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Zimbabwe's Political Crisis Draws National Concern; Gas Prices Edge Slightly Lower for Second Straight Day; Stranded Hiker Uses Sports Bra to Save Herself; Presidential Candidates Address Energy Concerns
Aired June 24, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're following the crisis up close and far away. This hour, we get the latest from an opposition party leader in exile. And also the Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us with insights gained over decades of involvement in South Africa. He has also reached out today to Robert Mugabe. We'll hear what he has to say about that.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips in New York.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin in Zimbabwe, where the opposition party is confirming its candidate for president. Morgan Tsvangirai won't be part of Friday's runoff. After months of government sanctioned violence against him and his supporters, the former opposition leader has taken refuge at the Dutch embassy. That leaves President Robert Mugabe unopposed in the runoff now being denounced around the world as a sham.
We have CNN correspondents covering today's developments in Zimbabwe from every angle. Reporting this hour, Richard Roth, at the United Nations, Isha Sesay at our Zimbabwe desk.
After years on the sidelines, the United Nations is condemning Zimbabwe's president and his government.
CNN senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.N Security Council ended years of silence on Zimbabwe, with a sharply- worded condemnation of the Mugabe government. The 15 nations on the council cited the campaign of violence in Zimbabwe in which scores of opposition activists have been killed and thousands of others beaten.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: The Security Council further condemns, the actions of the government of Zimbabwe that have denied its political opponent, the right to campaign freely and called upon the government of Zimbabwe to stop the violence. ROTH: The Security Council said the campaign of violence has made it impossible to hold a free and fair second round of a presidential election scheduled for this Friday. Zimbabwe's U.N. ambassador, said the elections would still go ahead, even though the opposition leader withdrew because of the violence.
BONIFACE CHIDYAUSIKU, ZIMBABWE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Violence in the country is not widespread. It's only affecting about 10 percent of the country.
ROTH: The council's tough statement was, by far, the most significant action to date, by the Security Council against Zimbabwe. There had been months of diplomatic deadlock. As some council members, including South Africa and China, insisted Zimbabwe's troubles were an internal affair, and not a threat to others' peace and security. That all changed in a fast-moving day, by standard U.N. timetables.
JOHN SAWERS, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I think these are important warnings that the leadership in Zimbabwe needs to heed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: Zimbabwe has rejected the Security Council's statement. It plans to go ahead with its elections on Friday. Something the U.N. leader here, Ban Ki-Moon, disagrees with strongly.
Back to you Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right Richard Roth live from the U.N. Thanks Richard.
LEMON: The soaring cost of jet fuel, plus a weakening economy, equals 950 pilot layoffs at United Airlines. That's about 15 percent of United's pilots. The airline industry as a whole is looking for ways to cut costs and to stay profitable. Earlier this month United grounded dozens of gas guzzling jets and cut hundreds of white-collar jobs. Workers are disappointed but not surprised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think they have a choice. I think the industry is taking a drive. If it happens, it happens. It's unfortunate.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Pilots are expected to begin receiving layoff notices by mid-July.
It is a small dip but drivers will take any relief they can get. Gas prices edged lower, for the second-straight day, dropping three tenths of a cent. According to AAA the national average for regular unleaded is just under $4.07 a gallon. Gas prices are 3.5 percent higher than last month. Higher still in California, Alaska and Connecticut, where drivers are staying a minimum of $4.37 a gallon. Strained budgets mean dark times for many families. USA Today reports utility companies are pulling the plug on a growing number of households that have fallen behind on bills. Electricity and natural gas shutoffs are up some 15 percent in several states. In others, the number has doubled. And it's not just the poor. Families earning more than $55,000 a year, are having their power turned off, too.
PHILLIPS: Outspoken radio host, Don Imus, is in hot water again. You'll recall that he was fired by CBS Radio, last year for making sexist and racially-charged remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Now, he is being criticized for the exchange yesterday, with sportscaster, Warner Wolf.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
WARNER WOLF, SPORTSCASTER: Defensive back, Adam Pacman Jones recently signed by the Cowboys. Here's a guy suspended all of 2007, following a shooting in a Vegas nightclub.
DON IMUS, RADIO PERSONALITY: Well, stuff happens. You're in a nightclub, for God's sake. What do you think is going to happen in a nightclub. People are drinking and doing drugs. There are women there and people have guns. So, there. Go ahead.
WOLF: He's been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.
IMUS: What color is he?
WOLF: He's African-American.
WOLF: Well, there you go. Now, we know.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This morning Imus said he meant not to offend but to defend blacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMUS: Obviously I already knew what color he was. I thought the point was, to make a sarcastic point. What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason. No reason to arrest this kid six times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The Reverend Al Sharpton, who called the initial comments disturbing, said he hopes that Imus meant what he said this morning.
LEMON: Now back to misery in the Midwest. Downriver danger as another weakened levee gives way. This one is in St. Charles county Missouri where the National Guard and volunteers have been sandbagging for days. They're worried most about a trailer park, that's home to several hundred people. As floodwaters drop upstream, homeowners start cleaning up, most don't have flood insurance but say FEMA is now pitching in.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Roy Bennett has been on the business end of Robert Mugabe's power. Mugabe's party members attacked Bennett and his family. The politician turned exile, will talk with us about violence today and hope for tomorrow.
LEMON: Plus he'll also talk about this, James Dobson said he can't vote for John McCain. And judging from the comments he made today, a vote for Barack Obama isn't happening, either.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Here's a shocker. The IRS is feeling compassionate.
Susan Lisovicz, are you sure?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well that might be generous.
PHILLIPS: Are you sure you're not sipping on the tequila there, talking about the IRS being a little compassionate?
LISOVICZ: It is a clear liquid but I don't think it's tequila. Not quite happy hour yet Kyra. Well, the IRS uses the word fair, it wants to be fair to taxpayers by increasing its standard mileage rates by 8 cents a mile, from 50.5 cents, to 58.5 cents for all business miles driven from July 1st to the end of the year. That is the rate, so many of our viewers know, used to compute all deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business use.
You know it includes things like gasoline for instance. The IRS usually sets rates once a year, but was prompted to make a special adjustment to better reflect the real costs of operating an automobile. It's not just for tax purposes by the way. The IRS rate used as a benchmark by the federal government. Many private businesses to reimburse their employees for mileage.
By our calculations it costs about 16 cents a mile in gas to drive a car that gets about 25 miles a gallon at today's average prices. Up from about 12 cents a mile this time last year. So the 8 cent increase more than compensates for the rise in gas prices from a year ago.
Quick look at the big board, well prices are going up there, too. After a modest sell-off in the morning, the Dow is up 31. The NASDAQ is up three. Oil prices are down slightly. But we are going to be talking about prices again in the next hour that are going up from Styrofoam to steel.
Kyra, I throw it back to you.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good, thanks Susan. See you again in a little bit.
LISOVICZ: Got it.
LEMON: It's summertime and the fish are jumping and some very big ones at that. You're looking at a shark taken down in a fishing tournament. Shark hunts are becoming increasingly popular. But critics say they're simply animal abuse.
And CNN's Jim Acosta got an up close look at one of these popular hunts off the coast of New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hunt began at sunrise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a go. It's a go.
ACOSTA: More than 100 boats raced dozens of miles off the Long Island coastline, in pursuit of the ocean's greatest predator. For years, these shark tournaments have gone on with little fanfare. But not anymore. Mike Wasserman experienced the rush of reeling in top prize at this contest five years ago.
MIKE WASSERMAN, FISHERMAN: It's like getting the perfect hole in one.
ACOSTA: This year, the event paid out $140,000 in cash prizes. The anglers brought ashore 41 blue, pressure and maco sharks and weighed in.
(on camera): In shark tournaments, size matters. If you want to see your fish hanging up there, it needs to be in the top five in terms of weight. If it doesn't make the cut, you get to watch your trophy get chopped into pieces.
(voice-over): It's a bloody spectacle. Much of it too graphic to show, which is why the humane society of the United States considers this event a blood sport.
JONATHAN GRINDELL, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Just to (INAUDIBLE) out of the waters and to kill them for nothing, is not what we have in mind on a Saturday afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't look at it as killing for fun.
ACOSTA: Tournament president Bill Heath points out the smaller sharks are tagged and released, all part of a federally sanctioned event.
BILL HEATH, SHARK TOURNAMENT PRESIDENT: Men are into sport, they like to pound themselves on the chest, whether it be golf, whether it be baseball, whether it be football.
ACOSTA: Mixed in with the chest pounding is some science. Federal marine biologist Nancy Kohler studies the sharks as they come in, height, weight, and yes stomach contents.
NANCY KOHLER, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE: Do we ever see the diamond rings? Yes. Over the years, surprisingly not as much. But, yes, we have gotten the garbage and the hamburger.
ACOSTA: Other scientists argue it's not worth the price. Saying some of these sharks are on the decline worldwide. On this day, it's a boat called "my three suds," that come up big. The crew landed a 414 pound thresher shark and bragging rights until next year.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Freeport, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the head of Focus on the Family, rips a two year old Barack Obama speech, as a fruitcake interpretation of the constitution. We're going to talk about James Dobson's tirade with our Bill Schneider. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, we really want you to pay attention to this because it's a very personal story about the political crisis that's happening in Zimbabwe. And on today's formal withdrawal of opposition presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, Roy Bennett is the treasurer of Tsvangirai's political party the movement for democratic change. He and his family have been the targets of physical violence. And he has been granted political asylum in South Africa.
Roy Bennett joins us now from Johannesburg.
We thank you very much for joining us. I want to get right to it. During your 2000 run for parliamentary election, you said you, your family and your wife, were attacked by Mugabe's people in Mugabe's regime.
ROY BENNETT, MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE: That's correct Don.
Exactly what is happening now has been happening since 2000. Executive signed tactics, executive signed matters (INAUDIBLE) brutality and viciousness has been ongoing for the last eight years.
LEMON: Tell us about your reaction to what is going on now. And also, tell us about the violence, what you have witnessed or have heard people say about what's happening there.
BENNETT: This is a direct result of impunity. It's a direct result of somebody telling a perception that is a lie to the African continent and to the world at large. And then using that perception to carry out acts of violence against people who have opposing political views to themselves. And the escalation of this reaching the magnitude of what it's reached now, occurred right in the early stages of Robert Mugabe's rule. It is nothing new. He's a brutal, vicious man, with a vicious people around him.
LEMON: You tell some very harrowing stories about members of your staff, their families, about sadly, I hate to say, young girls who have been physically and sexually abused.
BENNETT: That's correct Don. I am everything that Mugabe despises. I happen to be white. I'm third-generation Zimbabwean. My constituency is a black constituency. There may be six white families in my constituency. On the backdrop of that, the fact that I had the support from the people of my constituency, and since Mugabe and his regime, became a very, very strong target of the attack in the early days of our struggle, my wife was five months pregnant when we were attacked, she lost our child.
My employees, too, were brutally murdered and shot by Mugabe's army. And three of the daughters of my employees were brutally raped by (INAUDIBLE). And many of my employees were brutally beaten, hospitalized. Their homes burnt and trashed. Exactly the same of what is going on now. What Mugabe and his power do not like, is somebody who shows him up, has support of Zimbabweans, and they'll stop at nothing to destroy anybody standing against him.
LEMON: Leaders from all over the world have been saying the only way this can be stopped is if it's an international intervention. I want you to listen, now, as the British ambassador to the U.N., what he had to say. Then, we'll talk about it. OK, Mr. Bennett?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SAWERS, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: If the Africans themselves decide that this is such an embarrassment, this is such a scar on Africa's reputation, they cannot accept it, then, at the end of the day, the Zimbabweans are going to have to listen. It may not happen this week or this month. But at some point, the appalling status of Zimbabwe, will have an impact on the ability of the government to stay in power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mr. Bennett, what do you say to the international community today?
BENNETT: I would say that the situation in Zimbabwe is a direct result of (INAUDIBLE) and his support of the regime as been a policy of quiet diplomacy which is basically being quite (INAUDIBLE). After the beating of the leadership of the MDC on the (INAUDIBLE) of March of last year, when the community intervened, it long back involved himself in the Zimbabwe process.
He and the (INAUDIBLE) had blocked any United Nations human resolution -- had blocked anything in the United Nations against what was happening in Zimbabwe. Had touched and refused to release reports from their own missions of observers that have come into Zimbabwe for the 2000 elections, or the 2002 elections, or the 2005 elections. Exactly what's happening now, happened in those times.
All has been hidden from the world and it has to be stopped. And we've now reached the realization of what happens.
LEMON: Mr. Bennett, we appreciate you joining us. Roy Bennett, the treasurer of Morgan Tsvangirai's political party. We wish you the best. Thank you sir.
We'd like to tell you that the Reverend Jesse Jackson has known Robert Mugabe for years. And today, he made an attempt to contact him. We'll ask him about that when the CNN NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello everyone I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips in New York. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
2:28 Eastern time right now, here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. A weekend levee falls victim to the bloated Mississippi River and gives way. People in St. Charles County, Missouri, are on alert for the possibility of dangerous flash flooding now.
And a hasty change of planes in Tel Aviv. French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's diplomatic good-bye is disrupted by gunfire as an Israeli police officer shoots himself in the head.
And President Bush meeting with his Philippine counterpart in Washington today, offering his condolences and U.S. help to the typhoon victims.
LEMON: We're continuing now to follow the developments out of Zimbabwe. As we know Morgan Tsvangirai has officially today withdrawn from Friday's runoff, leaving Robert Mugabe really as the only option there. And now Tsvangirai is believed to be holed up in the Dutch Embassy seeking refuge. We want tot urn now to our Isha Sesay who's been monitoring all of these developments from our international desk.
And it's been a very busy day for you.
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly has, for me and everyone on the international desk.
We are carefully monitoring events there in Zimbabwe. We want to bring you right up to speed with the latest. Today, Tuesday, Morgan Tsvangirai formally withdrew from that runoff vote that was scheduled for this Friday. A letter was hand delivered to the Zimbabwe electoral commission in which he explained his reasons for pulling out. Now according to numerous sources, despite the fact he has pulled out of the race, the violence continues. The violence which MDC claims is targeting its supporters and its members.
According to the Associated Press, which is quoting MDC officials, they say that on Tuesday, the chairwoman of one of its provincial organizations was seriously injured, by alleged Mugabe loyalists. Now we have heard these stories over and over again of the brutality that is playing out there on the ground in Zimbabwe. This is what the MDC is saying. Let's bring you some figures.
They claim at least 86 of its members have been murdered. 200,000 people entirely displaced, 20,000 houses destroyed and 10,000 people injured. The ruling ZANU-PF party, to bring you the other side, however, they are saying that the MDC is fabricating these stories of violence. In fact, they are pointing the finger at blame at the MDC, saying they are perpetrating the violence and saying that there is a misrepresentation of facts that is at play.
Now with that in mind, the ruling party says campaigning will continue. Two rallies are scheduled for Tuesday outside of Harare. And the key thing to point out -- despite all this international condemnation, the ZANU-PF party says the vote will happen on Friday, with or without Morgan Tsvangirai.
LEMON: You know, I'm going to ask you -- again I asked you before on all of this -- we've been speaking to lots of people in the international community but I want to get your perspective on international response to all of this, Isha.
SESAY: It's interesting. We're hearing a lot coming out.
As a follower of Africa and what's happening, we've seen the situation in Zimbabwe over the last couple of months deteriorate rapidly. But it has taken this moment, Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal, to effectively galvanize the international community .
We know that South Africa will need (ph) the U.N. Security Council has basically stood in the way of kind of strong sanctioning -- and censuring I should say. Now, the U.N. is coming out and saying, enough is enough.
But the question is, Don, and this is a question that everybody has on their minds: What do we do?
Military intervention? Economic sanctions? Armed embargoes? Political isolation?
It's a big question. People are looking to Africa, African leaders, to handle it.
LEMON: And we are following it all today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Thank you very much, Isha Sesay -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, in Tel Aviv, what started as a routine departure ceremony didn't end with that for French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife. They were shaking hands with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, and other VIPS, when -- watch this -- gunfire sent the French first lady scampering up the stairs, to the plane, just ahead of her husband.
Guards rushed Olmert and Israeli president Shimon Peres into their cars. The cause of the panic -- well, authorities say an Israeli police officer assigned to secure the airport shot himself to death. No one else was hurt.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets in a mortar round into southern Israel today, wounding two people. Islamic jihad said that that was retaliation for an Israeli raid in the West Bank that killed a Palestinian commander. It's the first serious test of the cease fire that took effect last week.
Israel calls the rocket strike a gross violation of the truce. Hamas says it is still committed to the cease fire, but calls the Israeli attack a provocation.
LEMON: Divers in the Philippines have found bodies, but no survivors inside the hull of a ferry that capsized in the typhoon. The boat had more than 860 people on board when it ran aground and flipped over Saturday about a mile offshore. At least 34 people survived the disaster; only a few are confirmed dead. The U.S. Navy ship with divers and helicopters is helping in that recovery.
PHILLIPS: Time to see what's moving on the CNN Political Ticker now.
John McCain in California, telling an environmental roundtable about his energy plans. The Arizona senator says it is time for Americans to plug into a different mindset.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Energy efficiency is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue. A smarter use of energy is part of a critical national effort to regain control of our own energy future. And in this effort, practical ideas are worth a lot more than uplifting lectures.
It's not always making due with less energy. It's a matter of using energy in smarter ways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, among McCain's proposals, making the federal government more energy-efficient.
Protesters aren't too keen on McCain's recent support of offshore drilling, though. That's an issue where he and Governor Schwarzenegger agree to disagree.
Now, Barack Obama is talking energy in Las Vegas. He is seeing green, as the new gold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A green, renewable energy economy, isn't some pie-in-the-sky, far off future. It's now. It's creating jobs, now. It's providing cheap alternatives to $140 a barrel oil, now. And it can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Obama and Hillary Clinton will campaign together for the first time this Friday in New Hampshire.
Today, she's back in the Senate chamber for the first time since she suspended her campaign.
James Dobson isn't a John McCain fan. And now it's pretty clear that Barack Obama has a snowball's chance in you know where of getting evangelical leader's blessing.
Let's bring in our CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
So Bill, what did Mr. Dobson say and is the Obama campaign responding at all?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Dr. Dobson responds in his radio address this week to a statement that Barack Obama made in a speech two years ago, when he talked about bringing religious and secular Americans together, and bridging that divide. And he said that democracy demands that the religiously-motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific values. On issues like abortion, he said -- you have to explain why abortion violates some principle that's accessible to people of all faiths or no faith at all.
Now in his radio address, Dr. Dobson responds directly to that comment made two years ago.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF JAMES DOBSON, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: What the senator is saying there, in essence, is that I can't seek to pass legislations, for example, that bans partial-birth abortion, because there's people in the culture who don't see that as a moral issue. And if I can't get everyone to agree with me, it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the scripture.
Now, that is a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: Well, a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution -- he claims elections are all about. They're about competing values. They're about determining whose values will become enshrined in law. And Dr. Dobson has directly challenged Obama's effort there, made two years ago, I point out, his effort to bring secular and religious Americans together, saying fighting over values is part of what the Constitution guarantees.
PHILLIPS: Does this have connection to the fruitcake that we get from random relatives every year during the holidays?
SCHNEIDER: I don't think so.
PHILLIPS: OK. Let's talk about the McCain camp. There's been a lot of fallout from some statements made by a senior adviser about terrorism. What's happening with that? SCHNEIDER: Well, McCain and the adviser, Charles Black, both essentially regretted those comments. Charlie Black said he deeply regrets them, they were inappropriate.
These were comments concerning what a terrorist incident would mean for the campaign. He had suggested in a magazine interview, that it would be a big advantage to Senator McCain. That's a horrifying thought. And he backed off of it today and said he deeply regretted it. And McCain himself said, I cannot imagine he would say it. It's simply not true. I strenuously disagree.
So both the person who spoke the comments and the person he works for, Senator McCain, have both said that they do not support or endorse that comment, that it was regrettable and it should not have been made.
Meanwhile, the Obama spokesman issued a statement that said -- called the statement a complete disgrace and said it was a cynical and divisive brand of politics.
That was not, clearly, a good day for John McCain.
PHILLIPS: Bill Schneider, thanks.
You can check out our Political Ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just logon to CNNPolitics.com, your source for all things political.
LEMON: We're following developments in Zimbabwe today. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has known Robert Mugabe for years. And today, he made an attempt to contact him. We'll ask him about that when NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So, international pressure is growing on Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe. This comes after opposition presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, formally withdrew today from Friday's runoff election and sought protection in the Dutch Embassy.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson has known Mugabe for years, and he tried to make contact with him today, as well as Morgan Tsvangirai. The reverend joins us now from Chicago.
Thank you very much for that, for joining us toady, Reverend. We know that you're very busy.
I want to ask you, have you heard from Tsvangirai or Mugabe, after you reached out?
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW COALITION: We have not.
But we must reach out to them. We cannot stand idly by and watch Zimbabwe just disintegrate. It was the garden spot. It was the hope of southern Africa not long ago. One of the strong points we had to free South Africa was blacks and whites can co-exist there, as they were doing in Zimbabwe. Now, that dream is being deferred.
LEMON: And speaking to you and looking at some of your quotes, you said that you believe that Robert Mugabe was a hero, and now -- not so much.
I want you to put it in your own words.
JACKSON: Well -- he was a hero. Now, he's kind of a heresy to democracy. That's why the A.U. and others must step up their diplomatic initiatives -- one, to get humanitarian relief back in Zimbabwe. Two, to get a free press back in to Zimbabwe -- (INAUDIBLE) to talk to both leaders about some kind of reconciliation.
The opposition withdrawal today is really a way of saying they cannot take the heat of violence. And so -- the people there deserve an open, free and fair democracy. And we must somehow reconcile these two extremes. We cannot, as it were, leave Zimbabweans suffering in isolation.
LEMON: OK. I'm reading, also, too, that you said you first met Robert Mugabe back in -- I believe it was 1986, or maybe even before that -- when you were working to end apartheid in South Africa. And you said that --
JACKSON: He's one of the guys that was really praying by Nkrumah up in Ghana when they first got free in '57. He's of a that whole anti-apartheid, end colonialism era. And so he became one of the great heroes of that era, much like the heroes coming out of Tanzania. And so he was kind of the godfather. He was a leaning -- one of the first places that Mandela went to when he got out free was to go to Zimbabwe because he he had been such a hero.
And part of his heroism was that whites who fled South Africa could go to Zimbabwe and regroup and go on with their normal lives. Now there's some underlying issue about the Lancaster Agreement relative to land -- turning over land after 10 years. And that matter was not resolved. But it must be resolved in some diplomatic, nonviolent way. It cannot be resolved with the levels of violence and injury and maiming and killing that we have seen.
LEMON: And that brings me to this. I'm looking at -- the African National Congress released a statement today saying, "It has always been and continues to be the view of our movement that the challenges facing Zimbabwe can only be solved by the Zimbabweans themselves. Any attempt by outside players to impose regime change will merely deepen the crisis."
Do you believe -- it is your belief that Zimbabweans should handle this themselves? Or should the international community step in?
JACKSON: It must step in. ANC didn't have that position when we solved (ph) to get U.S. Congress to put sanctions against apartheid South Africa. They reached out to help around the world. We resolved apartheid because it was an international, humanitarian, diplomatic, economic sanctions movement. And so -- in one way, it's ANC's way of not assuming the responsibility (INAUDIBLE) to on this board that (INAUDIBLE) seeking reconciliation between these two leaders.
I see that as retreating. And that is not it's historical role in southern Africa.
LEMON: OK. The Reverend Jesse Jackson. Thank you very much.
And if you hear back from Robert Mugabe, or from Morgan Tsvangirai, will you get back in touch with us?
JACKSON: We intend to mobilize, if necessary, an international delegation to go there. We cannot sit idly by and watch this happen without putting forth our best efforts.
LEMON: Revered, thank you.
JACKSON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, getting your pills over the web and having them delivered to your door, even if you haven't seen a doctor to get a prescription. Our special investigations unit takes a look at what's being done to police Internet pharmacies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: She kept her wits, gave up her bra, and ended up saving her life. A hurt and stranded hiker found an unconventional way to call for help in the German Alps.
Reporter Mat Garcia, of CNN affiliate KWGN, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELANA BRUINSMA, HIKER'S SISTER: I guess it was mine and I left it here. And she was laying on it, she was like, Jessica, I'm not going to get that one back --
MAT GARCIA, KWGN REPORTER: Elana Bruinsma referring to the sports bra, like this one, she lent her 24-year-old sister that ultimately saved Jessica's life. While it's funny now, there were no laughs last week.
E. BRUINSMA: I just went off the deep end. I was just crying and I -- GARCIA: The emotional rollercoaster started last Wednesday, when Elana and Jack got the call that their older sister was missing for 48 hours.
Jessica went to Germany to work in a hostel in the Bavarian Alps that houses experienced hikers. She had been skiing with a friend, but instead of taking one final run, she took a walk.
JACK BRUINSMA, HIKER'S BROTHER: When she was out, some bad weather rolled in. And I think it got cloudy and I think she became disoriented and she couldn't find the trail that she had left --
GARCIA: The walk led down the steep, rocky side of the mountain. Her mother and sister say she fell 20 feet and landed on a ledge.
E. BRUINSMA: She has a pretty badly hurt leg, she has a dislocated shoulder and then four, broken ribs -- and a pretty big gash on her forehead from what we've heard. And I think she's just bruised from head-to-toe.
GARCIA: It was Jessica's hiking experience and training as an EMT that kept her alive. This is a picture of her hiking a few years ago in Costa Rica. The family says that Jessica would sleep in a cave at night. And in the day, think of what next to do. Her break came Thursday afternoon, when a cable line to send supplies up the mountain started moving.
E. BRUINSMA: As soon as it started moving, she got over there and connected her sports bra to the line. And they brought it up. And a workman saw it as little while later, and he knew someone was missing.
J. BRUINSMA: I don't know how I would act in that situation. I was just deeply impressed that she was smart enough to stay calm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, Bruinsma is expected to remain in a German hospital until further testing, probably about three weeks. And then she will return home to Colorado.
LEMON: Boy, that's an unbelievable story.
As is this one. A Florida teen is lucky to be alive after tangling with an 11-foot alligator. 18-year-old Kasey Edwards went for a swim early Sunday morning near Lake Okeechobee Lock, near Melbourne, Florida. An alligator bit into his arm, eventually severing it.
And knowing that gators like to pull their prey underwater, Edwards grabbed a line of buoys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASEY EDWARDS, ATTACKED BY ALLIGATOR: I was just holding on with everything I could and this gator was trying to pull me under. And I'd surface, get a gasp of air, and then he would just shake again and pulled me under. He did it about five times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Edwards says tried gouging out the gator's eyes, and it moved away. Then, he moved to shore, without realizing his arm was gone.
PHILLIPS: A crack (ph) member of a forensic recovery team given three months to live because of cancer. We're going to tell you about the people who wouldn't give up on saving Sophie.
LEMON: OK. So he has made a name for himself, strutting about Times Square. But he says a candymaker can't. It's Mars and the naked cowboy, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Sophie, the crime-fighting Labrador, has dedicated her life to public service. When she came down with potentially fatal cancer, a Florida community proved to be dog's best friend.
Kathryn Simmons from Bay News 9 has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHRYN SIMMONS, BAY NEW 9 REPORTER (on camera): Sophie is not your typical, stay-at-home, yellow lab. She solves crime for a living. And now she's got her own health issues to solve.
(voice-over): Sophie is always eager to work. But now, this crime sniffing detective is on a break from the K-9 Forensics Recovery Team.
TROY FERGUESON, DOG HANDLER: She's CSI of the dog world.
SIMMONS: Two weeks ago, Sophie was rushed to the vet and diagnosed with urinary tract cancer. She was given either three months to live, or costly surgery.
FERGUESON: Sit. Show me. Sit.
Good girl. Good girl.
SIMMONS: Her handler, Troy Fergueson, chose the medical bills.
FERGUESON: So, we were faced with a $13,000 medical bill to save our puppy's life. But she's a public servant, just like me.
SIMMONS: So, Fergueson and his family drove Sophie to the University of Florida's small animal hospital and Chance (ph), a human hospital. This is home video they brought back.
Sophie underwent a ground breaking radiation laser treatment to zap the cancerous tumor. It's typically done on humans, and rarely on dogs. Doctors say her diagnosis looks good.
This is Sophie, only days later.
FERGUESON: Find it. Find it.
What is it? What is it?
SIMMONS: She's already motivated to dig into her next investigation.
FERGUESON: She's on sick leave at the moment. But I imagine that she won't tolerate that very long before she's following me out the door to go to work. So, as soon as UF gives us the clearance to go back to work, she'll be riding shotgun with me to the next mission. SIMMONS: Sophie still has some hurdles to jump. In two weeks, doctors will check to see if the tumor is gone and she has several chemo treatments in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. And Bay News 9 reports that Sophie is already back on the job and that her tumor has been shrunk by 40 percent.
PHILLIPS: Well, stop me if you've heard this one. A woman walks into a bar, holding a bear cub and a baby bottle. Well it's not a joke for one community outside Columbus, Ohio actually. The village council passed an ordinance late last night banning exotic animals from public places.
The law is aimed at this cub, his name is Pooh, of course. And his owner is also a bar owner. They should have figured that out. She would routinely bring him to work with her, until someone complained. This is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELODY PULLEN, OWNS BEAR AND BAR: They're not really for everybody. You have to have a lot of time to spend with them. That's why I carried him with me all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see anything wrong with it, to be honest with you. I thought the bear was cute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, but I always bring a bear to work with me.
Now, she is going to have to keep the cub at home, which she says is going to be really tough on her at times. Getting too big to lug around anyway, she says. And in case you're wondering, she did buy the bear at an exotic animal sales, to go along with her four goats, 11 horses, two deer and one arctic fox.
LEMON: Democrats need not apply. The Justice Department uncovers political bias in its own screening program for up and coming lawyers. Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, is on the case.
PHILLIPS: The whole world's watching Zimbabwe. Madeleine Albright says a country that had been Africa's breadbasket, is now a basket-case. The former secretary of state weighs in this hour on Zimbabwe's latest crisis.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live in New York.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
