industry is constantly rolling out new, improved models.
This version, called a Scan Eagle, was recently demonstrated at the marine base in Quantico.
(on camera): If you know just where to look, you can see the UAV in the sky. It's very small and very quiet. There was a time when these unmanned spy planes were just eyes in the sky. But they're becoming a lot more.
(voice-over): The addition of hell fire missiles to the original Predator spy drone, just after September 11, gave it the ability to live up to its name. In this engagement in Baghdad last month, the Predator hunts and kills a group of Iraqis armed with grenade launchers and mortars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And as you said, Brianna, the Pentagon has a big push under way to get more of these unmanned spy planes armed with missiles and bombs into the front lines. In fact, just recently, Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained about the slowness of the Pentagon bureaucracy. He said people were stuck in the old ways of doing business, and getting more UAVs to the front lines was like pulling teeth.
But the same way the Pentagon put together a special task force to get more of those MRAPs, those heavily armored vehicles, to the battle zone, they've now put a similar task force together to get more of these unmanned planes. It's not just the planes, it's also the pilots that have to be trained to fly them from the base near Las Vegas, Nevada -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Quite a process, but really an amazing inside look.
Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon -- thanks for that.
LEMON: All right. So you have a drug dealer in your house and you probably don't realize it. It's your computer, and cyberspace is the new street corner. Our special investigations unit found out just how dangerous a few mouse clicks can be. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Time, now to check the Friday CNN Political Ticker.
Barack Obama is in south Florida at a Cuban Independence Day celebration in Miami. Cuban-Americans are traditionally a Republican- leaning group, but Democrats are hoping to make inroads that will help them capture Florida in November.
There are just three primaries left, and one of them is in South Dakota. That's where Hillary Clinton is today with a pair of stops planned, one in Brandon and another in Brookings. South Dakota and Montana voters will wrap up the primary season when they go to the polls on June 3.
KEILAR: John McCain is cutting ties with two influential but controversial ministers who endorsed his presidential campaign. McCain has rejected the support of John Hagee, the pastor a Texas megachurch. In one sermon, Hagee said God sent Adolf Hitler to help Jews reach the promise land.
McCain calls that remark crazy.
The senator has also rejected the endorsement of Ohio minister Rod Parsley because of critical comments about Islam.
Now Hagee plans to make a comment to reporters here in the next hour or so. And if he makes new comments about this controversy, we will bring them to you here in the NEWSROOM.
Eight years after the 2000 election, are we finally ready for a movie about hanging chads? We'll have a sneak peak at the new HBO film, "Recount."
LEMON: And we want to get you some live pictures now, this out of California. We're awaiting a news conference to get started with Governor Schwarzenegger. We expecting him to update residents there on those wildfires in just a little bit. You see the media scrambling to get ready for the press conference. We'll bring that to you right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Here's one you want to pay attention to. It's a CNN special investigation. Your computer might be leading a double life. The device that connects you to the world can also be your drug dealer, working cyberspace like a street corner.
Special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin is here with the story.
Drew, I've got to ask you, I said there's nothing new under the sun. People have been ordering drugs on the computer since the Internet has been around. So what's new about this? DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: The fact of the matter is that you're ordering drugs without a prescription, without any medical treatment at all, without even filling out a health survey, as we found out. The story behind this story is that a CNN investigative producer's sister actually tried to commit suicide with drugs that she purchased online. And when she told us how and showed us how, she got those drugs, we were astonished.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Nancy Fitzpatrick wanted to kill herself. She was facing eviction and had no money.
NANCY FITZPATRICK, ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: I wanted to end it. I wanted to die. So I took about 50 Somas, I took 80 Amitriptyline (ph) and that's all I remember.
GRIFFIN: She had been living a secret life away from her family. But she lived and lived to tell the story to her brother, David, a CNN investigative producer. It's a story about just how easy it is to buy dangerous drugs purchased online.
FITZPATRICK: I just typed in Soma and all these Web sites popped up. And I just picked one.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Did you ever speak with a doctor?
FITZPATRICK: No. No.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Then how did this woman in Ocean City, Washington, get this bottle of the prescription muscle relaxant, Soma, prescribed by this doctor -- Kareem Tannous -- in Long Island, New York?
(on camera): Can I ask you, did you ever see this patient, Nancy Fitzpatrick?
Can you let me know how these prescriptions are filled, sir? Do you fill them?
(voice-over): That's what this story is all about. Because prescription drugs are the new crack and heroin, and Internet sites that sell them, according to the National Pharmacy Board, are the new drug dealers.
CARMEN CATIZONE, NATL. ASSN. OF PHARMACY BOARDS: You can order virtually any drug in the world, by simply clicking a mouse and going to the various Web sites that exist out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Really, Don -- you know me. I checked this stuff out. So I did. I went online, ordered Prozac, it was at my door 18 hours later. No prescription, no nothing, no health survey.
It's out there. Tonight, we're going to show you just how easy it is and just how easy it is for addicts of these drugs to get their fixes week after week after week until, as we'll show you, they overdose.
LEMON: Right online. OK -- Drew Griffin.
Thank you very much, Drew.
Want to get you now to California where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is holding a press conference to talk about those wildfires, a string of them recently that have really put residents there in stress.
Let's listen in.
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GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: ... Which of course makes the wind, the fire spread very quickly. But we have very brave and talented firefighters here in California. As I've said many times before, we have the most talented and the best -- the best-trained, the most courageous, the most best equipped and the most selfless firefighters in the world. And so I'm very proud of that.
Of course last year when we had the fires all over the state, I think the whole -- the whole world has written about our efficiency of our the firefighters and how well-equipped and trained they are. So we're very proud of them.
This fire may not be as big as last fall's fire, but I think the important thing is that you always respond as quickly as possible so the devastation does not become more widespread. And I'm very proud that we deployed our Cal Fire strike teams and moved equipment into this area as quickly as possible.
I always tell my Office of Emergency Service and the Cal Fire people that -- be proactive. I think being proactive is the most important thing, because public safety is our No. 1 priority . More quickly, move quickly, this is what we always say. Don't procrastinate, and don't worry about overpreparing or overreacting because we're dealing here with people's lives; we're dealing here with animals; we're dealing here with a lot of property and so on.
Let me give you some of the numbers. We now have 1,100 firefighters that are battling those fires. We have also aircraft. We have 12 helicopters. We have 10 fixed-wing aircrafts here. Then we have 65 or more -- those numbers change all the time, may I remind you. We have 65 engines that could be mobile now. We have 15 dozers.
We have of course also activated now the California National Guard. They're going to come in with helicopters. The advantage that they have also is that they have imaging capabilities. The latest of the latest, it looks right through the smoke so they can see what's going on. We've also got the Nevada National Guard. We're very thankful to them. They've sent us the C-130 that dumps water and also has infrared capabilities and so on. We have -- so far, 3,100 acres that burned, 30 structures were destroyed. This is a combination of homes and other structures. And, of course, residents and school children in harms way were evacuated in the most efficient way. And we again want to thank Sheriffs Smith (ph) and Rawlins (ph) and all the other law enforcement community for acting so quickly because it's all about working together.
Battling fires is not just battling fires, it's also moving people out quickly, finding safe evacuation centers and then having the volunteers ready to go. The volunteers again did a great job with that.
Yesterday, I declared, like I said earlier, a state of emergency in Santa Cruz County, which means all available state resources will be used to get this fire contained as quickly as possible.
I also want to say our hearts go out to anyone that has lost property, or animals or anything else. And we are doing everything that we can. As I said, here's the state, the county and the federal officials. Everyone here is working together and is in sync. We're working together in the most efficient way to make sure that we can put out this fire as quickly as possible. And also I want to thank again the courageous and terrific firefighters that we have that are helping us with that. So thank you very much.
If there's any questions, please feel free. We also have experts here that know every single thing about the fire, what's going on on the frontline of the fire. So if you have any questions about any of that, please.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIC) Memorial Day, and firefighters around here colloquially refer to Santa Cruz County as asbestos county because it's historically been not subject to fires. Are you worried as the season progresses that the state's resources are going to be taxed here in southern California? Are we in for a long, hot summer?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, first of all, I think that's a very good question because as you know that -- now we don't have anymore of the traditional fire seasons -- where we knew that spring is coming or end of spring, then the fire season starts. Now we have seen fires all year-round. And so we have to be better prepared. That's why we've had many meetings on this issue.
Beginning of the year already we prepared ourselves. We put extra resources and made them available. This is why I also have proposed an increase in homeowners insurance fees, so that we increase and provide -- get another $100 million available for resources, because I think we need those extra engines. We need more manpower. We need more aircraft. We need to update our aircraft that are outdated.
So there's a lot of work that needs to be done, but we are continuing to increase all of those things, so that we have -- so our firefighters are very well protected and that we are protected.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, I think that -- first of all, let me just say that California is very much aware of -- that we're a state where when things happen, they happen in a big way. You know, we are a place where we have to be ready for all kinds of disasters, if it is fires, if it is earthquakes, mudslides, all of those kind of things.
But now we have seen also lately a lot of strong winds. And when you have that, it makes it very tough, as I have just heard in those briefings, very tough to fight those fires, because we all know that the first few hours are very important. They had their resources available. But the wind came in and just carries this fire very quickly. And then it makes it tough.
So, yes, the conditions are tough, but we have to be ready.
LEMON: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Gilroy, California, holding a press conference, talking about the fires that have really gone through the Santa Cruz Mountains there and also comparing them to the fires last year, saying not quite as bad and they want to keep it that way. And he is going to use every resource they can in order to do that.
