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Campbell Brown
New Nuclear Arms Control Treaty Announced; The Power of Palin
Aired March 26, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody.
The president announces the biggest nuclear arms control treaty in nearly two decades. That news tops the "Mash-Up" tonight. We're watching it all so you don't have to.
The arms control deal with Russia is a major breakthrough for the White House coming on the heels of the health care victory earlier this week. The president announced the treaty today, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pentagon Chief Robert Gates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we have taken another step forward by -- in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our building.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The 10-year pact reduces by one-third the nuclear weapons that the U.S. and Russia will deploy.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It also cuts roughly in half the number of missiles and launchers that carry or can carry those warheads within minutes to their final destination.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Russian insisted that as part of the treaty the U.S. stop plans for a missile defense system. The president told Medvedev -- quote -- "If you're going to continue to persist on this missile defense language, we're going to have to walk away."
Ultimately, the Russians blinked.
DOUGHERTY: President Obama and President Medvedev agree on another thing, and that is that nuclear weapons should be phased out, a world without nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Now, clearly a serious occasion, but Hillary Clinton did manage to inject a little humor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Just as we have to go to our Congress, President Medvedev has to go to the Duma. And I think President Obama has said that he would send Rahm Emanuel to Moscow.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: And -- and we all immediately endorsed that offer.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: So, if -- you know, if President Medvedev wants to take us up on it, we're ready.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Presidents Obama and Medvedev are expected to sign the treaty April 8 in Prague.
In Iraq tonight, we finally have results from the parliamentary elections, a vote that was plagued with charges of fraud.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been nearly three weeks since the elections took place. Only today were the final results announced.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ayad Allawi won these elections. Now, he is a Shiite, but he is secular. He is pro-American, and he is very anti- Iran. The current government in Iraq right now is a religious state that leans toward Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ayad Allawi has 91 seats, edging out current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. But there is likely to be upheaval ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neither came close to a majority and forming a coalition government could take months of drawn-out negotiations. Maliki is not going down without a fight, however. He promised to challenge the outcome in court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: A State Department spokesman called for all candidates and parties to accept the results.
In politics here at home, one-time Republican power couple John McCain and Sarah Palin reunited for the first time since 2008. Back then, he made her a household name. Well, today, she returned the favor, trying to use her star power to help him get reelected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She downplayed his many years in Washington, but insisted that he will fight the fight that this very Tea Party-oriented crowd wants to fight against big spending and taxes. SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: He is leading the loyal opposition in Congress, standing up and speaking out against the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda and what they are doing.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His challenger in the GOP primary, a former congressman who is now a popular talk radio host, is casting the senator as an out-of-touch insider, not conservative enough on the big issues. So, McCain has enlisted the help of the conservative superstar he helped create.
PALIN: I think this go-around, when all the votes are tallied, I think he is going to win this one.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yet the crowd at today's rally seem more enamored with Palin.
When it comes time to vote in Arizona, are you going to vote for McCain or Hayworth?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably Hayworth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you really are just here to see Sarah Palin?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You betcha.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And as you heard there, McCain is being challenged on the right by former Congressman J.D. Hayworth.
A glimmer of hope today for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages, especially those who are also unemployed. The Obama administration announced a plan to prevent foreclosures, in part by reducing mortgage balances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It would use about $14 billion in TARP, or bailout money, to pay lenders to write off some of their principal owed by underwater borrowers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beginning this fall, lenders will be required to consider reducing loan principal for troubled mortgages. Lenders that do will get a financial incentive. Homeowners who are underwater, but not facing foreclosure, will be offered government- sponsored refinancing, and the unemployed will be eligible for a cap on their mortgage payment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barely minutes after the news leaked out today, a wave of outrage hit the blogosphere. Writes one, "I'm so disgusted with this never-ending bailout of people who acted irresponsibly, at the expense of those who didn't."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This estimate came in this morning, one in three homeowners, nearly one in three, now underwater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Homeowners cannot apply for the plan. Mortgage companies get to decide if they want to offer it at all.
Now, I can't even begin to describe what I'm about to show you. All I'm going say is, Larry King and Snoop Dogg. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
SNOOP DOGG, MUSICIAN: I have 25 cars now.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Where do you keep them?
I got a little Spizat I call the Doggy Dizzy up under Kizad and, you know what I'm saying?
KING: No, I don't, Snoop.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Where do you keep them?
SNOOP DOGG: I got a little Spizat, like the Batcave. You know how Batman got the little underground cave where he come out with his little whoo-wop when we need to? That's where they at.
KING: Snoop Dogg, I must be going crazy. I'm beginning to understand you.
SNOOP DOGG: I love that.
KING: Did you invent this language?
SNOOP DOGG: I believe it's something that is hereditary. I believe it's something that is accustomed to us from where we come from. It's a ghetto thing. We have our own little slang that we use in the ghetto. And it becomes our own language and our own lingo. Back in the '70s, it was called jive talk. And now well call it Snoop talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And you can see more from Larry's interview with Snoop Dogg at the top of the hour.
And that brings us to the "Punchline" tonight courtesy of Jay Leno, who is not done talking about Vice President Biden's F-bomb the other day. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": He said the F- word during a press conference with the president the other day. Well, the White House is not taking any more chances. You see what happened yesterday when he tried this? Take a look.
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It is my personal honor and president to introduce the vice president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr.
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Jay Leno, everybody. And that is your Friday night "Mash-Up."
Tonight, the power of Palin. The former Alaska governor back with the man who made her a star, John McCain. Can she bring divided conservatives together?
When we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Nearly a year-and-a-half after their historic run for the White House, John McCain and Sarah Palin were together again today. It was deja vu in more ways than one.
McCain is still banking on Palin to reenergize his campaign and convince conservatives he is one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: You know, many, many years ago, I competed in a pageant, and...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: Yes. You know what? Coming then from an expert, I can tell you he could win the talent and the debate portion of any pageant, but nobody is ever going to dub him miss congeniality, not out of the Washington elite.
(LAUGHTER)
PALIN: And we should be thankful for that.
In respect to the Tea Party movement, beautiful movement. You know what? Everybody here today supporting John McCain, we are all part of that Tea Party movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: Joining me now from Tucson, national political correspondent Jessica Yellin and "TIME" magazine senior political analyst Mark Halperin.
Jessica, I know you were working the crowd a little bit before this event. Who was the bigger draw here? Was it John McCain or Sarah Palin?
YELLIN: That would be Palin, Campbell.
People were pouring in here with her book, wearing Sarah shirts. As they were standing around waiting, they were chanting, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, never, John, John, John.
One note that sort of highlights that, initially, we were told Sarah Palin was going to be sort of the keynote speaker and John McCain would actually speak before her, which is enormously unusual at an endorsement event. They changed that at the last minute, but it just shows you a new world order, Campbell.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Yes, I will say.
Mark, you know, the last time we saw these two together was 2008. It was right after the election. And since then, we have learned all sorts of behind-the-scenes campaign drama, much of it documented in your book. What do we know about the two of them now? Do they talk? Are they close? What can you tell us?
MARK HALPERIN, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, "TIME": They don't talk regularly, but they do talk on occasion. And they have smoothed over some of the rough issues around my book and some of the other issues where there was questions about tension between Sarah Palin and some of the people who worked for John McCain.
This was a new world order today. McCain needs her here. She is now what he was a little over a year ago, the most powerful person in the Republican Party. He -- he respects the fact that she's got such a following. He needs her. He has never resented, according to all my reporting, the fact that she does, as she did today, as she did during the campaign, draw bigger crowds, gets more excitement from crowds.
He welcomes that. He finds it kind of unusual. And of course he created Sarah Palin. If it wasn't for her, the country wouldn't know her, she wouldn't have this opportunity. And I think he has got a measure of pride about that. He also, finally, feels responsible for the rough things that she has encountered by virtue of the fact that he elevated her to the national ticket.
BROWN: But let me ask you both this. Yes, she is a draw. Certainly, she's bringing out the crowds. But does that actually translate, Mark, into votes? Do those -- do her Tea Party credentials rub off on him? HALPERIN: One of the things that John McCain was horrible at in politics, including in the presidential campaign, is the nuts and bolts of politics. He has never paid much attention to it. He has never needed to.
At this event today, all these people, as Jessica quickly said, brought in by Palin, they were collecting names and e-mail addresses of people who they can solicit for political support, maybe for campaign contributions. So, it translates in that way.
And I thought at this event Sarah Palin was right on message, not trying to remake John McCain, but basically saying the thing you care about the most, fighting Washington, standing up, trying to reduce the size of government, McCain's record on that is solid. In some ways, it's better than almost any other Republican's. She was very good on that I thought for him.
BROWN: And, Jessica, your take?
YELLIN: And, Campbell, if -- yes, my -- to build on that, I talked to a lot of people afterwards as they were leaving who said, look, they love Sarah Palin. They were glad they came to hear both of them, and they're still undecided on John McCain. So, it obviously helps him, rather than hurts him. But it's not clear that she will deliver undecideds to McCain just yet.
BROWN: So, guys, I want to play a little bit of McCain -- of Palin from today, rather.
Mark, after health care passed this week, she tweeted out to her followers, don't retreat; instead, reload. And Democrats said that that kind of talk incited some of the violence that we saw this week. She responded to that charge today. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Hearing the news reports lately kind of this ginned-up controversy about us, commonsense conservatives, inciting violence because we happen to oppose some of the things in the Obama administration.
(BOOING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will do it with our vote!
PALIN: Amen, brother. That's what you do it with, with your vote.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: You got it right. We know violence isn't the answer. When we take up our arms, we're talking about our vote.
But this B.S. coming from the lame-stream media lately about this -- about us inciting violence, don't let -- don't let the conversation be diverted. Don't let a distraction like that get you off track. Keep fighting hard for these candidates who are all about the commonsense conservative solutions that we need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And, Mark, Palin is going to address a very different crowd tomorrow. This is a huge Tea Party rally in Harry Reid's home state of Nevada.
Talk to us a little bit about the tension between that group and the mainstream Republican Party, because they need them. But there is also a little bit fear of the Tea -- surrounding the Tea Party movement as well, isn't it?
HALPERIN: Well, there is some fear, and there is some fear that at an event like tomorrow's, there can be people who are off message at the podium or out in the crowd.
The reality is the Republican Party today -- Sarah Palin is right -- is largely animated by the Tea Party movement, by conservative activists who are angry at Washington and who are defiant the way Palin is. They're not looking to work with Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress for solutions. They are defiant. She embodies that.
The -- one of the gifts of Sarah Palin is, she can come to an event like this, which has got more establishment Republicans, not everybody, but some people, but then be the keynoter at this Tea Party event, because her message right now is the message of the dominant wing of the Republican Party, as dangerous as it is for the party to have that be its animation, because it is not a centrist or a majority position.
BROWN: Jessica Yellin and Mark Halperin for us tonight, both of you from Tucson, I know, many thanks. Appreciate it. Have a good night.
When we come back, the priest sex abuse scandal is spreading -- tonight, charges of a cover-up at the highest levels of the Catholic Church. The Vatican blames the media for waging what it calls a smear campaign against the pope.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Charges and denials. What did Pope Benedict know about sexual abuse in the church before he became its leader? The Vatican strongly denies new reports that Benedict, as archbishop and cardinal, failed to stop a priest accused of abusing children from taking up new duties in a different parish.
Diana Magnay reports from Rome, where the Vatican says it is under attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smiles and waves from the pope as he addressed young people in Saint Peter's Square, ahead of World Youth Day this coming Sunday, his message to the young not to fear the call to the priesthood, an important message for the Catholic congregation in difficult times.
(on camera): But the Vatican feels that it is under siege, and not just from a deluge of sexual abuse allegations against priests, but from what it sees as a sustained campaign of attack on the part of the media.
(voice-over): The Vatican newspaper wrote on Friday of a tendency in the media to ignore the facts, and said that there was clearly an ignoble attempt to strike at Pope Benedict.
In a letter of support for Pope Benedict from France's bishops, they wrote of a campaign to attack the pope and said, "We all suffer from this disgraceful process and carry with you the pain you are suffering because of these slanders."
This week, the Vatican strongly denied a "New York Times" report that alleged that the case of a U.S. priest who abused deaf children in the 1950s and '60s showed evidence of a cover-up on the part of the Vatican many years later. Victims say they believe the pope could have done more and earlier when he was a cardinal at the Vatican.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the pope knew about this. He was the one who handled the sex abuse cases. So, I think he should be accountable.
MAGNAY: Vatican analysts say this kind of speculation has thrown the Vatican into its worst-ever crisis.
MARCO POLITI, VATICAN ANALYST: There are people saying now, after what has been written in "The New York Times," also, the pope is responsible of the cover-up, or could be responsible of the cover-up. That's the great issue.
And, in a certain sense, it's tragic for the pope, because Benedict XVI, since the moment of his election, has taken a very clear way of a strategy in fighting the abuse scandals.
MAGNAY: In a letter published Friday, the archbishop of Westminster in the U.K. listed what he called the important changes the pope has made to church law on child abuse. He said Pope Benedict's actions speak as well as his words. The question is whether those actions speak loud enough to a doubtful public and to others who say they have lost faith in their own church.
Diana Magnay, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Joining us right now is CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen, who is also senior correspondent for "The National Catholic Reporter," an independent newspaper not associated with the Catholic Church.
It's so good to have you here, John.
Just talk to us a little bit about how bad this really is for the pope right now. He is at this sort of crossroads, how you I guess try to figure out how to reconcile calls for transparency with what he may have done in his official capacity.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, in a nutshell, I think it's really, really bad.
I think the bottom line is that what is at stake here is not so much criticism of the pope's policies or sort of the Vatican's corporate response to the crisis, but really his personal moral authority, because I think what a lot of people would say is that the sex abuse crisis is two props. It's the priest who abused and it's the bishops who covered it up.
BROWN: Who covered up.
ALLEN: And the question that is now being asked is, can the pope credibly discipline other bishops, if his own track record on this issue isn't any better? And he's somehow got to give an answer to that question in order to move forward.
BROWN: Why hasn't the church, frankly, taken stronger action?
ALLEN: Well, I think a lot of people would say that, on that first problem, that is, preventing abuse, cracking down on priests who abuse, it has cleaned up its act.
Today, it's abundantly clear that if a priest abuses, that guy is going to be yanked out of the priesthood and he is going to be turned over to the cops. It's that second piece of the puzzle that most people would say is the unfinished business, the senior management, so to speak...
BROWN: The disciplining of the -- right.
ALLEN: ... accountability for bishops.
And the whole point is, can the pope really move forward on that as long as his own track record as a bishop is under this kind of a microscope?
BROWN: So, what could happen? What could the potential consequences for him be, ultimately?
ALLEN: Well, you know, I saw today the London bookmakers have 3- 1 odds that Benedict is going to resign. Personally, I would put those odds a lot longer than that. This just basically doesn't happen.
But I do think that the realistic short-term scenario, at least, is that his papacy can be tied down, if not really paralyzed, putting out these fires about his past. The only response to that is for them to come clean, that is, for Benedict to say; I made a tragic mistake in this case in Germany. If there are other such cases, I want to know about them, so I can rectify them, I can learn the lessons from those cases, and move forward.
BROWN: But would that satisfy people, even if he said that, do you think?
ALLEN: To be honest with you, I think it's the only arrow in the quiver he's got left.
BROWN: Right.
ALLEN: I mean, the alternative, obviously, Campbell, to disclosure is continuing denial and pointing the finger at the media. And I think crisis management 101 would tell us that rarely helps.
BROWN: No kidding.
John Allen, I really appreciate you being here, John. Thanks very much.
ALLEN: You bet.
BROWN: Tonight, when we come back, caught on video, violent mobs coming out of nowhere terrorizing one city. We're going to look at what is behind this and what is being done to try to stop it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Philadelphia is on alert tonight after a series of violent flash mobs terrorized its busy neighborhood. Swarms of teenagers and young adults, presumably organized by text message, have wreaked havoc, breaking into stores, assaulting bystanders, even brawling with each other.
And officials say they have had enough.
Joining us right now is Dr. Joel Fein, who is the director of the Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center, and "Philadelphia Daily News" reporter Yvette Ousley who has been covering the story.
And, Yvette, let me start with you.
I want to show people this video. Take a look at this. This is of a flash mob. This took place in Philadelphia just this past Saturday night. And you can see hundreds of teens sort of taking over the streets while the cops are out trying to maintain order. Walk us through how this came about, and take us inside one of these things. What happened?
YVETTE OUSLEY, "THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS": Campbell, I -- first of all, how are you?
I think that what is happening is, I think you have young people who want to socialize with each other who are getting together at popular hot spots in the city. But I think what is important is to understand that you have kids who are going who are good kids, and within those groups, you have children who go to these locations to wreak havoc on them.
And then you have kids who belong to rival groups. And they all end up in the same spot. And somebody bumps somebody or somebody doesn't like somebody, and they start fighting. But what is important to notice on the videos is that you also see lots of children who are standing nearby. Not everyone in those videos are punching and hitting people and pulling them out of their cars and that sort of thing.
BROWN: And this is -- this is -- again, it starts with a text message that sort of very quickly circulates, and everybody goes to the same location, right?
OUSLEY: Correct.
BROWN: And there is another video I think we have that showed up, surfaced on YouTube this week. And apparently that's the same flash mob. And this is what you were referencing before, showing these kids kicking people in the streets, attacking other people in cars.
Mayor Nutter, I think, could not have been more clear on this. He says in his quote, "You act like a knucklehead, you're going to get locked up."
So, how is the city trying to deal with this?
OUSLEY: I think that the city is trying to increase enforcement of curfew. I think that they're trying to monitor some of these sites.
They have involved the FBI. They're trying to hold parents accountable. They're also -- they have also assembled rapid-response teams to deploy to some of these locations, you know, as soon as they hear that there has been a violent outbreak, you know, at some part of the city.
BROWN: Right.
And Dr. Fein, I know you've worked with teenagers in Philadelphia. What is at the root of this behavior? What makes this sort of peaceful gatherings turn violent?
JOEL FEIN, PHILA. COLLAB. VIOLENCE PREVENTION CTR.: Well, Campbell, I think that I do agree with Yvette that the majority of these kids are likely not going down to commit violence. They're going down to have a social experience. And there are a few who are maybe more than a few that are causing the violence, and then it kind of gets a little bit contagious. And that's when these problems occur, when large groups of kids get together and eventually someone becomes violent and eventually people get hurt.
BROWN: All right. We have to leave it there. Dr. Fein and Yvette, really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thanks very much for your time.
When we come back, how do five teenaged boys disappear for more than 30 years without a trace? Tonight, we're going to show why a case that agonized families and brought one detective out of retirement may finally be solved.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: For the cops, it is one of the oldest cold cases in New Jersey history. These five teenaged boys vanished on a summer night in 1978. One minute they were playing basketball in a park. The next they were all gone. Well, this week detectives said they have solved the mystery. And Randi Kaye has tonight's breakout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these cold case investigators in Newark, one case kept them up at night, the oldest, coldest case in the city. Jack Eutsey came out of retirement in 2000 to work the case of the "Camden 5." Decades earlier, five teenagers had vanished.
JACK EUTSEY, RETIRED COLD CASE INVESTIGATOR: If I hadn't solved this case, I wouldn't have been satisfied.
KAYE: The missing boys were friends.
(on camera): It was a sweltering summer night, August 20th, 1978. The boys had been shooting hoops here at Westside Park in Newark, New Jersey. They stopped home for dinner, police say, then headed out again with a man named Lee Evans who had told them he needed their help moving some boxes.
Lee Evans became a suspect immediately?
EUTSEY: Yes.
KAYE: Why is that?
EUTSEY: Because he was last seen with the children.
KAYE (voice-over): Evans took a polygraph. It was inconclusive.
EUTSEY: There was a lot of flies around the case, you know. And flies only come around when something is stinking and it was dirty.
KAYE: Back in '78, police, desperate for clues, searched the woods, the morgues, even tried a Ouija board. In 1996, they consulted two psychics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody got buried or I would not get those feelings I did.
KAYE: Still, they came up empty. The mystery continued to make headlines. Families endured painful anniversaries.
TERRY LARSON, VICTIM'S SISTER: Every year you play it over again. You look at what are the possibilities. What could have happened?
KAYE: In 2007, Eutsey asked Lieutenant Louis Correga to help on the case.
(on camera): You had to start from scratch, really?
LT. LOUIS CORREGA, ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: Start from scratch, exactly.
KAYE: In 2008, a strange switch in the case. Retired detective Jack Eutsey says that suspect Lee Evans called one of the victim's brothers and told him he had become a born-again Christian and wanted to let him know that mobsters were involved in the boys' disappearance. Mobsters, not him.
(voice-over): Police didn't buy it. Evans and another suspect, his cousin Philander Hampton, still lived in town. A third suspect died in 2008 of natural causes.
(on camera): Is there one shred of evidence that really stands out for you that you said you know what? This could be it.
CORREGA: Well, the putting together the fire with the disappearance of the kids.
KAYE (voice-over): The fire he's talking about happened in 1978. About a year and a half ago, a witness came forward with new information about it. Investigators knew they were close.
(on camera): The big break in the case came when investigators realized that a vacant home that had burned to the ground the night the boys disappeared that used to be right here actually belonged to one of the suspects in the case, Philander Hampton. But because the boys weren't reported missing until two days after that fire, police say there was no reason to make that connection, or ever consider that those boys might have been inside.
(voice-over): Investigators now believe the boys were lured to the vacant home at gunpoint, killed, and doused with gasoline. The House was burned to the ground. The boys' remains never found.
The motive? Payback. Police sources say the boys had broken into Evans' apartment and stolen drugs from him. Two garbage bags full of marijuana. This week, more than three decades after the boys vanished, Lee Evans and Philander Hampton were arrested, charged with five counts of murder and arson. Victims' families are torn between anger and relief.
LARSON: How do you reopen a case and never go back to your prime suspect until now?
KAYE: Both men pleaded not guilty, but for Jack Eutsey, it's case closed.
EUTSEY: They thought they got away with it. They thought they had their best shot. Everybody looked at them. Everybody looked at them.
KAYE (on camera): And they thought they were in the clear. EUTSEY: They thought they were in the clear.
KAYE (voice-over): It may have taken more than 31 years, but if they did kill these boys, investigators finally got it right.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Newark, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: When we come back, a celebrity chef who is out to start a food revolution. Can he save Americans from themselves? Jamie Oliver on what you should eat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Jamie Oliver joins me to talk about his crusade to end obesity in America. But first, more must-see news happening right now. Mike Galanos here with tonight's "Download."
Hi, Mike.
MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: Hey, Campbell. First off, a Chicago taxi driver is under arrest tonight accused of sending money to Al Qaeda. The suspect is a U.S. citizen originally from Pakistan. And officials say he had talked about attacking a stadium somewhere in the U.S. this summer, but they stress there is no imminent danger.
It's being called the deadliest accident in 20 years in the state of Kentucky. Ten people riding in a van died this morning after the driver of a semi-truck crossed the median and slammed into them head- on. That big rig driver was also killed. This happened on Interstate 65 about 40 miles outside of Bowling Green. The van was heading to a wedding. Two kids riding in child safety seats survived that crash.
Legendary actor Dennis Hopper made what could be his final scheduled public appearance today, receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now Hopper is 73 and suffering from terminal prostate cancer. That's according to documents filed this week in Hopper's bitter divorce battle. Jack Nicholson who starred with Hopper in "Easy Rider" was among those on hand.
And if you consider yourself a royal watcher, you've got nothing on a group of tribesmen in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. According to reports, locals believe Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, is a descendant of one of their ancestral spirits who will some day return to live among them. Until then, they're just hoping he might show up in June for his 89th birthday.
Back to you, Campbell. Have a great weekend.
BROWN: All right. You, too, Mike.
Coming up, one man's mission to stop us from eating all that fatty food, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is here after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is out to start a revolution. Angry that obesity is literally killing our kids, promising them shorter life spans than our own, he is taking aim at America's bad eating habits with a new ABC reality series. It's set in Huntington, West Virginia, also known as America's unhealthiest city. And it's called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution." And Jamie joins me right now to talk about it.
Good to have you here.
JAMIE OLIVER, "JAMIE OLIVER'S FOOD REVOLUTION": Hello, madam.
BROWN: Why Huntington, West Virginia?
OLIVER: Well, first of all, there is no date that that says any town is the most unhealthy. But we did go to the tri-state area --
BROWN: Yes.
OLIVER: -- which is a massive area and in that area the biggest metropolitan area was Huntington. So we really wanted to go to the eye of the storm of the government statistics, the CDC report for disease.
BROWN: Yes.
OLIVER: And without question, you know, this area has suffered greatly over the last number of years for all the kind of big hitters -- heart disease, diabetes, obesity, et cetera, et cetera. So that's kind of where I set up camp, really. And my job was really to understand the problem, try and fix it, and see what needed to be done. And try and become a part of the community really.
BROWN: It's a nationwide problem when we talk about obesity.
OLIVER: Yes. Well, that's an interesting thing.
BROWN: So, what is it about us, though, as Americans? I mean, why is it that --
OLIVER: Well, it's not just you. I come from England and we've got the same problems. You know, England is the most unhealthy country in Europe. America as far as I know in the world. Undoubtedly, we both got problems. And it's all about control. And neither of our health systems can cope.
I mean, at the moment $150 billion a year is spent on obesity alone. And in the next 10 years, it's set to double. So, you know, it's big numbers, big cash. But most importantly what I wanted to do is I suppose get off the statistics and put life, heart, soul, and people behind it. So that's why I went to this community, to stay and live with families and understand really what's happening.
BROWN: And I want to show people a little -- a few clips from the show. In the series, in one part of it, you go to this local elementary school. OLIVER: Yes.
BROWN: And you spend time working with cooks in the school cafeteria. I want people to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chicken breast is the first ingredient here.
JAMIE OLIVER, "JAMIE OLIVER'S FOOD REVOLUTION": Do you not question any of that stuff?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's wrong with that?
OLIVER: What's right with that? Would you eat that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think it's good.
OLIVER: And that list of ingredients doesn't bother you in the slightest?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not in the slightest.
OLIVER: You know, it doesn't bother me that adults eat it. What bothers me is that kids eat it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a problem with this food. I really don't. I mean, I know there's preservatives. There's preservatives in salad mix.
OLIVER: I doubt you can make a salad mix. It takes two seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not for 450 people. It doesn't.
OLIVER: Yes, it does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So didn't go so well.
OLIVER: Yes.
BROWN: Did you imagine you were going to meet this kind of resistance?
OLIVER: Yes.
BROWN: Yes, you did.
OLIVER: I've been doing this for seven years. This is something that I care deeply about. This is something socially wrong with both of our countries. You know, most of the controllers of the food industry, you know, really have the dollar and the pound way before our kids, you know.
BROWN: So how do you change it if there is this resistance to it?
OLIVER: Build relationships, that good old fashion things. Break bread, build relationships, hang around. You know, don't go when times are tough. Spend time with people, work with families, and try and make people's lives better.
BROWN: But if the schools don't want to change, I mean, that's what that felt like to me.
OLIVER: Well, you know, look, Alice and the rest of the gang in the school run a tight ship.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: They're very proficient at their job. I would never take that away from them. And actually while I'm talking about it, the school cooks of America, you know, do an incredible job. They work hard. But I mean, over the last 30 years, I mean, the amount of support, equipment, and kind of manpower they've got has obviously reduced. And as far as Alice is concerned, you know, she'd been doing what she's doing for 21 years. There hasn't been fresh meat in the kitchen for 18 years. And then this English guy turns up and says right, don't really like this. I think this is junk food and pizza for breakfast, you know, there's even nearly as much sugar in the milk as there is in a can of pop. You know, and I kind of kind of took it all apart like a jigsaw and said right, you're mine for the next week. And they didn't like that. So I don't blame them. But at the same time, yes, you need to make a change.
BROWN: So, here's the thing though. At one point the school administration tells you that the food costs have doubled since you arrived. So I guess here's the other challenge.
OLIVER: Incorrect, by the way. Incorrect.
BROWN: It wasn't?
OLIVER: Total incorrect.
BROWN: Well, I was going to say if the school can afford to make the changes they're talking about --
OLIVER: You've got a lot of very annoying bureaucrats and pen pushers that start, you know, na na na na. That there's a load of, like separate -- there's a load of separate incidents which have nothing to do with the actual food that ended up on the plate. And one of the things that has happened, basically what we're saying is you can get the fresh food just about for the same money.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: Although it's tight. But the thing that we can't really express for is, you know, you get one lunch cook per 105 children. So you've got 160 children, you only get one and a half cooks. And when you get one and a half cooks, it's turning that into a second cook --
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: -- a full day that's costing extra dollars a day. And that's the extra cost. At the same time, you know, it's still extra money. So that is, you know, right in some respects, but not in the food. But my problem is, is that's the real cost of cooking for your kids.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: And, you know, I don't think this is a moment in America's history where they can afford not to take where the children go for 180 days of the year from the age of 4 to 16 or 18 seriously.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: I mean, a lot of these kids are having breakfast and lunch as well.
BROWN: I know. There's something else that I think a lot of people are going to find very surprising here, and it's how much our kids know or really don't know, frankly, about healthy foods. Let's watch this clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE OLIVER, "JAMIE OLIVER'S FOOD REVOLUTION": Who knows what this is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Potatoes.
OLIVER: Potato. So you think these are potatoes? Not potatoes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
OLIVER: Do you know what it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No? Who knows what tomato ketchup is. Yes, that's what it's made out of?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, tomato ketchup? I know that one.
OLIVER: The test I did with the kids today was shocking.
Do you know what that? Do you know what that is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Broccoli.
OLIVER: What about this? A good old friend. Do you know what this is, honey?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Celery.
OLIVER: No. What do you think this is, darling?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Onion.
OLIVER: Onion? No.
Immediately, you get a really clear sense of do the kids know anything about where food comes from.
Who knows what that is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A pear?
OLIVER: A pear? No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A turnip?
OLIVER: No. OK, I'm going give you the first word. Egg.
KIDS: Egg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egg salad?
OLIVER: The answer today was no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: That's mind-blowing. So who's to blame? I mean, aren't parents the culprit when you see something like that?
OLIVER: Well, you could blame the parents, but then I'd say well, you can't really blame the parents because they grew up in an environment where they weren't taught to cook at home or at school.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: So since when can we blame people that were never armed with the life skills to be parents? You know, we've got three generations of people in England and America that largely never learned to cook at home or at school. And so, I guess why, you know, I'm pushing this, you know, even in not my own country. I've done stuff in my own country and I feel like I've got hindsight on my side. But also I think this is a very interesting time in America right now. And of course, you've got the health care stuff going on. Michelle Obama is pushing through a fairly serious bit of work for Congress at the moment.
I also think it's worrying times as well. You're going to have Congress, you know, they're talking about $4.5 billion being spread over 10 years to go into this plan of reforming, you know, this nutrition and health of the young kids. But that's -- that's nowhere near enough. You know, not even a year.
BROWN: Right.
OLIVER: I mean, you know, to put that in context, $7 billion is spent a month in Afghanistan. You know, and we're talking about a fraction of that. And that's a month, by the way.
BROWN: When we come back, more with Jamie Oliver and what's wrong with how we feed our children. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: More now with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and how school food is hurting our kids, but sometimes what's on the table at home isn't any better.
OLIVER: It's interesting times. I think that generally the "Food Revolution" is about telling a story to the American public so that they can feel very clear about what's right and what's wrong, and then hopefully that's when it will start.
BROWN: I want to show one more clip, and this is a very striking moment when you show this mom all the bad foods that she has fed her family over the week.
OLIVER: Yes.
BROWN: Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE OLIVER, "JAMIE OLIVER'S FOOD REVOLUTION": That is what's going to kill their kids at an early age. Any salad at all in the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
OLIVER: I notice it's all the same colors, all gold and brown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I didn't pay attention to, so I felt if --
OLIVER: Excuse me, just a minute, what's going on here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Snacks.
OLIVER: I love pizzas. I love burgers. But they're not even good pizzas. It's a load of rubbish.
I want to just get everything in the middle now. Here's your breakfast. There's those bloody corn dogs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
Jamie was dumping the food on the table. It was like stunning.
You tell me how you feel looking at this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's gross.
OLIVER: Let's have a talk. This stuff goes through you and your family's body every week. And I need you to know that this is going to kill your children early. We're talking about 10, 13, 14 years off their life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. OLIVER: And you know that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So it's a really emotional moment for her.
OLIVER: It's really emotional.
BROWN: You know, it's not just the families in Huntington, West Virginia, where the show is set.
OLIVER: No.
BROWN: But it is around the country. And you were talking about the times we're living in right now. And people are struggling economically. And I think they're going to find in many cases that this is a big mountain to climb. How optimistic are you?
OLIVER: I'm very optimistic. Let's get a few things really clear here.
You know, there's been some amazing uplift in sort of more unusual ingredients at the moment because of the recession, which is a good thing. People going back to sort of, you know, crop cooking, slow cooking, the cheaper cuts of meat. That's the people who can cook.
Now here's the thing. If you don't know how to cook, you know, just a handful of things, right? Then, you know, you can't be quick at cooking, and you can't save money. If you can't cook, your options are the same as everyone else that has the problems. So that's why everything that I do comes down to cooking because the minute that you can cook four, five, six different things, you know, then you have the ability to cook quick food and cheap food.
You know, cooks don't care if they've go got 50 bucks, 30 bucks, 20 bucks or five bucks. You know, because the best food in the world has always and will always probably come from the poorest communities that can cook. So, I mean, constantly, you know, every problem I come up against is always about well, let me teach you to cook. And then they can kind of cook their way out of it. And I truly, and I've seen it time and time again.
BROWN: Well, it's a great show from what I've seen. Jamie Oliver, it's so good to have you here.
OLIVER: Thank you.
BROWN: I really appreciate it. Good luck with this.
OLIVER: Thank you. Thank you very much.
And if it was all possible, we're doing a petition, jamiesfoodrevolution.com. And everyone is doing it. And I want to get over a million signatures so I can take that to the White House and really get this school food situation sorted out. BROWN: We will put it on our Web site.
OLIVER: Thank you very much.
BROWN: And tweet all about it.
OLIVER: Thank you.
BROWN: Jamie, good to have you here.
OLIVER: Cheers, guys.
BROWN: That's all for me. You can follow me any time on Twitter. Thanks for joining us. Have a great weekend, everybody.
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