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Analysis of Russia-Georgia Conflict; Detroit Mayor Back in Court; Texas Bus Accident Kills 13
Aired August 08, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is our developing news here today in the CNN NEWSROOM. Russian forces on the move in territory claimed by a U.S. ally. As the fighting escalates, we'll tell you what's at stake here.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: A devastating accident with tragic consequences, a bus overturns, carrying more than 50 people to a religious festival, more than a dozen are dead.
LEMON: And just as he was about to get out of jail, Detroit's mayor faces new legal charges, he is facing arraignment minutes from now on felony assault charges.
Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon, live here at the international desk at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KAYE: And I'm Randi Kaye in for Kyra Phillips.
LEMON: And right off the top here we start with the developing news overseas. Warplanes in the sky, troops are on the move. It has been a day of chaos and conflict, is all that you can call it, in the republic of Georgia where a long simmering dispute with Russia over a border region has erupted into open conflict.
Now, let's tell you about South Ossetia. Some people call it "O- seh-tee-uh," but technically it's "O-see-shi-uh." It has been a flashpoint since the fall of the Soviet Union. It's part of Georgia, but a lot of people there identify closely with Russia. And CNN's Jill Dougherty has been covering this region for a very long time and she joins us now with the very latest on this.
And I have to ask you, Jill, why is this something -- why is this not local? Why is this something that the U.S. should be concerned about?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, actually the entire world should be worried about it because it is very serious, Don. I mean, Georgia is a small country. But Georgia is part of the former Soviet Union right on the border with Russia. And the conflict that you see going on right there is going to -- obviously it's already involving Russia. Russia has sent tanks in.
There's grave danger of this spilling over. But as soon as Russia and Georgia get involved, you are going to involve the United States and Russia. Because Mr. Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, has made it very clear that he is on the side of the West. He wants to become a member of NATO.
And so, he will make his appeal, and we've heard him on CNN air saying that they are being invaded by Russia because Russia wants to either take them over, doesn't want them to be democratic. And what the United States is going to be really in the unenviable situation of trying to stop this in some way by talking with Russia, talking with Georgia and bringing the sides together before it really spins out of control.
LEMON: And, Jill, you are exactly right, we spoke with President Saakashvili just a short time ago right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And I asked him why he would send troops into South Ossetia. And he said, I didn't send troops there, it was part of -- he was battling back, he said, against Russia's attack.
DOUGHERTY: Right. And both sides are saying that, that's what's getting -- it's very difficult in this situation because both sides are saying that they are being provoked. But, you know, some people looking from the outside say that both sides are spoiling for a fight.
The Russians, they would argue, would ultimately like to take over South Ossetia. A lot of these South Ossetians feel that they are a part of Russia anyway. You know, Don, they actually -- many of them, carry Russian passports. They use Russian money. So they think they're a part of Russia.
Mr. Saakashvili, of course, doesn't think that. It's technically part of Georgia. And the -- let's say, those experts looking at why this is really happening would say that the Russians are trying to push it, but so are the Georgians trying to draw the United States, at least, you know, verbally into this to condemn Russia for what they're doing.
LEMON: All right. There is no U.S. correspondent who knows more about this region than our Jill Dougherty. She has covered it for years. And, Jill, we certainly appreciate your perspective. We'll be checking back with you throughout the day. Thank you so much again.
We want to give you some more information about this region. We want to tell you about Georgia. It was part of the Soviet Union until 1991. You heard Jill talk about that. It is now a U.S. ally. South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, but South Ossetia (INAUDIBLE), as we've been saying, its independence is not internationally recognized.
We want to tell you now what the candidates have been doing here in the United States. Barack Obama and John McCain quickly condemned Russia's invasion of its neighbor. And here's what they had to say. In a statement, Obama said quote: "All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to the crisis."
Now we want to tell you what John McCain said. He said, quote: "The U.S. should immediately convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to call on Russia to reverse course. The U.S. should immediately work with the E.U. and the OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to put diplomatic pressure on Russia to reverse this course it has chosen."
Now we have much, much more information for you on this developing story straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. I want to tell you about this, I interviewed Georgia's president just a short time ago. It was a very interesting conversation that he shared with us. We're going to share that with you at the bottom of the hour. He said some new information and that he had also just gotten off the phone with President Merkel. And so we'll talk a little bit about that.
Plus, some insight from a former Mark Brzezinski, who is a former White House adviser and a member of the National Security Council. That's not the -- we've got everything on this story that you need to know. We're camped out here at the international desk. And we have CNN's worldwide resources working this story for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Randi.
KAYE: Don, Detroit's mayor is about to have his second court appearance of the day. This is one involves federal charges filed moments after a hearing this morning on a state charge of violating his bond. A circuit judge ruled in that case that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could get out of jail only if he pays a $50,000 cash bond and wears an electronic tracking device.
The mayor was accused of violating bond in an earlier case involving charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct of office. Now he's about to be arraigned on two felony charges of assaulting or about obstructing a police officer on July 24th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE COX, MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yesterday, defendant Kilpatrick stood in the 36th District Court for the State of Detroit, in front of Judge Giles, and stated this. He doubted quote "that there had ever been a person who had gone through the legal process who respects it more than I do," end of quote.
His actions of July 24th make a mockery of that statement yesterday, and prove it to be a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Kilpatrick's attorney, Jim Thomas said the mayor will fight all of those charges.
A blown tire may have led to this deadly scene in Sherman, Texas, a bus carrying members of a Vietnamese church group careened off a highway overpass. And now at least 13 are dead. On the scene, reporter Nicole Holt with affiliate KXII.
Nicole, what can you tell us from there on the ground?
NICOLE HOLT, KXII REPORTER: Well, I can actually tell you now the death toll is up to 14. And numerous others are injured. We have had reports that there are so many taken from the Dallas area to Oklahoma City, numerous injuries this afternoon. Like you just said, a blowout may have caused this. The driver lost control of the bus. It hit a guardrail, once he hit the guardrail, he rode that guardrail for about 75 to 100 feet before the guardrail gave way, the bus tipped over.
We're told a small fire then sparked on that bus. Many were able to get off the bus, they did suffer minor injuries, but few were able to get off the bus, 12 people were confirmed dead on-scene, two others died at a local hospital.
Now state and federal officials are investigating. In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the bus crash as we speak this afternoon. Many agencies responded to this. I think four counties, in fact, had to come out and help with this. We had 18 medical helicopters this morning assisting with this accident.
But, of course, they are treating this as a crime scene at this point.
KAYE: And, Nicole, can you tell us any idea as far as the ages of these passengers?
HOLT: You know, they say they are all ages. There were a few kids on the bus and there are a few elderly people, as well. So the ages ranged from little to old.
KAYE: All right. Nicole Holt for us reporting live on that terrible bus accident. Thank you.
LEMON: All right. "ISSUE #1," of course, is the economy. There's more uncertainty and worry for the housing market. Market giant Fannie Mae released second-quarter financial reports this morning. And we knew it would be bad, but it's three times worse than Wall Street had projected, with Fannie Mae posting a $3.2 million loss. Fannie is raising fees which will be passed on to borrowers and it'll stop buying alt-A loans, made to people with good credit, but little proof of income or low or no down payment.
Better news when it comes to the dollar, it's on the rebound, enjoying a 17-month high against the British pound and a five-month high against the 15-nation euro. Analysts attribute declining oil prices and inflation worries in Europe. The invigorated dollar and falling oil prices are boosting stocks. A quick check on the Big Board now shows the Dow up 234 -- 233 points. Our Susan Lisovicz has the latest on the floor live in about 15 minutes.
KAYE: Taking flight from a "Bird's Nest." You're looking there at a live picture of the Bird's Nest in Beijing. The 2008 Summer Olympics began today with a spectacular opening ceremony in Beijing's National Stadium dubbed the Bird's Nest because of its very unusual architecture, as you can see right there from that live picture. Some 90,000 spectators cheered as the Olympic torch, signifying the start of the most heavily scrutinized games in Olympic history.
Hosting the games for the first time, China has worked hard to put its best foot forward. But it hasn't always been easy. Critics of China's human rights policies have staged several small demonstrations.
And you can follow all of the Olympic action on cnn.com in a very special section called "Fan Zone." This unique site brings CNN's global resources right to your computer. Just go to cnn.com/fanzone.
LEMON: Want to get you now to a live picture. This is the arraignment of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, you can see it's being done by videotape there. The reason he's being arraigned, we're not -- this isn't to do with him apparently taking a trip to Canada. This is to do with him facing new felony charges of assaulting or obstructing a police officer in connection with an incident that happened about 15 days ago, I believe it was July 14th.
And so there he is in court. Obviously this arraignment being done by videotape. You see the prosecutors and of course the attorneys there to the right of the screen at the bottom. Two felony counts is what he is facing here. The maximum penalty for this, two years that he'd have to spend behind bars or possibly a fine of $2,000. So Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit, a very rocky time for him to say the very least.
We're going to move on now and talk about deadly flash floods in New Hampshire. And this unexpected mess in Las Vegas, heavy downpours caused problems on both ends of the country. We'll have the very latest for you.
KAYE: Two American troops who put their lives on the line, 1,000 thanks, we'll tell you about the end of a remarkable journey by a woman who wanted to show American men and women in uniform just how much they're appreciated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's talk some politics, shall we? On and off the trail. John McCain and Barack Obama are taking different paths today. McCain is campaigning in the heart of the Midwest. Just a short time ago, the Republican candidate took in the sights and sounds of the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. And Barack Obama isn't campaigning right now, though. Instead, he's heading to Hawaii for a week-long vacation.
The Democratic candidate spent his childhood in the 50th state. His sister and maternal grandmother still live there. Some Democrats are worried that Obama's vacation won't sit well with voters and he'll drop in the polls. So is it a good idea for him to be off the campaign trail for so long? Coming up in the 3:00 hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll talk about that with our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
KAYE: Leading our "Political Ticker," no more dancing around a touchy issue for Republican candidate John McCain. The senator's campaign says it has invited Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at the party's national convention. Earlier, there had been some talk that Cheney might not be invited. The vice president's office says it's likely he'll speak on the convention's first night, September 1st. But that hasn't been decided officially yet. For the Democrats, a similar touchy issue. Sources now say Bill Clinton will speak on the third night of the party's convention, which gets under way August 25th. The former president's appearance will come one day after Senator Hillary Clinton addresses the party faithful. And he'll speak the night as the vice presidential nominee.
There have been questions about Bill Clinton's support for Barack Obama, but Obama says the former president has been very supportive.
Check out our "Political Ticker" for all of the latest campaign news, just log on to cnnpolitics.com, your source for all things political.
LEMON: A Florida man is being held without bail after an alleged assassination threat against Barack Obama. According to police in court documents, Raymond Geisel was charged after he told classmates at a bail bondsmen training seminar, that he would kill Obama if he is elected. Geisel moved to Florida from Maine in January and authorities say a search of his vehicle and hotel room turned up a weapon, ammunition and other related items. Obama made several campaign stops in Florida last Friday, the day before federal agents arrested Geisel.
KAYE: Heavy rains spell tragedy in central New Hampshire, a 7- year-old girl dead after her family's car was swept downstream at a campground in Ashland. The flash floods also washed away roads and damaged homes and businesses in several towns.
In Las Vegas, getting home was a gamble when heavy rain turned roads into rivers. The rush hour downpour also led to hour-long delays at the airport.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: All right. Toddler Caylee Anthony, missing in Florida, police suddenly show an interest in her mother's closet.
Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman opens up to Larry King about the day he lost his 5-year-old daughter. How did the family cope after one of his older sons accidentally hit little Maria Sue with a car?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The family of Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman has gone through agony that most of us can only imagine. Last May the Chapman's 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue was killed in a horrible car accident. Her 16-year-old brother, Will, accidentally hit her in the driveway.
The family opened up to Larry King about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": How are you dealing with this? STEVE CURTIS CHAPMAN, FATHER OF MARIA SUE: Well, a day at a time. Sometimes intervals of about 15 minutes at a time.
KING: It never goes away, though?
S. CHAPMAN: Yes. Yes.
KING: How about you, Mary Beth?
MARY BETH CHAPMAN, MOTHER OF MARIA SUE: Yes. You know, I wake up in the morning and I ask God, you know what, give me the strength and the mercy that you promised to -- to let me make it through another day. And I do. And I am amazed at the strength of my husband and my family. And it is, at times, a minute -- a minute at a time.
KING: Your three older children are birth children and the younger ones are adopted, right?
S. CHAPMAN: Yes.
M. CHAPMAN: Yes, sir.
KING: Mary Sue was adopted?
S. CHAPMAN: Maria Sue.
M. CHAPMAN: Maria Sue.
KING: Maria Sue, from where?
S. CHAPMAN: She was adopted from China. All three of our daughters are all adopted from China.
KING: And you went over there to get her?
M. CHAPMAN: Yes. Well, for Maria, me, and Shaohannah, our oldest of the adopted.
KING: And she looked like an awfully jolly kid.
M. CHAPMAN: Oh.
S. CHAPMAN: Maria was cute. She the laughter of the Chapman home, for sure. And we -- that's been one of the hardest things about her not being here, you know, is the mornings are way too quiet. That's what we often say. It's probably some of the hardest times are the mornings, because it's so -- so quiet without her. She was definitely the laughter, as you can tell from those videos she...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, the Chapmans' son also talked about what he went through in the moments after realizing he had hit his sister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL CHAPMAN, MARIA SUE'S BROTHER: Right after the accident, I started just running, because I just didn't know what else to do. I just wanted to run and just be away -- as far away as the site of the accident as possible and just started running and was planning on just running as far as I could. And then Caleb, not too long after that, just kind of ran and tackled me and just kind of jumped on me and was -- and Shaoey was right there with my younger sister. And she was right there with him.
And it was just like you can't leave, you can't leave and just -- was just on top of me saying everything's going to be OK. We love you. You can't leave. And just -- it was just that -- that was super important.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Can't even imagine. Well, tune into Larry King tonight at 9:00 Eastern. His topic, power of the mind, how changing your mind can change your life.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LEMON: Bottoms up. Austin, Texas, yes, absolutely, the capital of the Lone Star State, has a new title, America's hardest drinking city. Is that a coveted title? Not sure about that. Forbes magazine crunched statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and has Austin beating out the beer city of Milwaukee. Rounding out the top five drink-tipping towns: San Francisco, Providence, Rhode Island, and Chicago. I'm not surprised by Chicago.
KAYE: You live in any of those cities?
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Chicago, there's like a bar on every corner. One reason given for Austin's top shelf rating, the city's sizable college-age population. Makes sense, right?
KAYE: Well, that makes a lot of sense.
LEMON: Yes.
KAYE: How do you say thank you to someone you've never even met? We'll meet a woman who let her feet do the talking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Nice picture there by Christiane Amanpour.
KAYE: Very nice.
LEMON: Yes, very nice.
Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KAYE: And I'm Randi Kaye in for Kyra Phillips.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good to see you, everyone. It's just after 1:30 here on the East coast. And here's some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The president of Georgia says his country is under attack by Russian tanks and planes. Russia and Georgia are at odds over a Georgian military offensive in the break away province of South Ossetia.
New trouble for Detroit mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick. Michigan's attorney general today filed assault charges stemming from a confrontation with a sheriff's deputy. Kilpatrick spent last night in jail after violating the terms of his bond in another case.
Opening statements now set for September 22nd in the trial of accused Atlanta courthouse shooter Brian Nichols. Nichols is accused of killing a judge and three other people during a 2005 shooting spree.
LEMON: All right. Back now to our developing news here in the CNN NEWSROOM. There were growing fears that violence could erupt in Georgia's break away region of South Ossetia. Those were realized today when a convoy of Russian forces rolled into the region. I spoke with Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili last hour and he had strong, strong words for Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: I clearly look at it as aggression and we are right now in self-defense. And, you know, look, frankly what's happening now, you can say he said, she said, this interpretation, that interpretation. It's 1956 when Russia and the Soviet Union invade in Hungary with tanks (ph). It's 1968 when they (INAUDIBLE) went into Czechoslovakia. It's 1979 Afghanistan. It's 1939 first time Russia told Finland they want part of its territory and when Finland refused --
LEMON: OK. I've got to ask you this because we're running out of satellite time, Mr. President. I hate to cut you off here, but what would you --
SAAKASHVILI: Old habits die hard, and I think --
LEMON: What would you say to Vladimir Putin?
SAAKASHVILI: Vladimir Putin knows very well that Georgia does not need and want trouble. He knows it. It's not about us explaining it to him. But Georgia can never give up its freedom, never can give up its democracy, never can give up its values, no matter what is the pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Now, we're talking about a very small part of the world here, but it is also very important for a lot of reasons. We want to get some insight now from Mark Brzezinski. He is a former member of the National Security Council.
Thank you very much for joining us. Of course they --
MARK BRZEZINSKI, FORMER NSC OFFICIAL: Thank you for having me.
LEMON: President Saakashvili has been asking for some international intervention in all of this. But I wanted you to tell our viewers why should the U.S. be concerned about this. This could escalate.
BRZEZINSKI: Well the U.S. should be concerned for several reasons. First of all, the U.S. Military has trainers in Georgia, we have over 100 military personnel that have been in Georgia for quite some time, training Georgia troops who are being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support our operations there. So in that sense, we have direct military personnel on the ground there and Georgia has been a close ally to us in our challenges elsewhere.
Second, Georgia has a major pipeline going through its middle. It's the famous Baku-Ceyhan pipeline that connects the Caspian Sea to Western Europe. And if Georgia is destabilized, so is that pipeline, so is the energy market in that part of the world.
LEMON: Russia has been saying that this is really mediation between the South Ossetians and Georgia. The president says no way, this is an attack. Do you agree that this is mediation in any way at all?
BRZEZINSKI: Well, the Russians have a funny way of conducting mediation, at least as we know the term, Don. No, this is an attack.
It is true, also, that both sides have put forward some provocations, and the question is, what's the best way forward? I think sending this to the United Nations is part of the answer, but not entirely the answer because, of course, Russia has a seat on the U.N. Security Council and will likely veto any resolution.
More importantly is for parties directly interested, for starters, the Americans, the Russians, and the Georgians, to sit down and talk. A good place where that could start is Beijing, actually, because both Prime Minister Putin and President Bush are there. And it's time for some talk at a very high level.
LEMON: Both the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders have spoken out about this, calling for an immediate cease fire, and President Bush, as well, at the Olympics, calling for a cease fire and calling for a calm and cooler minds.
What is the U.S.'s role in this? And if there is any, what might we do?
BRZEZINSKI: Well I think the U.S. role is to convey two points to both sides. First, there is no military solution to this trouble. I find it striking that Russian bombings have been occurring both in Ossetia, which is this brake away region in Georgia, and outside it, closer to Tblisi, where there are civilian populations.
And secondly, there has to be some kind of framework for dialogue between the Russians and Georgians on this. At this point, there is not, and that only exacerbates the problems between Russia and her neighbor, Georgia, and also other neighbors.
LEMON: Mark Brzezinski, thank you.
BRZEZINSKI: Thank you, Don.
KAYE: A possible U.S. surge for Afghanistan. CNN has learned the army is singling out combat units to help fill a need for some 10,000 additional troops. At the same time, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is reportedly ready to endorse an Afghan proposal to nearly double the size of the Afghan army at a cost of more than $10 billion. The U.S. could seek contributions to help defray that cost.
LEMON: We're talking about a double disaster in the Czech Republic. A bridge under construction collapses into the path of a passenger train. The Czech news agency tells us at least six people were killed and 41 injured when the train from Poland derailed. The train was traveling to Prague. Many of the passengers were headed to an Iron Maiden concert.
KAYE: Caylee Anthony turns 3-years-old tomorrow. Her family holds out hope she'll be home to celebrate. In the meantime, her mother, who waited five weeks to report her missing, remains in jail. And her grandparents' home has been turned upside down by investigators.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): The home on Hope Spring Drive was swarmed by cameras, the curious and crime scene investigators who for a second straight day left carrying evidence they hope may lead them to this missing toddler. The lead detective in the hunt for Caylee Anthony also paid another visit. He said he was asked to by Cindy, Caylee's grandmother.
SERGEANT JOHN ALLEN, ORANGE CO., FLORIDA SHERIFF'S DEPT.: There were some things that would be important to us and asked us to come out and meet with her and pick that stuff up and talk with her.
KAYE: What they picked up was evidence obtained with this search warrant. The items belonged to Caylee's mother, Casey, and were taken from a closet in her bedroom: three pairs of pants, six shirts in various sizes, and two skirts.
(on camera): Police hope the evidence from the house will provide some clues. They are already testing DNA from a stain in Casey's car. Local media say the family has also turned over Casey's cell phone records. Investigators are looking for any contact she may have had with the babysitter she claims she left Caylee with on June 9th.
(voice-over): Casey has been jailed on charges of child neglect and filing a false police report since mid-July. Until recently, her family suspected she was lying. This was what her mother said in a 911 call on July 15th.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF CINDY ANTHONY, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING TODDLER: I told you my daughter was missing for a month. I just found her today, but I can't find my granddaughter. She just admitted to me that she's been trying to find her herself. There's something wrong. I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Casey initially said she did not know where her daughter was. Now she says she knows Caylee is alive and could be in harm's way.
In a case full of surprising developments, one reporter in Florida tells CNN Casey may have even posed as her daughter's babysitter. One day after Caylee was last seen alive, her mom reportedly used the babysitter's name to look at an apartment. The same apartment where she told police the babysitter lived. That apartment, police say, had been vacant for six months.
Police have evidence. They have more than 1,000 tips. But are they getting any closer to solving the mystery of Caylee Anthony's disappearance?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: It's a really tough story getting a lot of attention. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" has been closely following this story, and asking for your thoughts. And here are some of them from the "360" blog in response to our coverage.
Annie from Birmingham, Alabama wrote: "With all the lies and how much time has gone by, I'm afraid Caylee is close -- close in a shallowly dug grave in a field or a forest. I sincerely hope I'm wrong and the child is OK."
LEMON: Everyone hopes they are wrong as well.
Here's what Tammy from Berwick, Louisiana had to say about Caylee's mother: "I think she manipulated and continues to manipulate her relatives and friends into believing her story. As humans we believe what we want about those we love. It protects us from the pain of reality. This case is just so bad (sic) for those involved on so many levels."
KAYE: And one more from Janna who wrote: "Actually, I'm very surprised to hear the willingness of the majority of the 360 blog posters to jump to the worst conclusions. To all of you who are saying Casey is horrible for being calm and is guilty because of all the lies, I hope you never end up an important jury. An open mind is fair one. I'm playing devil's advocate because I'd love to believe that the sweet child is alive and well cared for. Until there is real evidence, anything is possible!"
And I was live blogging during "ANDERSON COOPER 360" last night and it was amazing all of the attention and all of the bloggers who were online with us. It has -- such an interest for so many people.
LEMON: Well you're talking about a child. Everyone hopes, you know, the child is OK and is alive. But the longer you don't hear from the child, the interest grows and the mother, you know --
KAYE: The story keeps changing with the mom and it's just very confusing. So if you do want to post your thoughts, we welcome that. Go to CNN.com/ac360.
LEMON: $50,000 bond for the Houston woman accused of kidnapping five children she's been caring for after Hurricane Katrina. Rhonda Tavey's attorney says his client believes she did the right thing by taking the children away from their mother and fleeing to the Dallas area. All were found OK yesterday and the children were taken into protective custody.
Tavey took the family in three years ago when they fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Now, recently Tavey accused the mother of mistreating the children. The mother denies that. Investigators are looking into it.
KAYE: It is no laughing matter -- comedian Bernie Mac's 20-year battle against a potentially fatal disease.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have some health news for you. The 17th annual International AIDS Conference has wrapped up in Mexico City with researchers saying they could be one step closer to a potential vaccine against the deadly disease. Now, the "Washington Post" reports the focus is turning to specific antibodies found in some long-term HIV survivors that apparently inhibit the disease from progressing. Researchers believe if they could somehow prompt the body's immune system to produce the antibodies in question, they'd have a vaccine.
KAYE: A spokesperson for Bernie Mac says the 50-year-old actor and comedian is in stable condition and responding well to treatment for pneumonia in a Chicago hospital. Many wonder if Mac's pneumonia is related to his prior health problems. CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with much more on that.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a disease, Randi, that doesn't get a lot of attention. You don't hear the word sarcoidosis everyday, do you?
KAYE: No. COHEN: But it's a really important disease to talk about because it does affect people such as Bernie Mac. In a nutshell what happens in sarcoidosis is that an immune response, which is normal, which is good to have, kind of goes awry and creates these clumps that you see right here. And those clumps can get so big that they interfere with an organ's functioning, for example, the functioning of a lung, and leave someone vulnerable to getting a disease like pneumonia, which is what has put Bernie Mac in the hospital.
Now for some people, this disease goes away quickly. For other people, it can last a lifetime. And symptoms include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, fever, and weight loss.
KAYE: So how do you get it? Obviously you know the symptoms, but how do you -- where does it come from?
COHEN: Some people are genetically predisposed to getting this. Some people are just more vulnerable to getting it in the first place. And then on top of that, some people have exposures to tree pollen or insecticides or moldy environments that kind of trigger it to happen. And this disease can impact the lungs, the lymph nodes, the eyes, the skin, lots of different parts of the body.
KAYE: And are some people more prone to getting it than others?
COHEN: Yes, they definitely are. There have been studies on that because they were kind of wondering, are some people getting this more than others? And turns out that African-Americans do get sarcoidosis get it more than other people do. Black women actually get it more than black men do. It usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 40. But, again, you might get it at that age and then it can last, unfortunately, a lifetime.
KAYE: And it can be potentially fatal.
COHEN: It can be potentially fatal. It all depends how well controlled it is and how -- basically how bad a case you have of it.
KAYE: Right. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
LEMON: Well this woman, not these two women, this woman says she is slightly crazy, but in a really good way.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: We'll tell you why she walked across the country.
KAYE: Fire, courage, and luck. The recipe for an instant hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK JONES, RESCUED NEIGHBORS: So I just yelled even louder, fire, fire, fire, get out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Conquering fear to save a life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A journey that began two-and-a-half months and 2,700 miles ago ended today. CNN's Brianna Keilar has the story of a 35- year-old woman who walked across the country just to say thanks 1,000 times.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEELA CARR, WALKED 2700 MILES: I came to tell you thank you.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On May 26th, far from her home in Florida, Keela Carr set off from Barstow, California and walked across the United States on a personal mission to honor American troops.
CARR: It blows my mind that some young man somewhere in the twinkling of an eye is forever changed when an IED goes off. And young men and young women are doing it every day. And I may benefit from it. How could I sit someplace? How dare I bake a cookie and say, thanks for your legs? Thanks for your sanity. It's worth a cookie to me. It was worth more than that to me.
KEILAR: It was worth selling all of her belongings to fund what Keela calls her journey of 1,000 thanks -- 2,700 miles, one foot in front of the other, an estimated 5.5 million steps.
CARR: I'm slightly crazy, but in a really good way.
KEILAR: Keela walked through the Southwest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start of day two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she's got a couple of good blisters on her heel.
KEILAR: And across the continental divide. Stopping along the way to personally thank American service members. More than 70 days later, when Keela arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit troops in Washington, D.C. this week, she was overwhelmed to be near the end of her trip.
CARR: Yesterday, I had a little moment. I just kind of dropped down in the grass. I was really glad to be there. This really -- this means everything to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That report from CNN's Brianna Keilar.
Now this video -- we just got into CNN. This is the final leg of Keela Carr's journey. That's her in the front of the -- green army you see standing right there, with her back to us. This is a nine- mile walk to Arlington National Cemetery this morning where she will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns later today. KAYE: Conquering your fears to save someone's life. A Missouri man did just that. Mark Jones, survived a fire 10 years ago and knew how deadly smoke can be. But when he saw his neighbor's house on fire, he refused to let his nerves get the best of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I heard something pop, and I looked across the start and I just seen a puff of smoke. So I just thought, well, maybe they are barbecuing. And then I seen a real big puff of smoke, and that's when I said, well maybe I better go check it out. I started banging on the window. Nobody would come. So I banged on the door and I just hit it real hard and the door popped open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: ... fears all right. Jones entered the house and yelled for his neighbors to get out. They were sleeping, but heard Jones and got out just in time. Firefighters were able to save a few rooms in the house and prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes. Officials believe the blaze was triggered by some bad electrical wiring.
Is a North Carolina high school haunted? Well, we'll show you the pictures so you can judge for yourself.
But first, the candidates said it was going to be a gentleman's race. But recent negative ads may tell a different story. In this week's "Election Express Yourself," CNN's Richard Lui asked voters their thoughts on political mudslinging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Richard Lui. Today we're talking about negative campaign tactics. Dirty words are part of the game? We're asking you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to see more ads just focused purely on the issues and the differences between the two candidates on the issues. I think the personal attacks are a little childish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's starting to anger me. It's really becoming -- I think the American people deserve better than that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're hilarious to watch. I just hope that people see them as a joke, because they seem like a joke to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's supposed to be about the issues. And to me, it's more about who's going to one up the other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, that's part of the fun. To me -- politics is a game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have hope in America that we're going to still play along with the process and vote on the issues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Truthfully, I don't think they've gotten that bad just yet. I think they've got a lot to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: From sexiest man in the world to proud new papa, actor Matthew McConaughey has been a dad for just exactly one month. He talked with our Sanjay Gupta about the birth of his son, Levi, from his long-term girlfriend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Did you guys have a plan ahead of time? Was she going to get an epidural, was she going to get pain meds? How did that all go?
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: We did have a plan. It didn't happen.
GUPTA: Sometimes best laid plains.
MCCONAUGHEY: Yes. We had a plan. We had an ideal that we said, let's go in and do it as natural as possible.
GUPTA: Was it frightening for you when you're hearing all this going on? Her pulse is dropping, and they say C-section. What's going through your mind?
MCCONAUGHEY: You see a woman going -- just really digging deep into her soul and bearing pain and being on top of it. You see a strength come out of a woman that you've never seen before, and I saw a strength come out of her that I'd never seen before.
And then the baby comes out, and his eyes were wide open. He was crying, glad to see the day. And then she was sewed up. And that's all been fine in post (ph).
GUPTA: So no regrets about the way that it went?
MCCONAUGHEY: Absolutely not. It went down perfectly. And even though it -- we went 60 hours to do what could have been done in a few hours. It was it was a great journey, and for both of us. And her and I now are going through something that -- we call it the best dance we have ever had. We've gone through something that we're like, I know and you know, and only you and I know. And that's good for us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: More on McConaughey's surprising new role on "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can catch it tomorrow and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, 5:30 Pacific.
Well everyone knows high school can be a scary place, but get a load of this video from a surveillance camera at Asheville High School in North Carolina. Yes, you see it there. Just before 3:00 a.m., a mysterious moving shadow. Some say it's in the shape of a child. Is it a ghost? Maybe the ghost of some long ago student? A school spokesman won't say it is, but he won't say it isn't either.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
