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Teenage Pirate?; Craigslist Killer Arrested?; Beauty Contestant Remarks on Same-Sex Marriage Are Under Debate

Aired April 21, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The gunfight with no end in sight -- when land reform turns bloody, as the rich and poor square off. We will tell you where.

Did this reporter ask for it? Did he deserve to get arrested?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands off the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands off the truck.

SANCHEZ: Who is this suspected pirate arriving for court? A family spokesman joins me amid the fray.

This young woman offered a massage, and was murdered instead, police say, by the suspected craigslist killer. We have got new information.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple of my friends were in his class, and that he seemed normal. But I guess they always do.

SANCHEZ: Your national conversation begins right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez, with the next generation of news. It's a conversation. It is not a speech. And it's your turn to get involved.

As we begin this newscast, this young man that you're seeing right there, this accused pirate who may have taken an American captive hostage and threatened to kill him, is having his first taste of American justice. He's only a teenager, at least as far as we know.

He's from Somalia. Look at that smile. It makes you wonder if he realizes where he is and what he's actually facing at this point? That is the face of the first piracy trial, by the way, in the United States since long before -- get this -- the Declaration of Independence.

We have a lot of guests to fill us in on this bizarre case, and you. But listen, first of all, to CNN's legal analyst trying to lay out some of the challenges about this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: You have piracy charged for the first time in many, many decades. You have a very young defendant. You have someone who doesn't speak any English at all. You have someone who's never been to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, let's try and get right to it.

Ashleigh Banfield is going to be joining us. She's the host of "In Session." Omar Jamal, you have seen him on our show before. He's going to be joining us as well. He's with that Minnesota group that helps Somalis in the United States. And there he is. Knows a lot about this young man, knows a lot about the family, knows a lot about the case.

Before we do anything else, though, I want to go to you. That's right, you, the viewer, because, interestingly enough -- Ashleigh, I want to get your response to this, and maybe you as well, Jamal -- look at the comments that we have been getting in just the last half- hour since I have been talking to some of the folks on Twitter about this.

GenCobra says: "This young Somali pirate is getting just what he wants, four hots and a cot for free. What else -- why else would his smile be so smug?"

And then we got another one that seemed to reflect the same opinion right after this. Let's see. I put it right there. No, I guess I lost it. All right, we will go on to the next one.

Let's do this.

Ashleigh Banfield, again, given what's going on in this case, I am trying to wonder why we have jurisdiction. Should we?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, TRUTV ANCHOR: That's a great question.

Actually, our Constitution gives us that right. And, in fact, I looked it up. It's Article 1, Section 8, Clause 10, in case you were wondering. And it actually gives us the right to define and punish piracy on the high seas.

Actually, Kenya has agreed to do most of the prosecutions around the Horn of Africa, but it's thought that since this was an attack on an armed -- or at least on a -- well, it was a standoff with one of our armed forces, that that gives us the jurisdiction.

I'm going to tell you right now, I have already heard from a New York attorney who's putting together a legal team in hopes of defending this young man that he may not even be allowed to be here under the truce in warfare.

There are a lot of maritime issues here that I think everyone's going to learn a lot about in the days to come. Maritime law is its whole own body of law. And there are experts just in maritime law. So, we may start finding out whether we have jurisdiction or whether he was actually under truce because he was negotiating on board the Bainbridge.

SANCHEZ: Yes, but you know what this case seems to come down to? It is going to come down to what that crew says about this kid, if he is a kid, or what Captain Phillips says about him. After all, those are the only folks who were actually there and saw what went on.

If they say, Ashleigh, actually, you know what, he wasn't as bad as the other guys and actually cooperated with us, he is probably going to be OK. But if they say, no, this guy was the worst of the bunch, he's not going to be OK.

Doesn't it come back down to their testimony?

BANFIELD: It comes down to testimony. It comes down to evidence.

And from what I have heard so far, there's been a fair bit of evidence in this case that's been gathered and we're going to hear a lot about that obviously down the road. But the reality is, look, if he's a kid, federal law doesn't really prosecute a lot of juveniles. So, we have got to establish right off the bat if he's 16 or if he's 18.

His parents say he's 16. Apparently, we're at the point of deciding that he's 18. So, right away, we need to deal with his age. And then we need to deal whether he was acting under duress. His parents say that he was lured by these older, stronger, tougher pirates to come on board and that he really wasn't savvy about what their mission was going to be. That all comes into it.

SANCHEZ: Jamal, let me bring you into this conversation. You certainly know a lot about this community. I understand that you have been in contact with the family. What can you report to us?

OMAR JAMAL, SOMALI JUSTICE ADVOCACY CENTER: Well, thanks, Rick.

First of all, I think this is one of the most confusing cases we have ever seen. And I heard the young lady saying that Kenya has an agreement with the U.S. to prosecute pirates in that part of the world.

It just doesn't make any sense. Why would Kenya prosecute citizens of an adjacent country? This is exactly making mockery out of the international law.

This young kid, he's 16 years old. We don't know much about what's going on. We -- I just talked to a fellow, Weinstein (ph), who is the public defender assigned to this case. They just started digging the case and what's going on. They just had the first time to talk to their client.

So, I think we're putting the cart in front of the horse. He's 16 years old. He's a juvenile. I talked to his father. His father told me over the phone that his son is 16 years old. He's a kid. He doesn't know what he was getting into. As you see when he was getting off the plane, he was smiling.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Why is he smiling? Why is he smiling?

JAMAL: Because he's completely oblivious what he's getting into.

SANCHEZ: Really?

JAMAL: The guy doesn't -- he doesn't speak English. And you're talking about a teenager caught in the highest level of the judicial system in a country where he has no clue even existed.

He came from a country where there's no law. There's no government in Somalia. By the way, we have a Puntland administration in that region. U.S. has before turned pirates over to the administration. So did the French.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

JAMAL: So, why U.S. are not cooperating and turning pirates to that administration, instead of going to Kenya?

SANCHEZ: That's an interesting question, one we're going to be following.

As a matter of fact, this arraignment is taking place as we speak. You have that breaking news banner in front of you there, because the story is happening as we're speaking about it.

There are no cameras in the courtroom, as we understand. So, obviously, as information filters out from our CNN correspondents there, we are going to be bringing it to you.

There is the picture now of the courthouse where he was brought in to, I understand, moments ago. As we get information being filtered out, we're going to be sharing it with you. Hopefully, we will be able to keep our guests in case there's a turnaround on this stuff.

My thanks to both of you.

Take a look at this. It's a classic battle between rich and poor, the landless vs. the landowners. You're going to see this play out.

Also, he's being described by some as a psycho, an accused killer. But he's a Boston U. medical student. And there's new information about him now. That is next. Also, you know the Miss USA contestant that was asked about same- sex marriage? You know who asked the question? Perez Hilton. Yesterday, he had said he was going to join us, but President Obama got in the way. So, today, he is going to join us. He's coming up in just a little bit. Stay with us.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Rick, this is Terri (ph) from Austin.

I think Miss California is a great role model for young girls. She doesn't want to compromise whatever her opinion is. Perez Hilton, on the other hand, has set himself back a bit by using comments about her that weren't correct. I stand by her, regardless of her opinion. I think she's a great role model.

Thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. We call this a national conversation because we like to involve you. And it's interesting how we get different reactions from different people on different sites.

For example, let's go over here to MySpace. And I will show you the reaction we just got moments ago from this person who's watching us.

She says: "This is a very sad situation," talking about the pirate situation. "This is just a kid who got caught up in the quick money situation in his country."

Now flip it around over to Twitter and listen to how different this response is, same story, different react. "So, how much is this trial going to cost the taxpayers? How many FBI agents does it take to escort this punk to jail?" Hmm.

Two different takes, and we thank you for both.

This is the number-one most watched story on CNN.com, this one right now. It's a crime story. But here's what makes this case so different. The suspect is a clean-cut-looking medical student with what certainly would have been a super bright future, right? That's the guy, right there.

His name is Philip Markoff, entering a no plea and being held with no bail today in Boston. He's accused of stalking and murdering a woman that he allegedly contacted on craigslist, maybe two women. Police say he used his computer and craigslist to discretely meet at least two female victims, allegedly kidnapping and robbing one, allegedly killing another.

Markoff was picked up yesterday in Boston. Watch this. It's the police commissioner announcing that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Today, we're here to announce the arrest of Philip Markoff, 22, of Quincy. He's been charged with the murder of 26-year-old Julissa Brisman at the Copley Marriott hotel on April 14, 2009. And the armed robbery and kidnapping of an additional victim on April 10, 2009, at the Westin Hotel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What a story. Everybody seems to be glued to this thing.

I have got truTV's Ashleigh Banfield here to help us try and peel this one apart.

But, first, Ash, let's do this. You and I, let's watch this report with some of the facts in it, so our viewers can get caught up.

The report's filed by Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the man police say has been stalking women on the popular Internet bulletin board craigslist. And now, detectives say, they know his name. He's 22-year-old Philip Markoff from Quincy, Massachusetts.

DAN CONLEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Our top priority is holding Philip Markoff accountable. He's a predator.

KAYE: A predator because they say he attacked at least two women, killing one of them. All of them had advertised erotic services on craigslist. Markoff is a premed student at Boston University. Police say he's been under surveillance and was picked up on Route 95 just south of Boston.

Tonight, he's charged with murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping. He will be in court Tuesday and has not yet entered a plea. Police say Markoff fatally shot 26-year-old Julissa Brisman, who had advertised massages on craigslist. She was found dead last Tuesday at a Boston Marriott.

Police suspect it was an attempted robbery and that she struggled with Markoff.

CONLEY: In the hours to come, they will execute a search warrant to develop more evidence in this case. They have not rested, and they will not rest until Julissa Brisman's killer has been held to answer for his crimes.

KAYE: Four days before Brisman's death, another woman was robbed at a gunpoint at a Westin Hotel in Boston. Investigators say that was Markoff, too. Police say both women had offered erotic massages. (on camera): Boston police are working with investigators in Rhode Island to determine if these photos just released are also Philip Markoff. The suspect here is making his way through the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island. That's where police say he tied up a woman who had advertised lap dances on craigslist. Detectives say he had a gun, but fled before he could rob his victim.

(voice-over): Boston authorities say they received more than 150 tips. Investigators consulted computer crime experts and connected computer I.P. addresses to physical locations. Police fear there could be more victims out there. They're asking anyone who was robbed or hurt after advertising on craigslist to come forward.

ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Someone that clearly is -- is preying on people who -- who are in a vulnerable position, and someone that is committing a very, very serious crime that clearly has led to violent acts, in our estimation. So, we are very, very happy to have this man off the street in such a timely way.

KAYE: Off the street, but investigators still have few answers. They still don't know why a 22-year-old college student without any criminal record would suddenly stalk and kill.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Yes, not just a college student, a medical school student, successful guy, obviously a smart guy.

But it looks like, Ashleigh, that police must have some goods on this guy, or else they wouldn't be releasing all this information.

BANFIELD: I think they have a lot of goods. And they have a lot to go on, too, those plastic hand restraints that apparently link all three of these crimes, the e-mails, the accounts apparently that link the crimes, the video, the tips.

There's a lot here. And you don't just go and put someone behind bars and you don't give them an opportunity for bail and charge them with first-degree murder if you don't have something strong.

But you know what, Rick? They're waiting. They're not charging and indicting him on the other crimes yet. They're building those cases. They just wanted to get him off the street. So, clearly, they said, we have a dangerous guy.

SANCHEZ: How creepy might this guy end up being, if all this information comes in on the police and they are able to make a case against him? Some of this stuff is weird.

BANFIELD: How about this? You are not kidding. And they are asking for other people who think that they may have been victimized after their craigslist encounters to come forward. They think there are more victims out there. SANCHEZ: Wow. Ashleigh Banfield joining us with a story that really the whole of the country seems to be following, part of it because of the association with the Internet and craigslist and the fact that this kid is who he is.

Ashleigh, my thanks to you.

BANFIELD: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ HILTON, CELEBRITY BLOGGER: I could tell by the look on her face that she knew she had lost because of that answer, because it was...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Perez Hilton asked that question, made the judgment, and now joins me live to talk about it.

And have you ever seen anything like this that wasn't in a movie? You will. You're going to see it right here on this program. I will bring it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This is unbelievable. I mean, what I'm about to show you is going to make it impossible for you to take your eyes off the screen as you watch it. It's a shoot-out, like something out of a movie. But this is going to be very real, as you see it.

It's also important for you to understand what this shoot-out is really about. This is the classic argument, the argument between the haves and the haves-not. Ask yourself these questions as you watch these activists for land reform in Brazil challenge some rich ranchers: One, should you be able to take something away from someone simply because you think that they have too much? Two, when is enough enough?

Isn't that amazing? Sometimes, you don't even have to understand the reporter to be able to see what is actually going on with the pictures that are that good. That was Brazilian, obviously, because it's a story from -- or pardon me -- Portuguese, obviously, because it's a story from Brazil.

Now, according to the Landless Workers Movement Web site -- I went and checked on it after I watched this story -- less than 2 percent -- think of this number -- less than 2 percent of the population of Brazil controls almost half of all the land in the entire country. So, 2 percent of the people control 50 percent of the land. That's at essence what this argument was about.

For more details about this story, by the way, the specifics, and the struggle for land reform in Brazil, you can go to my blog. It's at CNN/ricksanchez.com. It's all there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands off the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your hands off the truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick (ph), I'm not doing anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Must be doing something. Did the officer push too far, or did the reporter fight back too much? You watch. You decide.

Also, the blue tarps tell this story. It's the mystery of the 21 dead polo horses. See them? We're getting new information on this story.

And then Miss California stumped by a question from Perez Hilton. Did he cost her the crown? He's going to be here, and I'm going to ask him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CHELSEA LATELY")

CHELSEA HANDLER, HOST, "CHELSEA LATELY": Why do you even ask these girls questions? They're always so stupid. I mean, seriously, why do we -- just look pretty, wear your bathing suit, and put your sash on, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

HANDLER: You can't wear a sash and then say you're against gays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Ouch. That's Chelsea Handler, by the way. She and almost every other late-night comic are jumping all over this story. And who could possibly blame them, right?

This is about a tall, leggy, beautiful blonde woman who sounds, well, not so articulate, right? We could come to agreement on that. But jokes aside, this story does have some serious fallout. First question, did the man that you're going to be hearing from here cost Miss California -- oh, he's there. We got him. I thought we were only going to hear him, but not see him.

But through the magic of Skype, I guess we got him.

Did he cost her the Miss USA crown? And before you answer, before you answer, let me show the question that he asked and the answer that she gave in Sunday's pageant. Here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILTON: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

HILTON: Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?

CARRIE PREJEAN, MISS CALIFORNIA: Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other.

We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what? In my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be, between a man and a woman. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Carrie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Whoa, your expression was speaking volumes there at the end.

Perez Hilton is a celebrity blogger. And he was a judge at the Miss USA Pageant. You saw him right there asking the question. And he's good enough to join to us now talk to us about it.

Hey, thanks for being with us.

HILTON: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: Hey, did you cost her the crown, or not maybe you, but your question? Did it cost her the crown?

HILTON: Her answer to the question is what cost her the crown.

But it wasn't guaranteed hers. You know, she was definitely one of the front-runners. But Miss North Carolina, who won, was doing well throughout the evening. And much congratulations must be given to her. Unfortunately, her win seems to have been overshadowed by all of this controversy.

SANCHEZ: What bothered you about her response? Was it her inarticulateness, or was it what she was trying to express? And if she had expressed opposition to what you believe articulately, would you have, then, perhaps not knocked her for it?

HILTON: Absolutely, Rick.

I believe that it's absolutely her choice to disagree with me. She thinks that gays and lesbians are not entitled to equal rights in America. And that is her choice. That's her right. However, I think that Miss USA should be inclusive. And her answer should not alienate anyone. The answer that Miss California gave instantly was decisive and turned me off, plus countless of millions, gay, lesbians, supporters, family, friends, and relatives.

SANCHEZ: You -- you -- actually, after this, you went on your blog and you said some things that you later regretted, by the way. And, to be fair, you apologized for them.

Let's go ahead and let the viewers take a listen. I'm sure it's already all about viral anyway. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILTON: She lost not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage. Miss California lost because she's a dumb (EXPLETIVE DELETED) OK? She gave an awful, awful answer, which alienated so many people.

I'm so disappointed in Miss California representing my country, not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage, but because she doesn't inspire and she doesn't unite. And that's what a Miss California and a Miss USA should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You were, like, really angry there and you said some stuff that you probably wish you hadn't said. Why?

HILTON: Oh, actually, I don't take it back anymore.

SANCHEZ: Oh, really?

HILTON: I take back my apology.

(LAUGHTER)

HILTON: You know what, Rick?

I'm not a representative of the gay community, in the same way that being Cuban, I'm not representative of the Latino community.

I just speak for myself. And I'm Perez Hilton, Rick Sanchez. I can be offensive. I don't have to be politically correct. I can call her the B-word. She, on the other hand, was one of the finalists to be Miss USA. And she had to know that all of the words she was going to say could be used against her or it could be in her favor.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you...

HILTON: It's a competition.

SANCHEZ: Let me -- let me ask you a question, as I hear you talking about this, because I was thinking about this as I was watching the -- the -- the tape and you asking the question. Was it fair that she got such a -- a wedgy question, the kind of question that's hard to answer, perhaps more so than other questions that other contestants may have gotten?

HILTON: It was absolutely fair. In fact, other contestants like Miss Vermont have spoken on this situation and said that it was a fair question. The point is to ask difficult questions and see how the next Miss USA will answer under pressure and with grace.

SANCHEZ: Does it bother you that there's a certain feel out there that this thing's kind of flipping back toward her now? There's a lot of people out there, I've been reading on twitter and on myface and facebook, a lot of people are saying, you know what, give the gal a break, at least she tried to being honest. So what if she was inarticulate. She was trying to say what she believes.

HILTON: To them I would say do you want a Miss USA that is offensive or politically insensitive? No. I don't.

SANCHEZ: Perez Hilton. Thanks so much for joining us. And thanks for --

HILTON: My pleasure, my pleasure, hometown Miamian.

SANCHEZ: All right man. I appreciate it. We'll hook up again. We'll talk. Thanks so much.

By the way, we've got some breaking news that we're following right now. We told you at the beginning of the newscast that we would follow this development having to do with the pirates finally -- pirate, I should say, singular -- finally being arraigned. Our Deborah Feyerick has been following the story for us. She was able to join us at the beginning of the newscast because she actually had to go inside the courtroom. Now she's available to us. Fill us in, if you would Deb. What did you learn?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A really interesting development just now inside that courtroom. The court was sealed. All the reporters were kicked out. After about a 20 minute hearing, the big question right now under consideration by the judge is this alleged Somali pirate, in fact, a juvenile. Because if he is, the judge said that by law, this entire proceeding will be closed regardless of the fact that the U.S. Attorney wants to try this man as an adult.

Now, the attorney for the alleged pirate, the Federal public defender, said he has spoken to the young man's father, that, in fact, the man was born in 1993 and that there was other evidence to support that. Prosecutors said they had other information, which would contradict that, including statements that he may have made when he was taken on board that U.S. Naval vessel. Of course, we did not hear what he said during that time. We heard sort of bits and pieces. It was really quite fascinating, the judge trying to accommodate the first amendment right for the press to hear exactly what was going on, but also balance the need to make sure that if this boy is a juvenile, that, in fact, he is protected.

Now, the courtroom was packed, standing room only. They started the proceeding and I was sitting just behind him. He appeared very, very emotional. In fact, he took his hand and he was sort of wiping his face and his attorney asked for a moment, called over the Somali interpreter so that they could kind of help them catch his breath.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

FEYERICK: He stood twice, raised his hand when he said he understood the financial affidavit, meaning that he doesn't have any money. He said, yes, it is true I don't have any money and that's why he was appointed that court lawyer. And he just -- you know, just looking at him in this courtroom, filled with attorneys and FBI agents and members of the press, just --

SANCHEZ: Bewilderment.

FEYERICK: Just sitting there.

SANCHEZ: Sounds like bewilderment on his part. By the way, something strikes me about this story. Everyone seems to be making a big deal about the fact that he may be 16, 17 years old. People in this country are tried as adults for felonious acts all the time. Why is this so different?

FEYERICK: It wouldn't be so different except for the fact that as members of the press, our ability to sort of cover this and tell you what's going on, if in fact he is a juvenile, we will have absolutely no access. So that is under consideration right now. If he's tried as an adult though, that's a little bit different. The government says they want to try him as an adult but the judge has to determine whether in fact what his real age is.

SANCHEZ: This is interesting. So little known about such an important case and Deb Feyerick is there following it for us. Thanks for hustling out to get us that information, Deb. Always appreciate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Do you want me to arrest you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Do you want me to arrest? Then you get in your truck and you move. I don't care. I'm telling you something. I'm giving you an order. You know what --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And when a cop gives you an order, you better understand it and abide. Sometimes you just got to be there, though or have really good video to understand this type of thing.

Also, the dead giveaway comes in a red blur! There it goes. You see it one more time? We're going to tell you what that red blur! Is. Have you figured it out yet? You will.

And guess who's now featured at the national museum of news in DC, you, me, and about 99,000 of our closest friends. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right. Watch this video and then make up your own puns, like caught red-handed, for example or maybe red in the face. Check it out. Whoa! What was that? Here's a hint. It's not the flash. It's a red dye pack exploding on the suspected bank robber as he tried to make off with a bag of cash in Orlando, Florida. Police say a nearby UPS truck driver helped direct them to the man's location, interestingly enough. He's been arrested and he's been charged with robbery. And now you can bet he's pretty blue. Ha! Sorry. Absolutely could not help myself with that one.

Staying in Florida, if we can. There are developments in that bizarre mystery surrounding the deaths of 21 horses that we've been telling you about, the polo horses literally dropping dead at a polo club just before a championship match. Now, what killed them? Many want to know. We're now learning that state and local authorities in Florida are launching a criminal investigation. They're trying to find out whether it was a drug injected into them perhaps or a poison that killed them and whether it was given to them on purpose. That's key. Here is CNN's John Zarella.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amarita (ph) died not long after these pictures were taken. Veterinarians couldn't save her. The horse, one of nearly two dozen all from one team (INAUDIBLE), that suddenly and mysteriously began dying just before a match Sunday afternoon. Equine veterinarians including one who tried saving the animals suspect a drug reaction or toxin killed the horses.

DR. SCOTT SWERDLIN, PALM BEACH EQUINE CLINIC: This was a mistake of a combination of something. And whether the mistake was at the barn, whether the mistake was at the feed company, whether the mistake was at the vitamin company, we don't know. But we're going to find out.

ZARRELLA: Nothing has yet been ruled out. The events at the international polo club in Wellington were unlike the world of polo had ever witnessed.

LUIS ESCOBAR, POLO PLAYER: Nothing more difficult, nothing. There's no words to explain it.

ZARRELLA: Luis Escobar played for the opposing team.

ESCOBAR: I thought it was something temporarily and I saw a vet out there, I thought maybe it was one or two horses. I thought the vet was going to give something to help them out and it was going to be done. But it wasn't.

ZARRELLA: It just got worse.

ESCOBAR: It got worse, yeah. And the other horses started getting the same reaction.

ZARRELLA: Polo club officials say the horses began to exhibit signs of distress as soon as they were off-loaded from the trailers right here in this area. Immediately veterinarians, more than a dozen came in and began to cool the horses down with cold water and some were even given intravenous drips. Tarps were put up blocking from the spectators the view of the frantic efforts.

JOHN WASH, INTL. POLO CLUB PALM BEACH: It was chaotic, but I will tell you in a public interest sense, to see the community come together, people just working in tandem with one another, with the vets, trying to help these animals and find out what was going on.

ZARRELLA: Seven of the horses died here on the grounds. The others passed within hours. The gate through the Lachusa Caracas (ph) stables in Wellington were closed Monday. Outside, the tragedy marked with flowers, left by well-wishers. John Zarella, CNN, Wellington, Florida.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Hands on the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Get your hands off the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick (ph), I'm not doing anything. I'm not doing anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Should this reporter have been arrested or did he go too far? It was caught on video, so you will have a chance to decide for yourself. You're going to see it.

Also, did you realize so many of you are being featured in the museum of news in Washington, DC? This is pretty cool, actually. I'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN. Let's do a quick tweet if we possibly can. Robert. Why am I talking so fast? Let's go to twitter. Princeariel says are we forgetting that these guys are pirates? Shoot them on the spot like in the old days! A lot of stern reaction so far on that pirate story that we've been bringing you and this.

As a copy reporter for many, many years, I can tell you that they can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Oh, yeah, I have been on both sides of this (INAUDIBLE) with police officers and confrontations and what I've learned over the years is this. There's a reason a police scene is called a police scene -- emphasis on police. Here's a reporter in Texas trying to interview witnesses to a traffic accident when he comes across an officer who doesn't want him to do that. Here now a case study on conflict escalation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAL:E We need to talk to this guy real, really quick.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Negative, sir. You will get in your truck and move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing our job.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: You pressed that trigger, boy. Get in your truck and move. Get in your truck and move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He can shoot if he wants to. Geez.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: You want me to arrest you, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Do you want me to arrest you? Then you get in your truck and you move. I don't care. I'm telling you something. I'm giving you an order. You know what --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Do you want to get arrested?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just -- I'll go. I'll go. Fine, I'll go.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: You know what, you're not going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not resisting.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: You're not going. Sir, get in your truck and go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're cool, man. We're just going to go.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: No, you are. You're going to jail now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going, come on. Come on, bro. We're going. We're going, bro.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: No, you're not.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: You're going with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? I just told you (INAUDIBLE) .

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Go get in the truck before you go, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you let him go?

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Get your hands off the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Get your hands off the truck!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick, I'm not doing anything. I'm not doing anything. I'm not doing anything, sir. I haven't done a thing. I'm just trying to leave, sir. Can you get the microphone? Excuse me, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Get your hands down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not doing anything. I'm going, I'm taking off.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE MAN: Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back. Sit down and shut up!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're hurting my arm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Sometime those moments are as telling as anything else.

Now to you. Who went too far? The reporter, said that he was shocked by the officer's behavior. The officer, for his part, remains on desk duty now while his actions are being investigated. There you go. I'd like to know what you guys think. We'll be showing some of those as we get.

Thousands of you are on display at the news museum in Washington, and I bet you didn't even know that, did you? This is cool. Actually, it's because of you that there is a display at all. And thanks to you, my picture got in there. We'll be back to talk to the museum director. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: You know what's funny as I was watching that escalation as we called it a moment ago between the police officer and the journalist, I was thinking that it almost too two to tango there. But most of you are writing to me are saying it was the police officer who was wrong and the journalist was OK, interesting take. Let's share some of those.

All right. The police officer was out of line. What he did should be considered police brutality and a violation of the first amendment, interesting. Given the fact that he gave him an order to leave and he didn't, right? Well, no way. The officer took it way too far pushing and shoving. The reporter stayed way too calm. I would have flipped. And then the other one says that reporter was just a pain in the -- yeah. The cop repeated himself over and over again. Great clip, Rick. I thought it was pretty interesting and I'm glad you guys enjoyed it as well and we're able to talk about. I think sometimes we learn as much from just watching things like that as we do from talking about them.

If you are a news junkie by the way, which many of you I know watching this show obviously are, then the Newseum in Washington is a must see. It features a who's who in journalism and blends five centuries of news, history with up-to-the second technology. Oh, my God. What is that? Now this national conversation, this first social media newscast that we started last year when everybody was saying you are going to do what? What's a twitter? We are featured, folks. Isn't that cool? That's actually from the Newseum. It's a permanent exhibit. Joining me to talk about the twitter exhibit is Joel Urschel. He's the executive director of the Newseum. Joe, thanks so much for being with us.

JOE URSCHEL, EXEC DIR & SR VP, NEWSEUM: Thank you Rick.

SANCHEZ: We made it huh?

URSCHEL: Yeah, you did.

SANCHEZ: That's cool. What is it?

URSCHEL: Congratulations.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

URSCHEL: This is in our digital news gallery. The Newseum is a history museum, but it's really a museum about the first rough draft of history, which is what journalism has been called. And as you know, these days the first rough draft is getting written faster and faster and faster. And this gallery looks at that great convergence of all these new technologies that allow, you know, the great march of the citizen journalist and the great expansion of the technologies that reporters use to cover stories.

SANCHEZ: I happen to be writing a book about this right now. So, obviously, I'm really juiced about it. So are the folks who are watching us now because there's over 100,000 people now who watch this newscast, follow us and we do this together. It's all about how social media will revolutionize our industry. So, obviously, you know, I buy into that theory. Does the new media exhibit reflect that, that this is kind of the way we're marching toward?

URSCHEL: Well, as you know, there's this great revolution going on in news and news coverage. But news really stays the same. News is always important. People are always interested in news. But what changes are the way they consume those news products. You know, now people get their -- they can read their newspaper online. They can get it in print. Get it on their blackberry. They can get it on a cell phone.

SANCHEZ: But with social media it's participatory. They don't just get it. I don't speak to you. You converse with me. That's new.

URSCHEL: Yeah, exactly. So you see phenomenon like the early reports from earthquakes, the early pictures from the jet landing in the river in New York. It all came from what we would call participant journalists or citizen journalists who are at the scene at the time and they had these technologies that allowed them to get the story out instantly.

SANCHEZ: This is so cool. And I am just so honored. And I'm sure I speak for a lot of the folks who started this little experiment with us about seven or eight or nine months ago when we did, thinking I'll just put a laptop on here, get on twitter, myspace and facebook and see if it works and it's pretty cool. It's kind of worked. Joe, thank you again.

URSCHEL: Great, thank you Rick.

SANCHEZ: I appreciate it.

In Mumbai, a big fight breaks out over a little girl. Who is she and what is all the fuss about?

President Obama may be reconsidering whether to prosecute the Bush administration officials who approve the so-called torture techniques. I'll let you know what he is saying now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This is the Ted Kennedy serve America act and the president is the keynote speaker. We're going to be listening to what the president has to say. There, by the way is President Clinton.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Also the fact that he created AmeriCorps and that not only made this day possible. It has directly enlisted more than half a million Americans in service to their country, service that has touched the lives of millions more. Now it just so happens that one of those people who have been touched by AmeriCorps was FLOTUS, otherwise known as first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, who ran an AmeriCorps-sponsored program public allies in Chicago.

I also want to thank former first lady Roslyn Carter for being here, for her advocacy on behalf of those with mental illness and for her husband's continued good works that inspire us all. I am thrilled to have Caroline Kennedy here for carrying on her family's long legacy of service. To my congressional colleagues who did such a fantastic job on a bipartisan basis, ushering this through, starting with the two leaders of the House and the Senate, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. I am grateful to them and obviously, to Barbara Mikulski and Orrin Hatch, George Miller, the entire delegation who helped to shepherd this through. Please give them a huge round of applause.

To my outstanding Vice President Joe Biden. Dr. Jill Biden, a couple of outstanding public servants in their own right. Please a warm welcome for General Colin Powell and his wonderful wife Alma, for the outstanding mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. And I've got to give some special props to my fellow Illinoisan, great friend, Dick Durbin.

Finally and I know that I've got some prepared remarks, but I just want to go ahead and say it now. There are very few people who have touched the life of this nation in the same breadth, in the same order of magnitude than the person who is seated right behind me and so this is just an extraordinary day for him. And I am truly grateful and honored to call him a friend, a colleague and one of the finest leaders we've ever had, Ted Kennedy.