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IndyMac Bank Failure; Wildfire Crisis; Corpus Christi Twins Die; NAACP Convention

Aired July 12, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Homeward bound, three former hostages finally going to their hometowns imagine how that's going to feel after five years in the jungle in captivity.
And spending your day with your new iphone. Not everyone is so lucky. We'll get you plugged in.

And you know their last name, King, Ali, Poitier, well today these daughters tell us what it's like to live with such a rich legacy.

Hello everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield; you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. You're not alone if you're worried about your money in your bank especially after this, one of the biggest bank failures in U.S. history and it could prove to be the most expensive. California based IndyMac was one of the nation's biggest lenders, riding the wave of the real estate boom and now as the market went bust, the banks troubles compounded.

Now it's in the hands of federal regulators and will reopen Monday as IndyMac FSB as in Federal Savings Bank. IndyMac's collapse comes as no surprise to those in the financial industry but with a bit of irony. Federal regulators claim that a senator who questioned IndyMac's financial health bears some of the blame for break the bank. CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us live from Philadelphia to explain why. Why is Chuck Schumer is now getting a lot of grief?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know now that the bank has been seized by the federal government the blame starts to fly around and it was about middle of June are the end of June that New York Senator Chuck Schumer warned regulators that he sees a problem with this bank, IndyMac Bank, well it soon came unraveled, here's how it went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI (voice over): Indymac Bank Corp had been on the brink of collapse for months in June, New York Senator Charles Schumer wrote to banking regulators saying, "I am concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers." Within days customers closed account accounts and withdrew $1.3 billion from the bank.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I guess I did panic just a little bit.

VELSHI: On Monday, IndyMac reported massive losses and warned of bigger ones to come. On Tuesday, the bank told its government regulators it was no longer well capitalize, it fired more than half its staff and said it was getting out of the mortgage business. By Friday, investors had given up, with the stock closing at just 28 cent, the government moved in, seizing the bank and putting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in charge.

IndyMac specialized in mortgages for people who provided little or no documentation of their income or assets. The idea was that the property financed is worth or will be worth enough that the borrower's finances are less important. But as property values dropped, the borrowers defaulted and the bank lost money. For IndyMac borrowers, the shutdown will have little impact, they'll still have to make their mortgage payments, but for people with bank accounts or individual retirement accounts at IndyMac it's a different story. Most bank accounts in the United States are automatically insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000. IRAs are insured for up to a quarter million.

DAVID BARR, FDIC SPOKESMAN: If you have less than a $100,000, there's nothing to worry about. If you need access to your money, use your check, ATM or debit cards over the weekend and come Monday morning, it will be business as usual.

VELSHI: But the FDIC says that up to 10,000 IndyMac customers have more than the insured amount with the bank. Those customers can claim the insured amount plus half of the uninsured remainder. They may get more later depending on how much the FDIC gets when it sells the bank, the total loss to customers could be as much as half a billion dollars.

For now, people with IndyMac accounts can still get money out of ATMs but they can't bank at a branch, by phone or online until Monday morning.

So Fred, to be clear, if you have less than $100,000 on deposit with IndyMac or any bank in the country, your money is safe. It is insured by the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation. The thing you need to look at right now, is how much do they have in accounts in different banks and if you've got more than $100,000 it's worth going to the FDIC Website, calling them up or speaking to the bank and saying, is my money safe in case anything were to happen to your bank?

WHITFIELD: I guess the key word here is diversify. So many analysts encourage us to diversify when it comes down to your portfolio and you need to diversify when it comes to your banks and who is holding onto your money too.

VELSHI: It's not something people think about. They think when it's savings, you can keep it all in one place and sometimes banks give you extra money to keep it in one particular account. We don't have a danger of most banks in this country going under, but the FDIC has a watch list of 90 banks right now, they haven't released those names to us. We're trying to bet them. But the bottom line is if you want to be completely safe, spread your deposits around.

WHITFIELD: Well 90 banks, that's a lot, but I guess the fear is if word gets out, which of these 90 banks may be in trouble people will start taking out their money and you'll have another situation just like this, IndyMac.

VELSHI: That's why they thought that Chuck Schumer might have had some responsibility because by naming the bank, it caused investors to go and get their money. But that's a blame game for somebody else.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ali Velshi, thank you very much.

Well the FDIC has set up a special toll-free hotline for IndyMac customers, it is 1-866-806-5919, and it will operate daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

IndyMac's failure renews fears about mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well. Those two hold almost half of the nation's outstanding home mortgage debt. Stocks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped dramatically this week thanks to wary investors and growing speculation of a government bailout. We'll have continuing coverage of the IndyMac meltdown including what bank customers are saying as they find the doors locked tight. And what you should do to safeguard your own money.

Tony Snow spent years sparring with politicians and then of course reporters. But now the former White House press secretary has lost a battle with colon cancer. Today, many are remembering his professionalism and his humor. Among them our own Ed Henry.

Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred, I'm here on the north lawn of the White House with a very special guest, Dana Perino, who obviously is a successor to Tony Snow as the White House spokesperson, press secretary to the president. And Dana I spoke to you early this morning and you said you were reeling, how are you taking it, how are people at the White House taking it?

DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think with any news like this, it always comes as a shock. Any time you had seen Tony in the past 12 months, he looked great and his color had come back, his hair had grown back, he put some weight back on, which was, he was always a slender guy but he had lost even more weight with the treatment, so I think we all wanted to believe that a miracle had happened, but he did take a turn for the worse and we were all deeply saddened by it, he was both professionally inspiring and personally inspiring to everybody at the White House from the White House message guys to the White House intern to cabinet secretaries and of course his own immediate staff.

HENRY: I had a privilege of speaking to the former President Bush earlier today by phone and he said that he spoke to the current president at Camp David this morning by phone and that the president was grief stricken. Have you spoken to him? What you do know about the president's reaction.

PERINO: President Bush and I have been speaking about this off and on for the last several weeks to keep each other updated. He's very sad. One of the things that President Bush always says is you never know what life is going to hand you and you sometimes can dealt a hand that you don't want but you have to play it and that Tony played his cards to the best of his ability and with gusto and enthusiasm. We were so honored have him at the White House, he chose to leave his radio show to come and join us and help deliver the president's message, it was quite a thing to do.

HENRY: When you say play the hand he was dealt, he also had a difficult hand in terms of dealing with the presidential agenda when he came in early 2006, his numbers were low, and the war in Iraq wasn't going well. There is a lot of sparring in there. But I remember one time being out here and Ed Buckley said I'm going to get you guys some boxing gloves because of your fights. And Tony put his arm around me and said no, Ed's all right, that's not personal, that's business what happens in the briefing room.

PERINO: What Tony Snow loved more than anything was the debate? Most people don't realize he was a math major and a philosophy minor and so he knew how to debate with the best of them. And he believed one of the best things about America is the freedom of speech and the ability to have healthy robust debates so that we can help solve problems together. He was quite a bipartisan guy too.

HENRY: Very well said, I know it's a difficult day that is why I appreciate you being with us today. Fred, he hailed from Cincinnati, Ohio, that's where he grew up in Ohio, Tony Snow. And the congressman that represents that area, John Boehner the Republican leader in the House today quoted Winston Churchill saying, "I like a man who smiles when he fights." That's very apt to describe Tony Snow on this day.

WHITFIELD: It is a very sad day. Thanks very much, appreciate it. We'll have much more on the legacy and the life of Tony Snow in the "CNN Newsroom" 5:00 Eastern Time.

Well five years of waiting finally over for three former hostages. They're heading home to friends and family now, coming up, they tell us one of the ways they kept their sanity for all those years in the jungle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. The long awaited homecoming for three former hostages rescued from a Colombian jungle, finally comes today. They have left the medical center in Texas after ten days of debriefing and exams to help ease them back into somewhat of a normal life. The three Americans say they're excited to be reunited with family and friends in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH STANSELL, FORMER HOSTAGE: Today for the first time we're going home. There are family members that are waiting for us. And just imagine if you hadn't seen your family in 5 1/2 year, please just respect our privacy, we're not here to answer questions right now. We just want to say thank you to the people while we've got a chance to do it and let us go home and be family men again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Well, the former hostages gave "Headline News" anchor Robin Meade an exclusive interview detailing their lives in captivity and two of them explained how a simple game helped them maintain their sanity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC GONSALVES, FORMER HOSTAGE: This is a chess board. Here are the pieces that --

ROBIN MEADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How did you make the pieces?

GONSALVES: I was able to carve with a broken piece of a machete.

MEADE: You carved chess pieces with a broken machete.

KEITH STANSELL, FORMER HOSTAGE: He just woke up one day and said guys I'm going to make chess set.

MEADE: And your captors allowed you to do it or did you hide it?

GONSALVES: No, some of the lower ranking guards actually took an interest to see if I was going to be able to finish it.

STANSELL: They wanted it themselves.

MEADE: They wanted you to carve one for them?

GONSALVES: Yeah, later, they wanted me to carve one for them.

MEADE: So how did this help keep your mind sharp and pass the day?

GONSALVES: That's the point I wanted to make is this chess set here must have gotten, wouldn't you say hundreds of hours of use between all the hostages. It was a way for us to stop thinking about the cruel situation that we were in.

MEADE: Yeah.

GONSALVES: And to think about something else and to exercise our minds.

MEADE: It looks great. It's incredible.

STANSELL: We would sit chained, thanks to this guy right here, something he just woke up one morning and said he's got to do something. Eight months --

GONSALVES: Three months.

STANSELL: He spent carving this just nonstop. We might get hit, the camp would be moved and Marc would roll the chess set and keep moving. We're in chain, sitting Indian style on a piece of plastic just playing chess. When you're doing that, you're free. Your mind is engaged, you're not a prisoner. And that's the gain, that's the victory. They don't even know it. They can come look at us playing it, but we're not there, we're somewhere else when we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Is that not incredible? You can hear the entire exclusive interview with Robin Meade and the freed American hostages tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Then, on "Larry King Live," Ingrid Betancourt, the Colombian politician who was also freed in that daring rescue operation. She talks about the horror of her imprisonment and how she views her captors right now. That exclusive interview tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

OK, everyone was clamoring for it, lining up all over the place. Iphones, the next generation, techies, lining up as the new Apple gadget hits the market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An iconic American beer, hint, Clydesdale horses, well, soon it may be wearing a foreign label, a Belgian brewer wants to buy the maker of Budweiser, the "New York Times" says hostile talks have turned friendly and a deal could be announced as soon as Monday. Here's CNN's Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In St. Louis, it sounds unthinkable, could the king of beers be knocked off the throne by a company headquarter in Belgian? No comment from Anheuser-Busch, but local giant Inbev is ready to take over. On the company website the CEO has been promising that while the brand may change hands, the beer will stay the same.

CARLOS BRITO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INBEV: I think what's important is Budweiser, the beer, will be brood in the same brewery, we don't have plans to close any brewery, by the same people, according to the same tradition and heritage. That's what matters at the end of the day. That's what we're committed to because we understand that's so key to the business, to the brands and consumers and therefore to us.

ROESGEN: Will things stay the same if a global company takes over? Many Bud drinkers don't buy it.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): No, just any time they get their claws in it, everything changes.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I would be very skeptical that that would really be the case.

ROESGEN: Also skeptical are Missouri Senators Claire McCaskill and Kit Bond, they're against a takeover, worried that St. Louis could lose jobs and a community icon. Anheuser-Busch has been making beer for more than 150 years and the board of directors filed suit earlier this week to stop the takeover, but Inbev is offering shareholders 30 percent more for the company stock and industry analysts say that may be enough to seal the deal.

Susan Roesgen, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, something else hot on the market right now, right there. That little ditty right there. Many of you may be fiddling with your new iphone, the new and improved iphone. It's called a 3g, this is the version everybody has been clamoring for. Well Apple says it offers more bang for the buck. But is it really worth the hype and your money? Let's ask the Nick Wingfield technology reporter for the "Wall Street Journal." All right, Nick, this is my life right here. I got a blackberry, a palm and this old archaic flip phone. Sell me on this new iphone, why do I want it?

NICK WINGFIELD, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, WSJ: Well, there are a lot of different reasons, one is you have an ipod probably, so this is a terrific ipod. It's also a cell phone. So it may be able to replace some of those other gadgets that you have. Also browses the web and does so faster than the original iphone. So it's a much better mobile internet experience.

WHITFIELD: So the folks who lined up, just last year for the iphone and they paid somewhere like $400, are those the folks who are a little angry that you can get a better, faster, more complete version for almost half the price?

WINGFIELD: You know they faced a lot of upset from their original customers; they cut the price actually right after they came out with the original iphone last year and people were really ticked off. But you know, the CEO of the company of Apple said this is life in the technology lane. Things improve fast and from Apple, especially, they just turn out a lot of new products. So it's something that people who have Apple products have come to accept.

WHITFIELD: So if you have the old version which is amazing less than a year ago and it's the old version. You don't have to be too salty about it because you can download new applications and upgrade what you have, right?

WINGFIELD: That's right. Well, that is to say if you tried to do it yesterday you might have run into a lot of difficulties, there were tons of technical problems, but that's the idea, yeah. And it seems to be working today. I upgraded a device myself and some of the applications are pretty interesting.

WHITFIELD: So what is this doing to the competition? I have the older version of the palm, but all these companies that came out with smart phones trying to copy the iphone, but never quite there. Now, yet again is Mac just light years ahead of everyone else?

WINGFIELD: The thing is that Apple has really shaken up the cell phone market in a number of different ways and there are a lot of people gunning for it, blackberry is working on a very sexy consumer phone that they'll be coming out with before too long. Palm is also doing some other stuff, but Apple really seems to have, according to analysts and other people, kind of a technology edge at the moment.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, it's getting so fancy out there. But you know, if I were to turn around and go for this $199 version now, something tells me just a couple of months from now there's going to be a better version that comes out and I'm going to be mad.

WINGFIELD: I think you have a little bit more time than that, but you should worry.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Wingfield, technology reporter for the "The Wall Street Journal," thank you so much. Do you have one?

WINGFIELD: I don't have an iphone but I have an ipod touch which is similar.

WHITFIELD: At least you got something. Thanks a lot, Nick. I appreciate it.

WINGFIELD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Back to the business of banking and how sobering it all is. IndyMac's failure, it wasn't a shock within financial circle, but the bank's customers, well they're a bit surprised to say the very least.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Issue number one for depositors of failed IndyMac Bank, getting their money back? Well the bank's federal takeover wasn't a total surprise in the financial industry but as CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports, the move did catch a lot of customers off guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL SACRAMENTO, BANK CUSTOMER: I saw all the news crews parked in the Ralph's parking lot and so I'm about to read the notice.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Rachel Sacramento just found out the bank that claimed you can count on us wasn't so reliable after all.

SACRAMENTO: It is disconcerting that you believe that your bank is very strong.

FINNSTROM: Sacramento had watched IndyMac's financial struggles detailed on the news for weeks. She had acted.

SACRAMENTO: Investor panic. And so I decided to close my accounts. But I did leave my checking account here.

FINNSTROM: Customer Alan Sands waited.

ALAN SANDS, BANK CUSTOMER: I've been thinking about doing this, I've been thinking about taking my money out and I'm just kind of kicking myself for not doing it earlier. FINNSTROM: Sands simply did not believe it would all lead to this, the federal government shutting down his bank.

SANDS: We have quite a bit of our funds there with my wife and I and my mom. So I knew the headquarters was down here, so I rushed down here and they're closed. Is I guess I got to wait until Monday.

FINNSTROM: FDIC officials say customers who are less than $100,000 in the bank, the majority of customers are fully insured and can have full access to their money on Monday. Customers with savings of more than $100,000 in a single account, the FDIC will only provide 50 percent of that money up front. And hopes to make more payments as it sells off the bank's assets. So which customers could take the hit?

DAVID BARR, FDIC SPOKESMAN: It runs the whole gamut. We've had fairly young people, we've had older people with their life savings here, and there are businesses. Nonprofit organization.

FINNSTROM: Alan Sands thinks his mom may have saved more than is fully insured.

SANDS: My mom she's a little worried. She's been around longer and has a little more saved up.

FINNSTROM: The fine print is especially confusing to customers like Jean Polen who never heard the rumors of IndyMac's downfall.

JEAN POLEN, BANK CUSTOMER: They wouldn't open the doors.

FINNSTROM: Not even for you to give them money?

POLEN: No.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): Come here, come here!

POLEN: Oh.

FINNSTROM: Polen just came to make her house payment.

POLEN: No. Got to go.

FINNSTROM: She left like so many others, questioning, who can she trust with her money now?

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So just imagine the shock, that real sinking feeling to go to your bank and doors are locked. So what can you do to protect your money?

CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us now from New York with some answer. And first let's talk about what does a customer do?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well first of all, one thing is that people with money in the bank, anything under $100,000, that's all guaranteed, they don't lose a penny. The same with IRAs up to $250,000, those are also insured, but as you heard in this particular case, about 10,000 people have more than that in their accounts, they're going to lose about 50 percent of every dollar over the insured amount. People who have loans, let's say, with IndyMac, that's a whole separate category, that load has to be paid on time, otherwise the same penalties apply.

The bottom line really is that IndyMac is running almost exactly the way it was a week ago, the exception is now called IndyMac Federal, it's being run by the FDIC, that's the difference. But don't expect things to change. the only people who are really going to be affected are those with more money than they should in those accounts.

WHITFIELD: So, is that a good thing? I mean, it sounds pretty drastic.

FEYERICK: Well, absolutely it does. People were running to the bank. It was almost, you know, like a run on the bank, but the good thing about the FDIC, it means that the money, anything that's under the limit is basically safe. The FDIC provides insurance to anyone who keeps money in the bank and here's how CNN MONEY's Chris Isidore described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ISIDORE, CNNMONEY.COM: Those who had money in IndyMac, had deposits in IndyMac, most of them, the majority of them will be unaffected. And for the people at most banks around the country, really don't have to worry and be taking money out and sticking it under mattresses today, there's really not systemic risk of deposits failing as long as the FDIC is there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: So, you know, the question, Fred, is why this bank? Well, the answer is pretty simple, it's the latest casualty of the housing crisis which, in fact, it helped trigger. IndyMac created a business model based on home loans to people without a lot of proof they could repay these loans. The loans were then bundled together and sold to investors to the tune of trillions of dollars, but then the bubble burst, foreclosures skyrocketed, investors withdrew, IndyMac simply could not sustain itself and that's why IndyMac is this latest casualty.

WHITFIELD: And so, are there other banks that are in trouble, at risk?

FEYERICK: Absolutely, the FDIC says about 90 banks are on a list. Smaller banks are protected if they fail, but again, you know, that's one of the things that you have to be very careful about. But investors need to diversify, need to spread their money just to make sure all their savings aren't in one place.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense, but it's the first time I'm hearing so many people say that in great numbers it's that important to diversify in where you have your money deposited in your bank just as you would your portfolio in other investments.

FEYERICK: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right, Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much, great advice. Of course, we're going to continue to watch more on this IndyMac failure and the ongoing mortgage mess, overall. If you want to learn more and keep tabs on it just click on cnnmoney.com and then follow the links.

Meantime out West, help pour weafary fire crews is on the way. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger order 2,000 National Guard troops to help and more fire units are coming from other countries, in facts. A mandatory evacuation order has been lifted in Butte County, California, but there's a somber reminder of the ongoing battle. Fire crews found the charred remains of someone who apparently chose not to evacuate. One evacuee says he understands why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN DANIEL, FIRE EVACUEE: That's all they got left and if they go out and their homes get destroyed and they have nothing else left, most of them think that well I'm just going to go out with everything else that I own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Our Reynolds Wolf is at a firefighters staging center in Chico, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm coming to you from Silver Dollar Park in Chico, California, but today -- today, it goes by a different name. Today it's "Fire Camp," home for nearly 3,000 firefighters, you see a couple of the guys behind me. Some of these fellows have been working beyond 24 hours straight, going out there and doing what they can to battle a blaze, battling a blaze that has consumed over 49,000 acres. They've got it at about 55 percent contained, but still there's a couple of variables they've got to deal with, the biggest is going nature.

Today they're anticipating the forecast to be a little more favorable. That sun you see in the sky, is not burning quite as high (INAUDIBLE), they expecting the temperatures not to rise into the 90s, a little bit cooler, into the 80. They're also expecting the wind to be a little bit less intense and the humidity to be going up. So, that should certainly be favorable. However it's still going to be hard work for these fellows, you see this crew here, they happen to be from Flagstaff, Arizona. You've go people, obviously, not just from this state but from across the region, across the country, across the world, in fact. Fire crews as far away as places like Australia, New Zealand, but even crews in places like Mexico and even to our north, in Canada.

It's going to be a tough battle for them, but they are certainly up to the task. Reporting from Chico, California, back to you in the studio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, we're in the Severe Weather Center. Today it's just plain old weather, isn't it? Even though we're talking about heat and at the dry conditions out West make it hard. Jacqui Jeras.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it's -- but so much better, Fredericka, I mean, we're talking about the difference between Thursday and Friday compared to this weekend, is night and day. The humidity is up, the temperatures are down.

WHITFIELD: Good.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right Jacqui, thank you.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Well, they we're supposed to have a baby shower today. Instead, teenaged parents in South Texas are burying their twins. Investigators are trying to figure out if a hospital's mistake killed the Garcia babies. Here now is CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): the lives of little Keith and Kaylynn Garcia are measured in hours, not years. The twins died just days after receiving an overdose of the blood thinner Heparin in a Corpus Christi, Texas hospital. The twin's grandparents say they're devastated and shocked.

HECTOR CHAPA, GRANDPARENT: They don't know what actually is the cause of death, so that's why when the first child had that passed on, Keith, they wanted to do an autopsy because they don't know what the cause of death was.

LAVANDERA: The Corpus Christi Hospital says pharmacist mistakenly mixed the Heparin drugs giving the Garcia twins 100 times the normal amount for babies their size. Christus Spohn Hospital officials confirm the overdose was given to Keith and Kaylynn and 12 other baby, one of those children is in critical condition, the others are stable. The hospital officials say adverse effects of Heparin have not been identified in the Garcia babies.

BRUCE HOLSTEIN, CEO, CHRISTUS SPOHN HOSPITAL: And we do not know at this time what, if any, the higher than expected concentration of Heparin played in this baby's death.

LAVANDERA: Autopsies have been performed on the twins, but those results aren't public. The twins were born a month premature and put in a neonatal intensive care unit because they had slight problems breathing. But, it's not clear if it was the Heparin overdose or another medical condition that caused the deaths of the Garcia twins. CHAPA: We want to know why it happened and why this Heparin was given out, even if it was the cause, they left from Alison in perfect health condition.

LAVANDERA: This weekend, the Garcia family was supposed to celebrate a baby shower in Keith and Kaylynn's honor, but now the family will mourn them at a funeral.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And of course you don't want to miss all the top news in politics, THIS WEEK IN POLITICS comes up at 4:00 Eastern. Usually, you're watching the NEWSROOM at 4:00 Eastern, but today there's so many going on the campaign trail, we wanted to bring you THIS WEEK IN POLITICS hosted by Tom Foreman, 4:00 Eastern Time.

And looking for the black vote, both presidential candidates think there is support to be won at this years NAACP convention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The pioneering heart surgeon, Dr. Michael Debakey, has died. He developed groundbreaking procedures now used in most hospitals. He also helped create more than 70 new surgical instruments, former colleagues remembering him today as a medical statesman. Dr. Michael Debakey was 99 years old.

Police in North Carolina say they have track down the children of a missing soldier and the kids are safe. But the search for Second Lieutenant Holley Wimunc continues. She failed so show up for work Thursday and her apartment had been set on fire. Wimunc's co-workers say she had been concerned for her safety. In May, she filed for a order of protection against her husband who she is divorcing.

Well, both Barack Obama and John McCain are taking a day off from the campaign trail, but Senator Obama is on the record today talking about terrorism. In an exclusive interview he tells our Fareed Zakaria what he would do with a captured Osama bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: If U.S. Forces in Afghanistan captured Osama bin Laden, what would you do with him -- and you were president?

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think that if he was captured alive, then we would make a decision to bring the full weight of not only U.S. justice, but world justice down on him. And I think that, and I've said this before, that I am not a cheerleader for the death penalty. I think it has to be reserved for only the most heinous crimes, but I certainly think plotting and engineering the death of 3,000 Americans justifies such an approach. Now, I think this is a big hypothetical, though, let's catch him first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, tough questions on some of the world's toughest crises. You can catch the rest of the that exclusive interview on FAREED ZAKARIA GPS, tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right, the NAACP convention gets underway today in Cincinnati. And presidential politics loom large this year. Barack Obama is scheduled to speak on Monday, John McCain will address the delegates on Wednesday. Journalist Jeff Johnson joins me now for a preview.

You're coming from Cleveland, even though all the action is in Cincinnati. I imagine you'll be joining the action there as well, soon. So, let's talk about the what the focus or the many focuses might be during this convention, beginning with Jesse Jackson and his comments captured on tape with the live mike on this week. Any idea whether there has been any sort of discussion or forum or dialogue that's been crafted around what he said.

JEFF JOHNSON, BET NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You know, I don't think so. I think that Obama clearly is going to want to put that behind him, it's not productive for him going into an NAACP convention, especially. I mean, you're talking about an organization that has been without a president until recently, the entire organization has been to be focused on what their real issues are, and Ben Jealous who is only 35 years old, has been tapped to be the next president of the NAACP. And I think they want to be focused on issues like the economy, issues like jail and jobs. And so I don't think they're to be spend a whole lot of time on what Jesse Jackson said when that's not going to feed anybody...

WHITFIELD: So, you don't think that will be a distraction or does it in any underscore certain divisions...

JOHNSON: Only if people like you and I and the media keep bringing it up will there be a distraction, but I think the NAACP is going to focus on pertinent issues.

WHITFIELD: All right, some of those issues being.

JOHNSON: Jobs, clearly. You know, Ben Jealous coming into the NAACP is focusing on jobs, justice and I think that really the economy has got to be key. These presidential candidates who are coming in to the NAACP, one have to realize that the NAACP doesn't represent the entire demographic of African-American ideologically, so there are those the NAACP doesn't represent. But this is a large group of politically active and involved individual whose historically have played a role in who becomes the next president.

WHITFIELD: You know, last weekend I was in New Orleans talking to a number of people who came after the Essence Music Festival, we delved into hard hitting issues as well. And among those issues that a number of people talked about, they want both John McCain and Barack Obama to address jobs, yes, that's one, also the disparities in healthcare, that being another, the economy as a whole, the mortgage crisis and why is there such a, you know, dearth of banks in predominantly black neighborhoods, you know, hence promoting another economic crises.

JOHNSON: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Are these issues you think a number of people, a number of delegates at this convention will try to get Obama and McCain to commit to?

JOHNSON: Sure, predator lending is a policy issue that has to be addressed and how both of these individuals feel about companies that allow these check cashing places to run rampant in African-American and urban communities is an issue. Why aren't there more banking institutions? Why are we seeing organizations like HUD even, attacking some of these churches that are providing down payment assistance? I mean that's an issue that the Congress is dealing with right now. So yes, these are going to be issues that we're going to see dealt with. And we know that NAACP-ers are savvy enough that they want those addressed by their presidential candidates.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeff Johnson, political columnist, thanks so much. I appreciate it. And of course, we'll try to catch up with you later in the week, too.

JOHNSON: Thanks, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: As things progress at the NAACP conference there in Cincinnati, although you're in Cleveland, today.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks. Well, coming up this month, CNN's Soledad O'Brien hosts "Black in America" our four-hour documentary special, July 23 on black women and families, July 24 black men. For more information you can go to cnn.com/blackinamerica.

Well, five pretty amazing women with five amazing dads, we'll talk to daughters of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohammad Ali, Malcum X, Johnnie Cochran, Sydney Poitier, all of them in their first conversation together.

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WHITFIELD: All right, we see them as iconic figures of our modern history, but for five amazing women, they're just dads. CNN's Don Lemon gives us a revealing look at these daughters of legacy, tonight. Earlier today he spoke with me about the project.

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DON LEMON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: But I have to tell you, this story changed my life. It really did.

WHITFIELD: Did it?

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: That's huge.

LEMON: It's so powerful. It was huge and it's like a sneaker, you know, it's like one of those things that just sort of...

WHITFIELD: You didn't expect it to do that.

LEMON: Didn't expect it. I didn't -- I knew it was a great project, but I didn't expect it. And we've been talking about all these daughters of legacies...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: ...with these huge last names, iconic last names. Ali, Cochran, Portier, King, Shabazz, they are the daughters of legacy and we're airing an hour-long portion of our conversation this weekend. Take a look at part of it.

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(voice-over): Daughters tend to idolize their fathers, that's one of the happier facts of life. In the Portier family, it's an understatement.

SHERRI POITIER, DAUGHTER OF SIDNEY POITIER: He is amazing when he speaks and we would ask certain questions, you know: where did the moon come from? Or why do we have stars? And he would literally answer every one of those questions and we would be in awe.

LEMON (on camera): What do you want people to know about your father?

TIFFANY COCHRAN, DAUGHTER OF JOHNNIE COCHRAN: He was a fighter. I've never seen anyone fight except for Muhammad Ali. He was a fighter because he fought brain cancer to the very end. When I think about him walking me down the aisle, he wasn't able to walk.

The tumor was -- it took away his ability to walk on -- one side of his leg was not operational, but he went to therapy three times a day before my wedding to regain the use of that side of his leg to walk me down the aisle for my wedding and it was just -- I'd never seen anyone work that hard for any one thing.

ATTALLAH SHABAZZ, DAUGHTER OF MALCOLM X: Many people don't know that I watched my father's funeral from her parents' master bedroom because in the chaos of such trauma, they helped my mother out, a young widow, pregnant, and a lot was on us.

LEMON: You don't have that many memories of your dad because you were so young when he died.

BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: Well, there are a couple of things that I can share about my father. One, this great orator who was very charismatic and commanded his audience and many times when he had to speak, he would tell my mom, I don't have anything to say. I just don't know what I'm -- I don't know what to say to people and that's interesting because that's the same way I feel.

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LEMON: That's a small part.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, that's so incredibly moving.

LEMON: Are you OK?

WHITFIELD: Yeah. That really is very moving and it's just so nice to hear, I mean because it's really thoughtful.

LEMON: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: And it seems like they're really pulling this from deep.

LEMON: I let them talk.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: And I was just -- you know, a camera and of course the microphone with the conduits, but I just let them have a conversation and so -- I'm going to almost cry, but this is an honor to women, for me. And especially all women, but African-American women and for me it's an honor to my sisters and my mother who raised me and made me the person that I am. And I hope that this comes out in this documentary that you're going to see, 6:00 and 11:00 tonight. I can't tell you...

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so nice.

LEMON: ...this is the best thing that I've ever done.

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WHITFIELD: Well, you don't want to miss that, "Daughters of Legacy," tonight, 6:00 and 11:00 Eastern. Don's been working on that for a long time, many months now and it's finally come full circle and it come to fruition, and he's really proud of the product and I think you will not be disappointed to learn more about these five remarkable women whose dads are equally remarkable.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Coming up, 5:00 Eastern, Rick Sanchez, he's go more on the life and legacy of former White House spokesman, Tony Snow. He died earlier today.

Then at 8:00, you can hear the entire exclusive interview with CNN HEADLINE's Robin Meade, the freed American hostages, tonight 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

But, next it's a special presentation of THIS WEEK IN POLITICS.