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On Anniversary of Lehman Collapse, Reform Lags; Missing Student's Body Found in Lab Building; War's Dreaded Phone Call a Mistake; Retired Cop Helps Nab Suspect
Aired September 14, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks.
Pulling back from the brink, pushing forward on new rules of the road. And by road, I mean Wall Street. President Obama marks a grim anniversary in the U.S. financial markets as he markets his plan for reform.
The search may be over, but a horrifying mystery begins. Who killed a Yale student who'd tried to send off those alarms about crime?
And death by surprise in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The child brought something to those two individuals that appear to be red-handed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Never mind. It just detonated by itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A roadside bomb goes off in the hands of insurgents, as U.S. surveillance cameras watch.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Where were you when Lehman Brothers went belly up? If you don't work on Wall Street, it's probably not one of those dates burned into your memory. But it happened one year ago today and it set off the crisis that paralyzed the U.S. banking system, worsened the recession. And it prompted unprecedented rescue ops by the Federal Reserve and treasury.
The stock markets still haven't recovered, though they've come a long way. And the Obama administration hasn't sold Congress on new regulations, though the president tried to push forward in his speech you may have seen live on CNN just last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences and expect that next time American taxpayer also be there to break their fall.
And that's why we need strong rules of the road to guard against the kind of systemic risks that we've seen. And we have a responsibility to write and enforce these rules to protect consumers of financial products, to protect taxpayers, and to protect our economy as a whole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wall Street and your street have both changed a lot in the past year and may change a whole lot more if the president's reforms go through. Chief business correspondent Ali Velshi is looking at where we've come, where we stand, what's ahead.
Ali, first off, what do you think has changed since September 2008, a year ago today?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're not in a panic. We don't think that the financial system is falling apart. We've accepted and started to deal with the reality of the recession we're in.
But we're certainly not in what was sort of a three-week or a month-long financial crisis that started one year ago today, where we didn't really know, day to day, what was happening and what might fall next. We're not there.
And I think part of the problem and the reason that the president gave the speech today on the one-year anniversary was to remind people how serious this was, how this -- this failure of Lehman Brothers ground the credit system worldwide to a halt. Nobody could borrow money. Companies couldn't borrow money. Companies had to cut costs very quickly, and as a result, what did they do? They laid people of, and that has put us to almost 10 percent unemployment, and it's all connected to that.
He's trying to say we need things in place that are going to prevent us from going through that again. But I don't know that, on the ground and on the law books, substantially much has changed.
PHILLIPS: So where is our money?
VELSHI: Well, here's the thing. A lot of people are looking at this as an anomaly. You see the stop market up about 50 percent since its lows in March. What the president is saying is he wants to put four things into place that will really, really help consumers.
One is, he wants a consumer financial protection agency, as he calls it, that will really have a holistic picture of what's going on out there and be able to intervene and say something's going wrong.
Somebody would have known. We all knew this mortgage situation was going sour, but there's no government agency to deal with it.
Number two, he wants to stop big financial firms from shopping around for their regulators, in some cases choosing a regulator that has less -- you know, has more lacks than another. He wants to stop that.
Number three, he wants the power to control companies that are too big to fail, which we don't have right now. That, nothing has changed there. In fact, some of these big companies are bigger than they were before this crisis.
And number four, he thinks people should be paid for responsibility, for doing things responsibly, not rewarded for risk. And you know, Kyra, we're going right back into that situation on Wall Street where bonuses are coming back and getting big again.
So I think the president is trying to make the point that we don't feel as urgent as we did a year ago, so let's get something done before this happens again.
PHILLIPS: Yes. That's interesting, though, you say about bonuses coming back.
VELSHI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I mean, that was a big part of the problem here.
VELSHI: That's right.
PHILLIPS: The corruption, the bonuses. And so -- and you mentioned all these reforms, but will all these reforms actually keep this from happening again?
VELSHI: You know...
PHILLIPS: And just hearing about bonuses coming back, I mean, that was a lot of the...
VELSHI: We always regulate for the last problem, and then a new one comes along. So back to the -- remember when WorldCom and Enron and all that failed, and we brought in such serious regulation that was really going to protect the financial system? Well, that was a different problem than the one we've got right now.
And nothing wrong with bonuses. If you're getting paid for actually making everybody else -- your stockholders, your employees, all the stakeholders -- some money. The problem is we had people making bonuses for driving companies into the ground. So they just didn't match.
So the president is saying, not that you can't get paid and you can't get bonuses, but you have to get paid for running a business responsibly, not for taking risks that are -- that are too great to actually sustain. And then you get to walk away with a bonus.
So that's what -- I think the president is really trying to bring this back on track. He'll get some opposition to this, though, because the urgency isn't there. We don't hate Wall Street as much as we did a year ago. PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: OK, Kyra. Good talking to you.
PHILLIPS: For a miss -- good talking to you, too.
From a missing person's case to murder, Annie Le's family getting horrific news from police. Their intense search for the Yale grad student turns up a body now, stuffed behind a wall in the school lab where she worked.
The building has restricted key card access and security cameras trained on every door. Safety measures Annie Le appreciated but knew could only do so much. She actually wrote an article about campus crime and safety earlier this year. And we'll have more on that article in just a moment.
But first, the latest from New Haven, Connecticut. Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's now clear why no one had seen Annie Le leaving this medical research building last Tuesday. Apparently, she was trapped inside, her body found Sunday night hidden inside a basement wall.
ASST. CHIEF PETER REICHARD, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, POLICE: She hasn't been identified positively as of this time; however, we are assuming that it is her.
CANDIOTTI: The 24-year-old grad student often worked in a basement lab performing experiments. She was majoring in pharmacology. Le was last seen entering the building Tuesday, her image captured on security cameras. No one saw her coming out, and investigators had been reviewing videos frame by frame and pouring over blueprints.
Then a law enforcement says they found blood-stained clothes inside some ceiling tiles Saturday. The "New Haven Register" reports the clothes are different than the ones Le was seen wearing on camera.
KIM MERTZ, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: All I will say is that items that could potentially be evidence have been seized. None have yet been associated with Annie Le.
CANDIOTTI: Investigators also spent Sunday searching through a recycling plant in Hartford about 40 miles away. They were looking through garbage hauled there from Yale. Police called it routine. The main focus is the building where Le was apparently murdered.
REICHARD: Detectives and investigators now have a large amount of physical evidence at the scene that we're going through to determine if it's linked to this case or not.
CANDIOTTI: Yale's president reached out to the victim's family and sent an e-mail to the campus, announcing Le's death.
RICHARD LEVIN, PRESIDENT YALE UNIVERSITY: I met earlier this evening with Annie's family, with her fiancee and his family, and I conveyed to them all the deeply-felt support of the entire Yale University community.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, the Connecticut State Police crime lab processing all the evidence from the scene all weekend. A police spokesperson says the first test results on those bloody clothes could come out today. We'll follow up on that.
And as I mentioned before Susan's piece, Annie Le had spent some time thinking about crime and safety at Yale for an article in the med school magazine. Here's some quotes from the story that ran just last February.
She writes, "Despite safety measures, such as door-to-door escort and shuttle services, the Yale community is still plagued with thefts, some involving frightening confrontations. According to CNN Money magazine, the city of New Haven has seven times as much personal crime compared to the average for 'safe' cities in the United States. In short, New Haven is a city, and all cities have their perils, but with a little street smarts, one can avoid becoming yet another statistic."
Just about half an hour ago we got a look at an e-mail from the vice president of Yale to faculty, students, and staff. He says that the already-substantial security presence at the medical school has been boosted by new police patrols.
As for the lab building-turned-crime-scene, when it reopens, there will be extra security inside and out of that building.
And tonight on campus, a candlelight vigil will happen in honor of Annie Le.
And we're going to keep pushing forward on this story next hour with CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks. I'm going to talk to him about campus crime and how police are working this case.
If you go to college, if you have a kid in college, you need to hear what he has to say.
The husband and wife team accused of Jaycee Dugard's 18-year nightmare showing up in court today. Phillip and Nancy Garrido have pleaded not guilty to 29 counts in the kidnapping and rape case. Neither of them expected to get out of jail any time soon. But today's bond hearing made it official.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VERN PIERSON, EL DORADO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: As for Mrs. Garrido, the court continued the status, which is that she's being held without bail. As for Mr. Garrido, the bail was set at $30 million. Additionally, he would what's entitled a parole hold, which would be without bail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Garridos sat separately in the courtroom and barely glanced at one another.
This may look like a Hollywood movie, but it's war in Afghanistan like you've never seen. Apparently, a kid helping militants plant an IED and the explosive outcome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It was the worst news parents could ever receive: their soldier son killed in Afghanistan. And then another call. This time, it was the best news they could receive. Just what the heck happened here? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: They kill and maim without warning: IED's, the weapon of choice in the war in Afghanistan. What you're about to see is graphic for all of us but an everyday reality for U.S. troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've positioned themselves on the side of the motorcycle from the friendlies that suffered the IED attack, and they're definitely taking it to the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a kid? Dammit! The kid appears to be carrying something over into their vicinity.
He's handing them something, and they're digging in that road.
OK. Go away, kid. Go away, kid. Go away, kid.
The child brought something to those two individuals that appear to be digging in the road. Handed it to them and walked off at this point.
Whoa. Never mind. It just detonated itself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just blew themselves up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They affirm. They just blew themselves up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, just to give you a little perspective here, here's a look at what U.S. troops faced just in August alone: 440 IEDs cleared, 129 attacks and casualties.
Well, the worst possible news for parents. The military calls you and tells you that your son or daughter has been killed in combat. It happened to Raymond and Robin Jasper, the proud mom and dad of a son serving in the war in Afghanistan.
Happens all the time, right? And way too often. But guess what? In this case the call was a mistake. What on earth happened?
Here's Andrew Pierrotti of our affiliate WGRZ in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT JASPER, FATHER OF JESSE: Somebody should have come to the house.
ANDREW PIERROTTI, WGRZ REPORTER (voice-over): It's Raymond and Robin Jasper's worst and best day of their lives.
ROBIN JASPER, MOTHER OF JESSE: We all sobbed for hours.
PIERROTTI: While camping in Springfield Sunday afternoon, the Niagara Falls father got a phone call from someone he says was a military liaison. She claimed to have an urgent message.
ROBERT JASPER: And then she preceded to dictate to me that on September 12, Jesse -- Sergeant Jesse Jasper died, was killed in Afghanistan.
ROBIN JASPER: And he said, "Somebody needs to take the phone."
I said, "Did Jesse get hurt?"
He said, "Jesse's dead." And he dropped to the floor, and my sister-in-law took the phone to my brother-in-law. And I fell to the floor with him, and we just sobbed.
PIERROTTI: They're given a phone number to get more details about their son's death. But they wait.
Meantime, family and friends start to gather at their home. Food is prepared for those mourning his death, and family and friends post the sad news on Facebook. A few hours later, they make the call to military officials to get the details.
ROBERT JASPER: So we were all here gathered to find out what happened to my son and the details.
PIERROTTI: And what they get is an unexpected response.
ROBERT JASPER: So he says, "There's -- Jesse Jasper is not dead." He says, "I don't know why somebody would have called you." He says, "Usually, they'll show up at your door."
PIERROTTI: They get more confirmation when their son calls from Afghanistan.
ROBERT JASPER: And when I told him, he says, "Dad, I don't know how that happened." He says, "But I will be going to my commanders tomorrow to find out why they called you and told you I was dead."
PIERROTTI: They're filled with joy their son is alive, but they want answers from the military.
ROBIN JASPER: Because this should not have to devastate another family the way it devastated us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, we called the Army to find out just what the policy is in a case like this. And it's pretty darn clear. Army spokesman George Wright said, quoting now, "It is the Army's practice to notify families of soldiers who have died in person by military personnel and a chaplain, and never by phone. We currently have staff officers looking into this matter."
We'll definitely follow up for you.
Kanye, can't you just sit still and let someone else have the limelight? Guess not. What did little Taylor Swift ever do to you?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, they're sad, they're frightened, but they're banding together after the apparent slaying of one of their own. Yale students plan to hold a vigil under seven hours from now after word that a body was found stuffed behind a wall at a school lab. Police believe it's grad student Annie Le, missing for nearly a week now. Yale has now upped security.
Charlotte, North Carolina, who could have done something like this? A pregnant 15-year-old shot in the head and killed while waiting at her bus stop to go to school. Police say the shooting was not random, and they're looking for a suspect.
We're OK for now, but we might not stay that way. In a speech on Wall Street, President Obama said taxpayer-funded bailouts have mostly stabilized the financial system, but he's pushing for reforms to fend off another crisis.
Today is the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, which touched off global shock waves.
Now talking about a case of rain, rain, go away. The flooding's bad in the south, and it looks like it's about to get worse.
Right, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we have had this massive drought, extreme drought across Texas all summer long. And then all of a sudden, it rains like this.
Dallas yesterday, almost six inches of rain. Arlington, a little over five.
I will open up this window, and we'll show you what the ladies here across parts of Texas were dealing with. All right. Yes, they're wearing life jackets for a reason. The car was swept away in the dark on their way to early morning church. They don't even know how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE REYNOLDS, FLOOD SURVIVOR: Where was I? That's what I -- the car just -- I don't know. It just took me. And then all of a sudden, I spun and I don't know -- I just went down there and I hit that tree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: Very dangerous driving around in the dark when you know there has been a lot of rain at night.
There's going to be more rain again tonight. Here's Dallas all the way back over to Tyler and Longview. This going to be a fairly wet event all the way across the southeast, as well. Showers into Texas, into Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It's not going to go away any time soon. This is going to be a long day today, Tuesday, Wednesday, and probably even Thursday, a rain maker. You just don't want to be under one of those cells that won't move like we had over Dallas yesterday -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK, Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Once a cop, always a cop. A retired state trooper helps the FBI nab a notorious robbery suspect wanted in four states.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: He may be retired, but his instincts are still pretty sharp. A former Missouri state trooper helped police nab the suspect in a multi-state robbery spree.
Our Carol Costello has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this guy was so slippery the FBI posted surveillance photos from the robberies on huge electronic billboards in eight states. In the photos, you could see a man sneering and holding a pistol sideways. The FBI says the huge billboard worked. They received valuable tips, but the her of the day is a retired highway patrolman.
(voice-over) He's dubbed the Brazen Bandit. Police say Chad Schaffner would march into a bank, point a gun at a teller's face and order everyone onto the floor. He's suspected of at least ten bank robberies in four states, probably more.
But Schaffner is now behind bars after a tip to authorities from Sam Lakey, a retired Missouri state highway patrol officer. While on a trip with his family, Lakey's police instincts kicked in when he saw a car in a Kingdom (ph), Missouri, motel parking lot that looked familiar. SAM LAKEY, LED POLICE TO SUSPECT: Either I've seen this car or, you know, somewhere you know, maybe on our trip or whatever. And then as time went on, it was, you know, could it be -- could it be that car from that bank robbery?
COSTELLO: Lakey later saw a man staying at the motel acting suspicious, and he did some digging.
LAKEY: I found the Internet, kind of checked a little bit, and then got on the "America's Most Wanted" and did the Google for bad guys kind of search, and there he was.
COSTELLO: Schaffner had been featured on "America's Most Wanted" and had his picture and story posted on the show's Web site. Lakey called police. They surrounded the motel. Schaffner was in his room at the time when he noticed the police activity and became nervous.
BRIAN TRUCHON, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, KANSAS CITY: He called down to the front desk, actually called down to the front desk. One of the detectives on scene began to speak with him and told him that the best thing he could do is just come down -- come down to the front desk. And the officers, actually, were waiting for him right outside the door.
COSTELLO: Schaffner was arrested and faces multiple charges of bank robbery, burglary, and receiving stolen property.
(on camera) When Schaffner was identified, the FBI says he was released from an Indiana prison just last year, following an armed robbery conviction. He also has several other convictions in Indiana, for crimes including burglary and resisting arrest -- Kyra.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Carol Costello, thanks for much.
Now, he was former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's chief fundraiser. Now there are looming questions surrounding his death. Did Christopher Kelly commit suicide?
The mayor of the suburban Chicago city is backing off an earlier statement. Mayor Dwight Welch (ph) now won't confirm or deny that Kelly told police he'd taken an overdose. Kelly was found with drugs, slumped over in his SUV on Friday. Police are treating his death as a possible suicide.
Kelly was scheduled to go to prison this week after pleading guilty to tax fraud. His autopsy's done, but the coroner's waiting on toxicology results.
The health care fight is still in full swing in Washington but President Obama is in New York, pushing forward on the health of the U.S. financial system. In a speech you may have seen live on CNN, the president marked the one-year anniversary of the shocking collapse of Lehman Brothers and said strong rules of the road are essential to protecting investors, institutions, and the whole U.S. economy. He's pushing historic reforms, including a consumer financial protection agency.
Beyond Wall Street, beyond Washington, Lehman ex -- implosion, rather, sent shock waves across the globe. We want to tap into CNN's extraordinary resources to see what's changed in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Morgan Neill in Tokyo. Now what's changed here in the year since the Lehman collapse, one of the hardest-hit areas has been real estate, and you can see it here all around me. A year ago this area was filled with scores of projects under development. But after the Lehman collapse, apartment sales plummeted, and the over-supply of rooms led to dozens of companies going bankrupt. And that meant many projects, like this one behind me, came to grinding halt.
EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Eunice Yoon in Hong Kong. One year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, many people here still don't trust the banks. Hong Kong investors had put hundreds of millions of dollars into Lehman-backed assets, and they're still fighting to get their money back.
The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers has hurt the reputation of Wall Street. U.S. assets were considered some of the safest bets, but now investors are shifting their focus to China and other emerging markets because they think that's where the money is.
EMILY CHANG, CNN BEIJING CORRESPONDENT: I'm Emily Chang on Beijing's Wall Street. This is where most of the international financial institutions are located, like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup. Since Lehman Brothers collapsed, many people working for these big banks here in China have lost their jobs or have been transferred back to their home countries.
But the Chinese government has taken unprecedented steps to protect China's economy in the financial crisis. A massive stimulus package has been relatively successful and China's GDP has continued to grow, thanks to hefty investment. But unemployment remain as top concern, especially among migrant workers and recent college graduates. Exports and imports continue to fall, and China's export- driven economic model, has largely failed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That was CNN's Emily Chang, Eunice Yoon and also Morgan Neill.
In his speech today on Wall Street, President Obama pushed for updating financial regulations worldwide. It's a key role of the G- 20 summit next week -- next week, rather, in Pittsburgh.
Work on a health care reform bill continues. It's the number one issue in many states. CNN chief national correspondent John King tells us how the issue is playing in independent-minded Maine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Senator Snowe's office.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The calls start early. This one, adamantly opposed to an expanded government role in health care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand. We will get this right into the Senator for you.
J. KING: Minutes later, a very different perspective.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So, you would like her to consider -- to support the public option? All right. All right. Thank you for calling in.
J. KING: Senator Olympia Snowe is one of two Republican senators from Maine trying to carefully navigate the health care debate. In Washington, and in a ruggedly beautiful state whose politics often defy traditional labels.
(on camera): What make Maine's politics so interesting and at time unpredictable is the state's independent history. Think of it this way. This pot, 10 lobsters, is the state electorate. Over to my left, we'll place three. A little more than three in ten are registered as Democrats.
Now to my right, we'll place three. It's actually a little shy of three and ten are registered as Republicans. But we wouldn't want to break a lobster in half, would we? What that leaves you with four in ten in the middle. Unenrolled voters, Maine calls them, or independents. Which is why you can have a state that gives Obama such a big victory, yet has two Republican senators.
ANGUS KING (I), FORMER GOVERNOR OF MAINE: I think it goes back into history and location, a little bit away from the rest of the country. A hundred years, the people who worked here and built Maine were independent type people - farmers, fishermen, and they are about as independent as they get.
J. KING (voice-over): Angus King served two terms as Maine governor, beginning in 1995, elected as an independent.
A. KING: What people vote for in Maine is what works. I would call it pragmatist. They appear less interested in partisan labels then in just getting the problem solved. And by the way, I think Maine is, in some ways, a future, a predictor of where the country is going. More and more people are easing away from the rabid attachment to the parties and swing back and forth. That's where elections are decided.
JOE RAY, OWNER, FREE RANGE FISH & LOBSTER: Right now, I'm a little confused about everything that's going on.
J. KING: Joe Ray's Portland seafood business is doing well. Restaurant orders are down, but overall, sales are up as more people eat in. Full-time employees here get health care, even though Ray says it's expensive.
RAY: You keep good employees, you know. Keep good people so you don't have to keep changing the flow of people coming in and out. It costs money to do that, too.
KING: But, Ray, a self-described fiscal conservative, says with a slow economy and record deficits, it's not the time for expensive health care changes.
RAY: You know, I have three children. I'm concerned what's is going to happen to them? Are they going to be carrying this bill forever? That's my biggest concern. I mean, I just think right now, he's out there spending, spending, spending. I just hope that it helps the country.
KING: House meetings (ph) organized on the Internet were a staple of the Obama campaign and are back now as part of the health care push. Half a dozen neighbors came to watch the president's big speech at Paul Hogan's house in Kennebunkport. Not bad, but not the intensity of last year's campaign.
PAUL HOGAN, KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE: I think there are lots of people who will get involved every two years or every four years and will talk to their neighbors for elections. I think it's much harder to get people involved in an issue.
J. KING: Still, the mood here was upbeat. These Obama supporters believing their candidate, their president is finally taking charge of the fight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been rudderless (ph) because he hasn't been at the helm, and now finally he's taking the helm and hopefully we will get on course.
J. KING: John King, CNN, Portland, Maine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Good news for parents worried about getting their kids that new vaccine for the H1N1 virus. It could be ready weeks earlier than you thought. We're going to let you know when.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It happened again. Another city, another undercover sting involving alleged prostitution in ACORN, the liberal activist group. Joining us with the latest, Abbie Boudreau with the CNN Special Investigations Unit. Boy, your story doesn't -- didn't end with that one report.
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: No, this is the third video that's been released, and it's pretty much the same story as the other two from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., where a filmmaker named James O'Keefe and his friend pose as a pump and a prostitute. They walk into the ACORN office in on Nevins Street in Brooklyn, New York, asking for help setting up a brothel. Now, let me give you a little bit of history of what ACORN. ACORN is active in 41 states and focuses mainly on mainly housing for the poor. It's considered to be a liberal organizing committee group, and keep in mind, the filmmaker is a conservative activist.
Now in the New York video posted on YouTube, O'Keefe tells the workers he wants to use a house as a brothel, but he doesn't want his name associated with the property since he hopes to run for political office someday. Now, the workers try to help him and say, the pimp should sell the house to the prostitute so it's under her name instead of his. They tell the pair the prostitute can still funnel the money they make turning tricks back to the pimp, and that way he can pay off the mortgage without his name being associated.
(LAUGHTER)
BOUDREAU: Okay. One of the ACORN workers even advises the prostitute to hide her income, get this, in a tin can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you buy the house...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.
UNIDETIFIED FEMALE: ... with a backyard.
You -- get a tin - if Tom Jones is going to come and beat you and want money, you get a tin and you bury it down in there. And you put the money right in there and you cover it and put it and you tell a single soul but yourself where it is
UNIDEIFIED FEMALE: Wait, a tin? I put the money in a tin...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a tin, and put it in there. And cover it with grass and put the grass over it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOUDREAU: Anyway, here's the part where one of the ACRON workers warns the pair, if they are honest, they won't get a house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't say what you do for a living, you can say freelancing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got to start thinking.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, she's very honest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, honest is not going to get you the house. That's probably why you've been denied the house.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you have to do that type of work, you've got to start thinking quickly or you're going to be abused.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOUDREAU: We've asked for an on-camera interview with an ACORN spokesman about this and the prior videos, and we've also tried to contract the ACORN worker you just saw there on this new tape. On Friday, ACORN's top leadership said the similar tapes were part of a long-term plan to smear ACORN housing for political reasons. But ACORN also said it was reviewing procedures nationwide.
PHILLIPS: You kind of wonder where they got all the great advice there. Seemed to know exactly what to do.
BOUDREAU: No, you can't make this stuff up.
PHILLIPS: No, you can't make it up! All right, there's the other workers in Baltimore and D.C., what is going on with them?
BOUDREAU: Well, we know that they have been fired.
PHILLIPS: Okay.
BOUDREAU: We found that out last week. They reacted pretty quickly and they were fired. But these workers that we just saw, we have no idea what is going to happen to them. But I'm sure we'll hear more in the upcoming hour. We have another segment with you next hour, and we'll have a lot more information.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. All right. We'll keep following it. Thanks, Abbie.
BOUDREAU: Okay.
PHILLIPS: Well, they are the reason that we all have to show our little bottles of liquid at the airport. The three men convicted of a plot to blow up transatlantic airplanes were sentenced in Britain today. They schemed (ph) to hide liquid explosives in small drink bottle. The ring leader got at least 40 years, and two of his accomplices got more than 30 years each.
Connecticut police have removed the body they found stuffed behind a wall at a Yale research lab. Now they are trying to confirm whether the body is that of grad student Annie Le. Forensic tests on bloody clothes from the scene could be complete today -- or completed today, rather. We're hearing reports that police have narrowed down suspects. No details yet.
It could be good news for president's plan to overhaul health care. Today, Montana Senator Max Baucus emerged from the meeting with the so-called Gang of Six, which has been negotiating a compromise bill on reform. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), FINACE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I think, basically, as senators on and off the committee get to know more about all of this, their comfort level is starting to come up a bit. And I believe that strongly, and I do believe that in the end we'll have some significant...
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PHILLIPS: Well, if you're worried about swine flu, this -- you've got to hear this actually. That new vaccine you've been hearing so much about may be at your doctor's office early. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We are on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October, but we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls out the production line. ..
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But the big question is, do you want to get that shot? CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to tell us what you need to know and how safe the vaccine is, etc. What do you think?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first question I think most people have is, when you sit down to get that shot in your doctor's office or wherever, how many people have gone before you? How many people has it been tested in before it is given to you?
So, let's take a look at this. The National Institutes of Health told us last month that by the time the shot goes on the market to give to you and your kids, 1,200 children would have been given the shot as part of a clinical trial; 3,100 healthy adults, including the elderly would have taken part in those studies. And 240 pregnant women would have had the swine flu shot, again, as part of a study.
So, you can see that thousands have gone before you when you get your shot. You're hardly the first.
PHILLIPS: OK. The vaccine will be out earlier than expected, but that doesn't necessarily mean it can cut off the outbreaks in certain parts of the country, right?
COHEN: Right. We are vaccinating against a disease that is already here with us. Anybody that is a parent with kids in school in the Southeast, probably knows. I know I get e-mails from my children's principal nearly every day talking about the number of swine flu cases. So, let's take a look. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is widespread H1N1 flu activity already in the Southeast, and also you can take a look in Arizona and Oklahoma and Alaska. Swine flu is already with us. It's sort of an interesting situation. I think they're hoping that the shot will at least hope to contain the outbreaks in places where it's already out there and in a big way.
PHILLIPS: What about pregnant women and the vaccine? We've been talking a lot about that and the concerns around that.
COHEN: Right, pregnant women are supposed to get the swine flu shot. They're in one of those first groups that's supposed to get it because they are at risk for complications. Tomorrow we will go to Vanderbilt University and talking to women who are pregnant who have volunteered to be, well, guinea pigs and say, try a shot on me and my unborn child. And I'll ask them, are you nervous? You're getting a new shot. What do you think? Are there any risks here? And I'll be talking to them tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Thanks, Elizabeth.
A tennis superstar shows contempt of court. Now, Serena Williams is going to have to pay for her verbal volley. Was she over the line?
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PHILLIPS: Rapper Kayne West. He's had a string of hits, and a string of errors. But there's no need to look back on the past, because we've got a fresh one for you. It happened last night on the MTV Music Awards, when teen sensation Taylor Swift beat out Beyonce to win Best Female Video. Well, Kanye just wasn't having it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE WEST, PERFORMER: Yo, Taylor, I've got to tell you, I'm really happy for you. I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
WEST: One of the best videos of all time!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That was an uncomfortable moment. Hi, everybody. What do I say now? Beyonce was pretty shocked, too. As you can see, Taylor was pretty stunned. The crowd booed, the producers scrambled, but Beyonce kept this train from derailing, and we're going to show you how next hour.
If that's not enough drama for you, a foot fault turns into a serious case of foot mouth. Serena Williams lets loose on the line judge at the U.S. Open semifinals this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SERENA WILLIAMS, PLAYER AT U.S. OPEN: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, talk about contempt of court. Then came the news conference after the match. Quite a different tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: I think she said I would kill you. I was like, what? I was like, wait a minute, but then I had misheard. She had never said that. So I was just something -- I was like, you know, whoa, wait a minute, let's not -- because I'm not that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, Williams also apologized in a statement today, but she's still going to have to put her money where her potty mouth is. She's been fined $10,000 for not showing the judge much love. It seems like deja vu all over again. Remember this guy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: He should have been fined for those tight shorts.
So, what do you think? Based on seeing John McEnroe's blast from the past, is everyone making too big a deal about Williams? What's the difference?
We want you to tweet us. We've had a number of thoughts from you on Twitter. DonHeegel says, "There's no difference in the two. Williams and McEnroe, I think they've become so successful, they think they are due more than others in the sport.
Let us know what you think. Send us your tweet at KyraCNN. We'll have more of your thoughts in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, plus another one of our favorite McEnroe clips.
A child bride when she was only 11 years old. Dead at 12 after struggling in labor for three days to give birth. Married at 11, dead at 12? How on earth could this ever happen?
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PHILLIPS: She was only 11 years old when her father forced her to marry a 24-year-old farmer. Now, a year later, she's dead. A human rights group says a Yemeni girl died of severe bleeding after three days of terrible labor. Her child also died.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoon joins us now live in Iman, Jordan. Now, Mohammed, has the father or government reacted to a very senseless death? MOHAMMED JAMJOON, CNN YEMEN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we've reached out to the Yemeni government, reached out to the parents. We've not been able to get any reaction from them. We have heard from a man by the name of (INAUDIBLE), who has a child rights agency in Yemen. He's the one who stumbled upon the case and he's been publicizing it because he says there needs to be a line Yemen enacted whereby this doesn't happen.
People in the West don't understand this sort of thing is quite prevalent in Yemen, these child marriages. We profiled them before on CNN. Unfortunately, this one ended absolutely tragically. She was forcibly married off at 11, taken out of school, then she got pregnant, then they couldn't even get an ambulance to her when she went into a difficult labor.
This was last week. She finally got to a hospital the next day. The day after that, she passed away due to severe bleeding, and the child was stillborn. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, you talk about how these child marriages are common there. Is there any effort to break the practice?
JAMJOON: You know, we have been speaking to UNICEF today. UNICEF has been advocating for the raising for the minimum age for marriage in Yemen, and also countries like Saudi Arabia. We spoke earlier to a man by the name of Naseem Ur-Rehman, and he was very passionate in saying that, while he didn't know the details of this specific case, Ur-Rehman, who passed away, he did know the details of several similar cases. And he was outraged and walked us through what it's like for young girls in Yemen who are forced to marry at a young age. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF NASEEM UR-REHMAN, UNICEF: She's pulled out of the school and pushed into marriage. When they're pushed into marriage, they are pushed into early pregnancy. And then in a system and environment where the health facilities are so poor that most of the births take place in the hands of the self-taught midwives and nurses. This is a recipe for disaster. It's like pushing our children into the trap of death.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
JAMJOON: Kyra, many aid agencies in Yemen called these brides "brides of death," because they don't expect them to live through it, it's so traumatic. Right now, we're reaching out to parents, we're reaching out to the government, we're trying to get more reaction, and we want to know, will Yemen actually enact a law whereby child marriages are restricted? Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We'll follow up. Mohammed Jamjoom, thanks.
A murder at Yale moves the campus to grief as police moved to calm everybody's fears. The body found in a wall in a med school building undergoing autopsy today. It's believed to be grad student Annie Le who disappeared last week. We'll get more on the community's reaction to all this, plus crime concerns in the area from our affiliate News 12 Connecticut.
But first, the latest developments from CNN's Mary Snow on the line with us from New Haven. Mary, what can you tell us?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): As you mentioned, Kyra, police are waiting for an autopsy to be done. They say they could see the results as early as today. The body has not yet been positively identified.
And you talked about those security on the campus. People here are clearly shaken, as one professor we spoke with says, you get the sense that a murderer is among us. What has really struck people is that the building where Annie Le had last entered was seen as a building that was very secure. We know that there are more than 70 security cameras that law enforcement officials have been poring over these past couple days.
We did talk to two people on campus this morning who attended a meeting held by Yale officials. The two people we spoke to said that they clearly got the indication from Yale officials that police had narrowed down the number of suspects. But officially, a police spokesman we just spoke to says there are no suspects at this point, saying that several people, including staff and students -- faculty staff, that is, are being interviewed, but they say at this point there are no suspects. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, Mary, have your sources been able to confirm anything with regard to the security in this building? Apparently, you have to swipe your I.D. in order to get in there. So, do they think that more than likely, it has to be somebody that has official access?
SNOW: That is clearly the indication we're getting from people on the campus, who go into that building. Yes, they say, you have to have an I.D. that has to be swiped in order to get to certain sections of this building. They say this was one of the newer buildings, that they felt that -- they were told -- they knew it was very secured.
So, the indication you get from people on campus is that it was perhaps someone who worked there, but that is clearly speculation. Officials are not saying anything at this point in terms of suspects, but clearly there's a lot of speculation going on from the people here on this campus.
PHILLIPS: Mary Snow, let us know if you hear anything. Thanks so much.
