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Search for Missing Yale Student Continues; Obama Pushes for Health Care Reform; California Assemblyman Gets Burned by a Hot Mic; Serena Williams Out of U.S. Open
Aired September 13, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news: Police find what may be bloody evidence in the case of a missing university student.
A retired state trooper uses instinct to nab an elusive serial bank robber.
And more controversy for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Did his chief fund-raiser kill himself or is something else at play?
Congressman Joe Wilson says he won't apologize again, but will Congress get the last word?
Michael Ware takes us right into the middle of the bloody war in Afghanistan. He knows the players, he was there when it started.
A bank executive caught up in the Madoff scandal throws extravagant parties at a $12 million that the bank foreclosed upon.
The first lady made a fashion designer a star by wearing his gown, now he's giving back in style.
And Serena Williams pulls a John McEnroe move at the U.S. Open. Why did she unravel, and look out Venus and Serena, two young sisters are on your tennis field.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
We start tonight with a grim development surrounding the case of a missing Yale graduate student, Annie Le. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days in her life. She was set to marry her fiance on Long Island, New York, today. Instead, the 24-year-old pharmacology student has disappeared. Investigators in New Haven, Connecticut, and beyond are looking for her.
And our Susan Candiotti has been following the latest developments in this case. She joins us now from New York.
Susan, what of this new bloody evidence, the clothing?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, what a bittersweet day for Le's family and her fiance.
Here's what we're finding out, Don. We understand -- according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation -- that they found some clothes with blood on them, hidden in the ceiling of the medical research building where Le was last seen on Tuesday of last week.
Now, the FBI is not saying specifically what items they are testing. They will only say that they're taking a close examination of them and that at this time, they are saying that these items are not yet associated with Miss Le. However, we do know that all this evidence or possible evidence is how it's being categorized is being tested at the Connecticut state police lab.
Now, we also know, according to the "New Haven Register" newspaper there, they are saying that the clothes that are being tested are not the ones that Le was last seen wearing in those images that we've all seen that were captured on security cameras.
LEMON: All right. Susan, then, we hear they're searching another location. It's about 40 miles away. Tell us about that.
CANDIOTTI: Right, this is a garbage facility and the FBI is going on the record to say they're looking this over because this is the place where all the trash from Yale University and from that building in particular is taken. So, they're naturally following the trail to make sure they look to see if anything was left behind there, that they need to take a closer look at.
LEMON: Well, Susan, yesterday, investigators said the family was pleading for, you know, to -- that they'd be left alone for their privacy. But have they spoken out beyond that at all?
CANDIOTTI: They have not, nor has Miss Le's fiance. Now, authorities have talked to the family, of course. They've talked to her friends. They've talked to college professors -- anyone they can find to try to give them some clue as to what might have happened to her.
LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, following this developing story for us -- thank you, Susan.
CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.
LEMON: A retired Missouri state trooper is credited with tipping investigators to a suspected bank robber at a motel, ending a one-man robbery spree that stretched from the Carolinas to the Midwest. Thirty-seven-year-old Chad Schaffner was arrested last night in Kingdom City, about 100 miles west of St. Louis. The retired trooper staying at the same motel recognized Schaffner from an episode of "America's Most Wanted."
Surveillance video shows a man believed to be Schaffner boldly waving a gun in the places he allegedly robbed. Federal agents believe Schaffner is responsible for at least 14 robberies in six states since last May.
Just a short time ago, CNN spoke with an FBI agent about how Schaffner managed to elude capture despite making no effort to disguise his appearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN TRUCHON, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I really have to attribute it to the movement. I think the fact he was cognizant enough of the -- to be on the move constantly and to move from state to state. So, committing a robbery in one state, moving over to another, even though law enforcement was looking for him, continued to move throughout the different jurisdictions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Schaffner's most recent alleged robbery was just days ago in Caseyville, Illinois. He had just gotten out of prison in Indiana last year, where he had been serving time for robbery.
We go to Washington now, and those two words that drew gasps during the president's health care speech before Congress "You lie." Congressman Joe Wilson called the White House that night to apologize. Now, Democratic House leaders say they will propose a resolution this week to censure Wilson. They want a public apology on the floor of the House but the congressman says he's finished saying he's sorry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE WILSON (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: My whole life has been built around civility, but as I heard what I believe was not accurate information, and because I knew the issue, I knew that there had already been votes on -- providing for citizenship verification, and for the speech to indicate that this would be enforceable, it was not. And so, I spoke out. I called immediately. I did apologize, but I believe one apology is sufficient.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the Democrats enjoy a solid majority in the House, and they have plenty of votes if they want to pass a resolution condemning Congressman Wilson's remarks.
Well, today, Wilson was asked about the possibility of being censured by his colleagues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILSON: This could be tough, because I respect my colleagues and I respect civility, and I support civility, and I -- this was a -- as my son said, a town hall moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, just last night, I spoke with Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer about Congressman Wilson's outburst and why the Republican leadership hasn't been more forceful in denouncing the congressman's blatant disrespect of the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Why hasn't there been a call by all the members, all the GOP saying, you know what, this is -- why haven't you denounced? Some people are defending him. How do you -- how do you defend that?
JIM GREER, FLORIDA GOP CHAIRMAN: Well, you know, I don't think you do defend that, but there's a discussion taking place throughout America about health care, and we need to not lose sight of what we need to be looking at, what we need to be considering. Congressman -- the congressman apologized. He should not have done it, but let's move on. Let's get back to business of government.
LEMON: Well, we're going to move on. I agree with that. We should move on, but, you know, we're smart enough and big enough to talk about more than one thing at a time. We can talk about health care...
(CROSSTALK)
GREER: Or America needs to move on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, considering the inflammatory rhetoric being aimed at the president, some people are starting to question the motive behind Mr. Obama's critics. And once again, race is rising to the forefront. "New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd is the latest to question whether some Americans simply cannot accept an African-American president.
Congressman Joe Wilson was asked today if race was a factor in his Wednesday night outburst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILSON: No, no. Hey, I respect the president. Actually, there's a relationship in a way, his wife -- her family's from Georgetown. My family's from next door in McClellanville. So I have a great respect for the Obama family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Given a chance to comment on the race question, the White House press secretary today took a pass. Here's what he said earlier on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think the president believes that people are upset because of the color of his skin. I do think -- I do think again this rhetoric often just gets way too hot. I think what we have to all do is take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember who we're here to represent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, perhaps, no two words in the history of the U.S. politics had been so lucrative since Congressman Joe Wilson yelled at President Barack Obama during his health care reform speech, his re- election campaign has raised $1 million. That means Wilson has pretty much caught up with his Democratic challenger Rob Miller, who also raised $1 million in the wake of the outburst.
While Washington wrestles with the noisy controversy over race and words, the president keeps pushing for health care reform.
Our Elaine Quijano joins us now from the White House.
Elaine, you know, the president was out of the heartland this weekend. But Republicans don't seem to be buying it. What are Republicans saying today?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Don. You know, Republicans are continuing to say that the president basically is just going too fast when it comes to health care reform, and they say that Americans have some real concerns.
Well, today, GOP Senator Orrin Hatch weighed in. He suggested that President Obama wants to do away with the existing health care system. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: To throw all this out -- to throw the system that really works to a large degree out, that could be reformed without -- with modest reforms, in favor of a government plan, I don't think anybody who watches what the federal government does really believes in, I think it's just stupid. And not only stupid, it's dangerous and it's harmful to the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now the reality is, of course, that President Obama has said quite the opposite, that he does not want to do away with the existing system or start from scratch, but rather improve upon what's already in place, and the president also rejects whole-heartedly the notion that somehow his hidden intention here is to ultimately get a government takeover of the health care system. However, one thing, Don, as you know, is not in dispute right now, both Republicans as well as some fiscally-conservative Democrats voicing this concern, how exactly to pay for the president's $900 billion plan -- Don?
LEMON: That is a big question and another one as well. The president asserted all along that he wanted a public option. Some people feel that he may be backtracking on that. What is the White House saying about that? Is it still on the table?
QUIJANO: Yes. Senior advisers, Don, say that it is still on the table. Public option, of c course, reminding our audience here, is the government-run health care option. Well, aides are emphasizing that health care reform does not hinge on this public option.
Here's what White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had to say to John King on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: I think what the president said to both Democrats and Republicans, to Republicans, we need to have that choice in competition, two ideals that quite frankly they've always fought for. And for our Democratic friends, the public option is a means to an end, but it is not all of health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: And that very much echoes what we heard the president say at that rally, about 15,000 enthusiastic Obama supporters turning out at the Target Center in Minneapolis to hear the president's health care sales pitch. The president essentially saying that he prefers a public option, but just as Robert Gibbs noted this morning, that it is not the be-all and end-all, as he sees it, of health care reform -- Don?
LEMON: And this is an anniversary that's coming up, this week. Some people say it's an anniversary, it's when they believe the bailout started, the collapse of a financial giant, the president has a big economic speech tomorrow. Can you give us a preview?
QUIJANO: That's right. Well, health care, of course, is the president's number one priority. Tomorrow, the president is going to be heading to Wall Street to deliver what the White House is billing as a major speech on the financial crisis. It will be one year tomorrow -- that Lehman Brothers, the financial institution that helped spark the financial crisis, that that collapsed.
So, the president's going to be giving his speech tomorrow on Wall Street, highlighting what the administration is doing to try to turn the economy around and get it back on track. Aides say that the president is also going to be talking about the next steps when it comes to financial regulatory reform, to make sure that a Lehman Brothers-style collapse does not happen again -- Don?
LEMON: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you for your reporting. Stay with CNN for live coverage of President Barack Obama's speech on the financial crisis tomorrow at noon, only here on CNN.
Economists generally agree that the financial picture is slowly improving across the U.S. But just one year ago, doom and gloom filled the air. You heard our Elaine Quijano talk about that, that's when giant investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
CNN's Susan Lisovicz recalls the panic as Lehman's fiery crash threatened to bring down the entire banking system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The exotic instruments that brought about the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history are still hard to grasp. But the economic destruction caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers is not.
BERNIE MCSHERRY, SENIOR V.P., CUTTONE & CO.: There was definitely panic in the air. I was here on the trading floor just behind us here, 1987, during the crash, and that was bad, but this was much worse. This was a feeling that the system itself was coming unglued and that perhaps when the next morning came up, we might not have ATM cards that work.
LISOVICZ: Lehman failed in an economy already reeling from the government's arranged marriage of Bear Stearns and seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some experts say it was ultimately the government's inconsistent response to failing companies and then its warning of financial Armageddon without passage of an emergency stimulus that triggered the panic in worldwide financial markets.
BILL ISAAC, FORMER FDIC CHAIRMAN: The government really needs to communicate when you're in the middle of the crisis, that you're in charge, you know what you're doing, and here are the rules, here's what we're going to do to calm the situation down. And we didn't do that.
LISOVICZ: Lawrence McDonald worked at Lehman and wrote a book about it. He says the lesson of Lehman begins at the company itself. He says Lehman wasn't too big to fail. It was too big to succeed.
LAWRENCE MCDONALD, AUTHOR, "A COLOSSAL FAILURE OF COMMON SENSE": It's too big to be managed. In essence, it's the same group of people that were running a $38 billion institution in 1998, the same group, fast forward to 2007, is running $780 billion worth of risks.
LISOVICZ: But risk isn't as much of a threat to the economy anymore. Rather, it's the almost complete lack of risk, a credit crunch that is yet another legacy of Lehman, one year after its devastating collapse.
Susan Lisovicz, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, would you think that by now, people would know if it's not something you want to share, don't say it around an open mike, but some politicians have no end of trouble remembering that.
Also, a bank-owned Malibu mansion becomes a weekend retreat for one of its vice presidents. He's squatting, he's not leaving.
And under fire in Afghanistan. CNN's Michael Ware returns to Kandahar to see first-hand the impact of the seven-year war on the city where he once lived.
Also, we're soliciting your comments tonight. You can get in touch with us on Twitter, I'm checking it now, also on Facebook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You thought there was nothing to come from Governor Rod Blagojevich, well, this is another story coming out of Chicago. Police suspect the death of a long-time adviser and chief fund-raiser for the former governor could be a suicide. Fifty-one-year-old Christopher Kelly died yesterday in a Chicago hospital. That's him you see there in the glasses. You'll see his picture in just a little bit.
Kelly's death comes just days before he was to report to federal prison for his guilty plea on federal corruption charges. That case is separate from the Blagojevich indictments in which Kelly was also implicated.
And here's what the former governor had to say to New York City media today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FMR. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: I think that you have a situation where Chris Kelly would do something like that, acknowledging his own wrongdoing, prepared to take responsibility but unwilling -- unwilling to take a lesser sentence because he refused to lie about me, notwithstanding the pressure that the government put him under is really remarkable story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Dwight Welch, who is the mayor of Country Club Hills, a Chicago suburb, says Kelly told police shortly before his death that he took a, quote, "overdose of drugs." Welch adds his police department found several prescribed medications in Kelly's vehicle.
Microphones are everywhere these days, so are cameras. So you think that public figures and elected officials would be more careful, very careful about what they say. But then you and I would be wrong.
CNN's Casey Wian says a latest spectacle from the California state legislature follows a rich tradition of getting burned by a hot mic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When will they learn?
MIKE DUVALL, CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYMAN: She wears little eye patch underwear.
WIAN: Self-proclaimed family values Republican state lawmaker Mike Duvall was captured by an open microphone before a California assembly hearing bragging to a colleague about his alleged sexual exploits with a lobbyist.
DUVALL: So, I've been getting into spanking her...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are?
DUVALL: Yes, I like it.
WIAN: Much of Duvall's locker room tales are too graphic for television. A married father of two resigned Wednesday but says that's no admission he actually had an affair. It is however, the latest case of a politician caught by an open mic. You'd think a former actor would know better. The California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was recorded talking about a lawmaker with Puerto Rican heritage.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I mean, they're all are very hot. They have the -- you know, the part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WIAN: Then there was Jesse Jackson caught by a FOX News mic saying this about the presidential candidate he supported.
JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: See, Barack been talking down to black people on this faith based. I want to cut his (BLEEP) off.
WIAN: And speaking of cutting off, that's essentially what Senators Hillary Clinton and John Edwards wanted to do to lesser known Democratic presidential candidates during an NAACP forum.
THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HILLARY CLINTON: We got to talk because they are just being trivialized.
THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOHN EDWARDS: They are not serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Senator Joseph Biden. Again, thank you so much. Thank you very much for coming. Have a great afternoon.
WIAN: It's unclear if Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt was serious when an open mic caught her agreeing with a woman claiming President Obama is ineligible for the White House, a statement she later disavowed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He cannot be a president by our Constitution.
REP. JEAN SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: I agree with you -- but the courts don't.
WIAN: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell took heat for this back-handed endorsement of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Janet's perfect for that job. Because of that job, you have to have no life. And Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it...
WIAN: Former President Clinton turned this less than artful phrase after an interview during the 2008 primaries, explaining his claim the Obama campaign played the race card against his wife.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't think I should take any (BLEEP) from anybody on that, do you?
WIAN: President George W. Bush was also captured using salty language about a "New York Times" reporter. GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: (BLEEP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Oh, yes, good times.
WIAN: Actually that gaffe was small time compared to the lurid tales that cost former California Assemblyman Duvall his job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was CNN's Casey Wian. You can see more of his reporting later on in our show, including a family who lost everything to Bernie Madoff. Believe me, it's a story that you don't want to miss.
We want to go to Placerville, California. Attorneys for Phillip and Nancy Garrido will be in court tomorrow to request bail. They have jailed without bail for the alleged kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago. She was just 11 years old at the time. Both Garridos have pleaded not guilty to 29 counts, including kidnapping and rape.
What was she saying? What was she thinking? There was no love loss when a few choice words cost Serena Williams a possible grand slam title, and that might be the type of high pressure situation these tennis playing sisters might face in the future. We'll introduce you to the Profit sisters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: They are playing the men's semifinals at the U.S. Open tennis tournament today, but much of the attention remains on an unbelievable finish to a women's match last night. Defending champion Serena Williams lost to Kim Clijsters in a bizarre -- it was really an ugly finish. Watch and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Foot fault, and that...
(INAUDIBLE)
(BLEEP)
(INAUDIBLE)
SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: I didn't say I would kill you. Are you serious? Are you serious? I didn't say that.
ANNOUNCER: She's in the finals. Serena Williams come over to shake her hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hot, phew.
Mark McKay joins us now live.
Mark, are you in Flushing? You're there. This is all about a foot fault -- and this is the second time, right, that she had done this in this tournament?
MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS: Well, she had been complaining, Don, that she'd never done foot faults all year long and all of the sudden they call it here at the U.S. Open. So she was already feeling the frustration of being called for previous foot faults. She broke her racket, Don, in the first set of Saturday night's match.
But, you know, the U.S. open has been probably the loudest, most unique of the four tennis grand slams. You have jets flying into and out of LaGuardia. The fans aren't shy when it comes to expressing their opinions, but what transpired Saturday night here at Flushing Meadows really will be known for a long time, to be talked about for awhile.
That foot fault coming at a crucial point in the match. Serena not shy at all -- as you heard -- telling the linesperson her thoughts. She's accessed a point penalty. That point penalty was on match point, putting Kim Clijsters into Sunday night's women's final.
Here are both players' perspectives what went down at Ashe Stadium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: All year, I don't -- I don't -- I've never been foot faulted and then suddenly in this tournament, they keep calling foot faults. I'm not saying I don't, but like, I don't know. You know, I'm not going to sit here and make an excuse. You know, if I foot faulted, I did. So, it was what it was.
KIM CLIJSTERS, U.S. OPEN FINALIST: I remember just sitting there after the match and just sitting on my chair and just like well, like what happened out here tonight. And so, it's just unfortunate that a match, you know, that was, you know -- which was a fun match, I think, for both of us, that it had to end like that. But, for me, personally, it doesn't take away, you know, how well that I played. So, I have a good feeling about this match.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKAY: Don, what was interesting was, because of the rain that fell earlier in the day, the night match happened around 9:00 last night, they put all of the remaining fans here at Flushing Meadows into the lower sections of the stadium. So, myself and my colleagues were about 20 rows back from center court.
What was interesting was, when you were there you didn't know exactly what was happening. A very confusing set of circumstances. Serena throws her racket down, congratulates Kim, waves on her way out. We didn't know whether she forfeited the match because the only announcement that was made inside the stadium last night was that Kim Clijsters is your U.S. open finalist, Don.
LEMON: Boy, oh, boy, not the end of that.
All right. Mark McKay, we appreciate it. Thank you. Serena Williams and her sister, Venus, are products of South Central Los Angeles, that's where another set of siblings are preparing to make their mark on the tennis world. Elizabeth and Mary Profit say they don't want to be just like the Williams sisters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH PROFIT, TENNIS PLAYER: I want to be better than what they've done. I want to do better than what they've done. I want to have my own style. I want to have a racket named after me. I want to have slam named after me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A little later, we'll introduce you to Elizabeth and Mary, and share their amazing story.
But, first, under fire in Afghanistan as a situation on the ground there continues to intensify. CNN's Michael Ware returns to Kandahar to see firsthand the impacts of the seven-year war on a city he used to call home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: NATO orders air strikes in western Afghanistan during an intense battle after an insurgent ambush killed at least two U.S. troops. The battle in the Farah Province lasted for several hours yesterday. There are reports that dozens of Taliban militants were killed but this is not confirmed. In an earlier ambush, a NATO-led convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and attacked by gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
With the battle in Afghanistan heating up, so is the fight over whether to send in more troops. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Susan Collins weighed in earlier today on CNN's "State of the Union" with John king.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D), CALIFORNIA: My view is that the mission has to be very clear. I don't believe...
JOHN KING, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": "Has to be" means it's not now?
FEINSTEIN: I believe it is not now.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R), MAINE: I will tell you, having spent two days there just last month, that I just don't know that more troops is the answer. We clearly need more American civilians to help build up institutions. We need to grow the size of the Afghan army. But we're dealing with widespread corruption, a very difficult terrain, and I'm just wondering, where does it ends, and how we'll know when we've succeeded?
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: The heaviest fighting in Afghanistan has been in the area around Kandahar. That's a place very familiar to our Michael Holmes (ph). He made a return visit just this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: How does that make people feel, here in Kandahar?
(voice-over): I wanted to see what had happened to this place since I left. Kandahar, it's the birthplace of the Taliban and the capital of the south, the fiercest combat zone. I once lived here, before Iraq, and after the fall of the Taliban.
(on camera): So much has changed here in Kandahar. There's new buildings. There's new tree lines but there's also a new Taliban. There's a Taliban here that wasn't here just a few years ago, in this city. Now lives in the shadow of the Taliban. The Taliban control neighborhoods here. In fact, this is a Taliban neighborhood.
These police are from a police station right in the midst of the Taliban stronghold. They're very much on the front line, guarding the gates to Kandahar.
(voice-over): In fact, here in this marketplace, the mood among shopkeepers is anxious. Everyone in Kandahar is saying the city is surrounded, this businessman says. There's something like 200 men standing here, go, ask them, is there Taliban or not?
Here the sense of a city under siege goes much deeper than just hurting business.
"Even here in the city, you cannot speak out against the Taliban. Those who do speak up face a terrible conclusion," this shopkeeper says.
I found, for many, these fears are growing, even though a major U.S. and Canadian base is located at Kandahar's air field, just outside the city limits. Their vehicles, in the city streets.
So for more answers, I turn to some old friends. One is Achead Wali Karzai, brother to the Afghan president and now patriarch and leader of the family's tribe.
ACHEAD WALI KARZAI, BROTHER OF AFGHAN PRESIDENT: Part of Taliban, that's what it is. It's not a major force, so I should have a fear sitting here that might they come over attack us tonight. This is merely now surrounding Kandahar city.
WARE: But it also seems though small pockets of Taliban are turning to old and highly successful tactics. They're using the same valleys, mountain passes and many of the same old commanders who defeated the Soviet army.
This man, another old friend, was a guerrilla hero of the war against the Soviets here. He's now head of a massive tribe tied closely to the Taliban.
"The Taliban are walking in the steps of the Mujahadin who fought the Russians," he says. "If the Taliban hear that the government is coming to an area, they simply escape to a safe place to spend the night."
And it's not just in the villages.
(on camera): Just one week ago, what is said to have been a massive truck bomb detonated just here, right in the heart of Kandahar city itself. On this side of the road was the Offices of an Aid Agency and Houses. You can see the blast absolutely leveled the buildings. On that day, over 40 Afghan civilians lost their lives. And you can see the size of the blast. A week later, they're still cleaning up.
On this side of the street were shops and businesses, and a reception hall for weddings. Convoys carrying American trucks are passing by on this very street. And as I'm standing here speaking to you right now in this devastation, just a few suburbs away, over there, less than a mile, is a Taliban-controlled district.
(voice-over): And local police commanders say there's no hint of improvement. The major U.S. military offensive in nearby Helmand Province, they say, is killing Taliban fighters but the Taliban keeps evolving, and finding new ways to wage war. All of which leaves the view from Kandahar one of the Taliban war machine that shows no signs of slowing.
Michael Ware, CNN, Kandahar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was Michael Ware. I said Michael Holmes. It was Michael Ware. Pardon me for that. CNN's Michael Ware, reporting from Afghanistan tonight.
On CNN, an "AC360," special report, Afghanistan elections, a Taliban resurgence and mounting American casualties. It is a critical time for the region. And Anderson Cooper along with our Sanjay Gupta, Michael Ware and Peter Bergen will take us "Inside Afghanistan, The Battle Zone," tonight, 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on CNN.
A multimillion-dollar Malibu mansion falls into foreclosure and a vice president of the bank that owns it moves in. Really?
Also, high fashion fund-raising on a budget. Even charity benefits are offering lay-away plans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here.
Jacqui, you visited one part of Texas. Remember the story on the guy with the drought?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. LEMON: The flooding in Texas, is it hitting that area or no?
JERAS: It did yesterday but today it's farther up to the north. We need this rain. It will be interesting to see the drought monitor, when it comes out on Thursday, to see if we've made a significant dent. But some of the rain has been incredibly heavy, unfortunately, a little too much at one time.
(WEATHER REPORT)
JERAS: OK, this is my favorite story of the day. This is not weather, but this is space and science. Take a look at this flash of light. This was caught in the night sky, Don Lemon. I hope you're paying attention.
LEMON: I am.
JERAS: And people are like, what was this?
LEMON: I know what it is.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: Well, Abe Megahed, he caught this picture from Madison, Wisconsin, from space.com. Big thanks. The answer is, this is -- we'll put it politely -- waste water.
LEMON: Urine. Pee.
JERAS: Yeah. Space shuttle -- yeah, you said it, not me.
LEMON: That's what it is.
JERAS: Space shuttle "Discovery" had to do a dump, as they call it, because they had large amounts, larger than normal, because they were docked at the international space station. Can't do it because that could interfere with some experiments while they're docked up, so they did this before their potential landing, which got delayed, as you know. Interesting.
LEMON: It's pretty. It looks like it could be a star.
JERAS: It is, and earthlings don't need to worry about it. It freezes when it gets into space. And when the sun hits it, it sublimates, or it turns from a solid state into vapor.
LEMON: Into vapor.
JERAS: So it never comes here.
LEMON: And they recycle that. It goes through a whole process. And some of it they use to drink.
JERAS: They do that as well.
LEMON: I'm told by doctor friends urine is the cleanest thing that comes out of your body because it's already filtered.
JERAS: I've heard that as well. Cool stuff, love it.
LEMON: Thank you.
One family, devastated by Bernie Madoff's billion-dollar scam, they lost it all. The bank foreclosed on their dream home on the beach in Malibu, but the House hasn't been sitting empty.
And as CNN's Casey Wian will tell you, you might be surprised at who's been using it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This $12 million beachfront home in southern California's exclusive Malibu Colony is surrounded by celebrities, walls and a guard gate. It was also once owned by a couple that lost money in Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, forcing them to turn the house over to Wells Fargo to satisfy a debt.
But instead of selling the house, a Wells Fargo executive moved in with her family on weekends. Neighbors say they entertained guests and held a party where people were ferried to and from a yacht offshore.
KATIE WOLCOTT, MALIBU RESIDENT: You definitely don't need bank executives living and enjoying repossessed properties.
WIAN: These photos are from the web site of Irene Dezzan Palmer, a real estate agent who tried to lease the home for the former owners before it went to Wells Fargo in May. The agent tells "Lou Dobbs Tonight" she had a buyer interested in making a cash offer for the 3,800-square foot home in one of California's most exclusive neighborhoods, but she says the bank wouldn't show the property.
Sandro Dezzan is her son and business partner.
SANDRO DEZZAN, REAL ESTATE AGENT: We did have an offer, and all-cash offer, but we did not get a response back.
WIAN: Instead, the "Los Angeles Times" reports, Sheronda (ph) Geiten, a Wells Fargo senior vice president in charge of foreclosed commercial properties, moved in on weekends. She was even issued a homeowner's parking pass by security guards, raising the suspicion of neighbors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALIBU COLONY RESIDENT: Generally speaking, everyone knows what everyone else is up to.
WIAN: Geiten did not respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.
Linda Livingstone is head of Malibu's Pepperdine University Gracia Dio (ph) School of Business. She says it's likely the case is already being discussed in class.
LINDA LIVINGSTONE, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUISNESS: It certainly could be poor judgment on the part of an individual. It could be issues related to how the company has laid out its policy and the extent to which they've actually enforced the policy in the past.
WIAN: Wells Fargo said it would not comment on Geiten's actions for privacy reasons. It also said in a statement, quote, "Wells Fargo's code of ethics and business conduct handbook instructs team members to avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest in their personal and business activities."
The bank added that it will be conducting a thorough investigation.
(on camera): Wells Fargo also says the House was kept off of the market because of an agreement with the previous owners, and that it would be put up for sale soon.
Casey Wian, CNN, Malibu, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The economy has also put a pinch in the way some charities raise money. But if lay-away plans work for department stores, why can't they work for fundraisers?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The sagging economy has made fund-raising tough for charities but Atlanta's Fashion Cares is featuring the work of a high-profile designer who dressed the first lady, hoping that will raise money to fight breast cancer and AIDS as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: (voice-over): Designer Jason Wu's one-shouldered gown for First Lady Michelle Obama took the inaugural spotlight. Now he's helping fellow designer, Jeffrey Kalinsky, with one of the biggest charity events in the southeast.
JASON WU, FASHION DESIGNER: When he asked me to participate in Fashion Cares, there was no question that was going to be a part of it. Because it's for just a great cause.
Jeffery Fashion Cares give at least 95 cents n the dollar to its beneficiaries, Susan G. Coleman for the Cure, Greater Atlanta and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund.
JEFFREY KALINSKY, DESIGNER-FOUNDER, FASHION CARES: It's really important to me that if you want to raise money for charity, then you should really try to raise money for charity or it's silly. And I try so hard. We try so hard, both in Atlanta and with our benefit in New York.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: This high-fashion show features Kalinsky's spin on fall fashions and Wu's signature style. WU: My collection is about going back to the days where clothing was so impeccably made. It was not disposable. And I wanted to bring that into what I do today.
LEMON: Wu's involvement was not a guarantee that organizers could sell tickets. Charitable donations are down because of the economy and job losses. People can't afford to give.
But Fashion Cares was created allowing attendees the option to put their tickets on lay-away.
SACHA TAYLOR, CO-CHAIR, FASHION CARES: A payment plan would allow somebody then to take that larger amount and divide it into several payments, which they may not -- well, they wouldn't have been able to do before, but that may help them on their monthly budget.
LILA HERTZ, CO-CHAIR, FASHION CARES: It's more important now than ever because they're getting cuts all over the place, and people are losing their jobs, and they don't have health insurance.
LEMON: Donations from charities help keep health clinics going, giving doctors the resources to provide free services, like breast cancer screening and HIV management.
DR. MAE T. MORGAN, ST. JOSEPH'S MERCY CARE SERVICES: The majority of our patients that fall into the homeless category, the under insured or uninsured. So without the grant money, we can't offer a lot of the services that we have for our patients.
WU: As a designer, to be able to contribute to that in any way is really fulfilling and rewarding for me.
LEMON: Jason Wu, helping those in need in style.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Over the fast 17 years, Jeffrey Fashion Cares has raised more than $8.5 million.
For a decade now, women's professional tennis has been dominated by the Williams sisters, but if these girls have their way, they'll dominate for the next 20 years. We'll introduce you to the Profit sisters.
(EDGE OF DISCOVERY)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two sisters from south-central Los Angeles share one big dream, to become champion professional tennis players. Sounds like Venus and Serena in their early years. Not quite. The Profit sisters may be in a league all their own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH PROFIT, TENNIS PLAYER: My name is Elizabeth Profit. I'm 13 years old, and I want to play tennis.
LEMON (voice-over): She's pretty good too. Very good, as a matter of fact. She's ranked high in three different age divisions in the southern California Tennis Association.
Coaches and seasoned players say Elizabeth Profit is light years ahead of where Venus Williams was at her age. But being like the eldest Williams sister isn't her goal.
PROFIT: I want to be better than what they've done. I want to do better than what they've -- I want to have my observe style. I want to have a racket named after me. I want to have slam named after me. I want to do the big stuff.
LEMON: Elizabeth playing tennis is big stuff. She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was 2 years old and worked hard to keep the debilitating disease under control.
PROFIT: I wake up, I take my blood sugar. I do the homework, and then I come and hit with the grounds for a couple of hours. Then I take my blood sugar again, like before I hit with them, and then afterwards. I take it, like, an hour before I'm about to play. I have been to be able to manage it. If it's high, I have to give myself insulin. If it's slow, I have to bring it up in order for me to play.
LEMON: Then there's Mary Profit, 10 years old, with the focus of someone twice her age. She competed in her first turn am at age 6. She's been playing tennis since before she could string together a whole sentence.
MARY PROFIT, TENNIS PLAYER: My mom -- she would give us these wooden rackets and -- that she was toss socks at us instead of the tennis balls because socks are softer than tennis balls.
LEMON: The girls and their mom live a pretty unconventional life.
PROFIT: I sleep on the couch.
LEMON: Elizabeth and Mary are homeschooled. Their classroom, home and transportation, this R.V. They can live where they need to.
YVONNE PROFIT, MOTHER OF TENNIS PLAYERS: The girls play in tournaments every single weekend. Having to pay for hotels, having to pay for food, having -- it was just ridiculous. I said, heck, get an R.V., park right at the site.
LEMON: Yvonne Profit is raising champions, never allowing Elizabeth's diabetes to be a crutch, and encouraging both girls towards their dreams of professional tennis.
YVONNE PROFIT: Their understanding is failure isn't an option. You always have to try your best. The best revenge is success. Let your racket do the talking. LEMON: Where does mom see her girls three years from now?
YVONNE PROFIT: I see her turning pro next year, Elizabeth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I carry your bag for you?
PROFIT: No.
YVONNE PROFIT: Mary, she's a slugger. So what we're trying to teach Mary, by moving her up, is to realize that you have to have more than one shot, and that's what she's learning. It's a process.
LEMON: The girls play doubles well together. But individually, they're poised to make it all the way to the top, one point, one game, set, match, at a time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Good luck to them.
Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Welcome to the "CNN NEWSROOM." It's the top of the hour.
We want to get started with the latest going on in New Haven, Connecticut where police have found some disturbing clues in the search for a missing grad student, not seen now for five days. Today was supposed to be her wedding day.
Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than five days into the search for grad student Annie Le, authorities aren't saying much.
KIM MERTZ, FBI SPECIAL AGENT-IN-CHARGE: There's not an intent to be secret. We're focused on conducting an investigation.
CANDIOTTI: However, a law enforcement source close to the investigation says bloody clothes hidden in ceiling tiles were found in a Yale medical research building where Le was last seen.
MERTZ: All I will say is that items that could potentially be evidence have been seized. None have yet been associated with Annie Le.
CANDIOTTI: It's not known where in the building the items discovered.
