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Campbell Brown
Economy Turning Around?; Extremists Target U.S. Governors
Aired April 02, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. Campbell is off tonight. I'm Jessica Yellin.
Our top story tonight, finally, some good news on the jobs front. The best news in three years, in fact, and that news tops the "Mash- Up." As always, we're watching it all so you don't have to.
Today, in North Carolina, President Obama hailed the new jobs report, saying that, after a harrowing time for the country, the worst is over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are beginning to turn the corner.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: One hundred and sixty-two jobs added to the payrolls in March. But President Obama tried to keep the celebrating in check because the unemployment rate still is stuck in high gear at 9.7 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nearly a third of the gains in March, 48,000 jobs, came from the hiring of government census workers. But, more importantly, business hiring was strong, too, as the economy added jobs across most sectors, including manufacturing, retail. Even the construction industry added 15,000 jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does look like we have seen a turnaround.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even with consistent job growth, it is going to take three, four, five years to get all those jobs back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there is still plenty of pain and anxiety deeper in the numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have lost more than eight million jobs. So, it's going to take a lot of months of even faster job growth than this to really fill in that hole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And Republicans, well, they were not quick to celebrate, pointing out those census jobs, they're only temporary. In fact, 15 million Americans still remain out of work.
Starting today, you will see some real changes in passenger screening at the nation's airports. It's not new equipment or more guards, but a new mind-set that the TSA hopes will help stop someone like the Christmas Day bomber.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: It will affect all airlines, all passengers from all countries, and it's all about you, what you look like, who you are, where you been, where you going.
DIANE SAWYER, HOST, "WORLD NEWS": The new procedures were prompted by the man who is accused of trying to bomb a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit last Christmas with explosives hidden in his underwear. And some wondered, would these new rules really have worked to keep him out?
Our man at the Justice Department, Pierre Thomas, set out to answer that question.
PIERRE THOMAS, ABC NEWS: The so-called underwear bomber, Abdulmutallab, boarded a U.S. airliner last Christmas, no questions asked, and nearly blew it up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gone is the practice started just in January of giving extra screening to anyone traveling from 14 countries, where terror groups were known to operate or draw support. Instead, screeners overseas will be urged to focus on other indicators, such as partial names, fragments of passport numbers, travel patterns, or physical descriptions.
JANET NAPOLITANO, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: And it will provide a safer and more secure international system for American travelers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: A senior administration official denies the new system constitutes racial profiling.
Afghan leader Hamid Karzai is trying to smooth things over with the U.S. tonight. He called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today after drawing heat by blaming the international community for widespread election fraud in his country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN (through translator): No doubt there was huge fraud. There was vast fraud. The fraud is not by the Afghans. This fraud has been done by the foreigners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Karzai's words coming at a time where he tried to issue a decree to take control of both election bodies in Afghanistan and take it away from the United Nations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It all comes less than a week after President Obama's surprise visit to Kabul. The president demanded a crackdown on corruption, a promise Karzai has repeatedly failed to deliver on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The White House is pushing back on President Karzai's unusually harsh words towards foreign presence in Afghanistan. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs calling the remarks -- quote -- "cause for real and genuine concern."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: State Department officials describe Karzai's chat with Clinton as very constructive.
Well, on this Good Friday, the Vatican is trying to distance itself from comments made by one of its senior priests, a man who has served as preacher to the pope for 30 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He likened this criticism and attacks that we have seen in recent days against the pope and against the Catholic Church because of this sex abuse scandal, he said that a Jewish friend had written to him likening it to the worst of anti-Semitism.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Vatican spokesperson said those are the thoughts of the preacher, and not the pope, words that angered Jewish leaders around the world.
DAVID HARRIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: To invoke the issue of persecution against Jews as a lever to try and distract or deflect attention from what is going on is not only unfortunate. Frankly, it's stunning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It undermines the work of the church in almost every way. The work I try to do as a teacher and a preacher and evangelist, my work is undermined all the time by this scandal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Some American Jewish leaders say while they're not happy about the comments, they won't deal a severe blow to relations between the faiths.
Well, today, Janet Jackson sat down with Oprah Winfrey, giving her a rare interview in which she talked about her brother Michael's death last June. She told Winfrey she last saw Michael a month earlier at a party, where he looked disturbingly thin. Janet says the family did not turn a blind eye.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: We knew that he had a problem. We all did. And I think a lot of people think that we were in denial, which we weren't at all. And there was -- we tried intervention several times.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": And how did he receive that? JACKSON: He was very much in denial.
WINFREY: In denial about it?
JACKSON: Yes.
WINFREY: He didn't think he had a problem.
JACKSON: No.
WINFREY: In February, Los Angeles prosecutors charged Dr. Conrad Murray with involuntary manslaughter, as we have all heard, in the death of Michael Jackson. Do you blame Dr. Murray for your brother's death?
JACKSON: Yes, I do. He is the one that was administering the drug, as -- as -- from what I do know. So, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Jackson also says she still can't listen to Michael's music or look at photos of him as an adult. It hurts too much.
And that brings us to the fun part, the "Punchline," courtesy of Jimmy Fallon and some online mischief you might have seen this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": And this is cool. As part of an April Fool's Day prank, Google renamed itself Topeka. That was funny.
(LAUGHTER)
FALLON: As part of a really desperate prank, Yahoo! renamed itself Google.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Ouch. Jimmy Fallon, everyone.
And that's the "Mash-Up."
Coming up: A new extremist group sets its sights on the nation's governors -- why some warn the group's anti-government message could spark a dangerous reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: A new anti-government group sends shockwaves through the nation's statehouses. More than 30 governors have received letters demanding that they resign or be removed, all from a group that calls itself the Guardians of the Free Republic. Today, several governors who received the letters spoke out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TED STRICKLAND (D), OHIO: A manifesto measuring I think 80- some pages was mailed to me.
GOV. MIKE BEEBE (D), ARKANSAS: What it basically said was that resign and reapply, and we will reinstate you if you will sign this deal.
GOV. JIM GIBBONS (R), NEVADA: I think what they want is not specifically from me, Casey (ph). I think what they want is a new form of government.
GOV. GARY HERBERT (R), UTAH: This is not some kind of ghost organization. I know they have got a Web site. And they are, in fact, concerned and frustrated probably about a lot of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: The letters don't contain specific threats of violence, but the FBI warns the message could incite violence within a growing extremist movement that is just waiting for an excuse to act.
So, how serious is this threat? Well, John Avlon is the author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." And he's also senior political columnist with TheDailyBeast.com. He joins us tonight, along with Tom Fuentes, who is president of Fuentes International. Both are CNN contributors. Both have a lot of knowledge in this field.
John, let me start with you. I checked out this group's Web site. They say they're not a violent group. What do you know about them, and what would motivate these letters?
JOHN AVLON, AUTHOR, "WINGNUTS: HOW THE LUNATIC FRINGE IS HIJACKING AMERICA": They seem to be part of one tributary of the larger militia movement called the sovereign citizen movement, which has been around since the early 1970s.
And, basically, what they believe is that the federal government is illegitimate and has overstepped its bounds constitutionally, so a lot of rhetoric of resistance and trying to restore a constitutional republic. This group in particular, if you drill down, there are a lot of the typical heraldry of different conspiracy theories involved.
What is going to be interesting is seeing, first of all, why they mailed it to governors. Usually, their enemy is the federal government.
YELLIN: Right.
AVLON: And as we look at this 80-page manifesto, I think we will see more and more answers.
YELLIN: OK, Tom, let me ask you, because I know you have been talking to your sources in the FBI. They said in this letter that they will remove or take action if the governors don't step down. That seems like a threat. How seriously is the FBI taking it?
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The FBI is not considering it as a threatening letter. They're considering it as a group, nutty as they may be, expressing their First Amendment rights, freedom of speech.
And if -- obviously if they had written a letter to the federal government, who would receive it? Who would pay attention? So, they write to it 50 governors, and here they are getting a lot of attention as a result of that.
YELLIN: But the governors have said that they have stepped up their own security. So, they must feel that in some ways, there's a danger?
FUENTES: Well, the danger that they're seeing is that somebody else, not even associated with this group, may become inspired to take some type of violent action and tell themselves sitting out there watching television, hey, what a great idea. I think I will go do some violence against a governor.
So, that is more of the concern of, as John mentioned, to some of these other fringe groups or fringe individuals who may become inspired to violence after hearing about this group.
YELLIN: All right. We have also heard this week, John, about the Hutaree group, a militia.
AVLON: Yes.
YELLIN: Is this a trend? Why are we hearing about so many militia groups right now at this moment? What is happening?
AVLON: Because there has been a surge, in fact, a 300 percent increase in the number of militia groups in the first year of the Obama presidency alone. Southern Poverty Law Center detailed that growth. So, we have it. We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of militias in America in the last year alone.
YELLIN: Is that a reaction to the fact that it's a liberal or a Democratic president, or is it a race response?
AVLON: Well, I think it's important that -- these groups exist outside partisan politics. They're not reflecting one side vs. the other.
But historically we have seen upticks certainly under the Clinton presidency in the 1990s, a little bit under JFK. There are -- there's a certain racial animus that may inspire some of these folks. But I think it's important to understand they're anti-government.
YELLIN: And the president blames the economy.
AVLON: Yes. And that's very important. Look, demagogues always do well in economic downturns. We have seen these sorts of dynamics before. Now what you have is not just anger at big business, but anger at big government. YELLIN: Right.
AVLON: These groups tap into both those impulses.
YELLIN: OK.
Tom, let me ask you, because conservatives -- some conservatives, I should say -- have said groups like this have always been around, and the current crackdown have more to do with politics than with the real threat. So, you have been inside the FBI. Is it possible that these crackdowns are politically motivated?
FUENTES: Well, leaving the politics out of it, there have been groups like this for decades. I mean, we go back many decades to the Ku Klux Klan and several years ago the FBI taking on groups like the Aryan Nation, other neo-Nazi groups, white supremacist groups, the Order.
But, back in the day, those groups communicated. Many were inspired by a book called "The Turner Diaries." And how many people read the book? How many people talk about the book? But now, with the Internet and with people having Web pages and YouTube and then cable news, they're getting a wider exposure than they have ever gotten in the past, which is what adds to the dilemma of trying to keep track of what they're doing.
YELLIN: Well, let me push you on that for one moment, just one moment, which is how does the FBI, because you have been there, decide that a group has crossed the line from incendiary language on the Internet to posing a real threat?
FUENTES: Well, the FBI doesn't decide it just by itself. You have the Department of Justice. You have -- you know, in working with the state and local officials as well and their prosecutors officers, you're trying to determine, at what point do they cross the line?
In the beginning, they're exercising their freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, right to bear arms. At what point do they cross the line where they pose a violent threat and go from constitutionally allowed behavior and rhetoric to a much more sinister activity?
YELLIN: And talk to us about the Internet a little bit, because you're saying the groups have spread recently. You think it's largely due to their access to other folks?
AVLON: Well, in part. The Internet has allowed us to self- segregate ourselves into separate political realities. And, in many cases, it has become an incubator for extremism.
YELLIN: Right.
AVLON: It's allowed people who might have been isolated by the extremism of their views or the absurdity of their views to, all of a sudden, communicate across geographic lines and form, in effect, online armies. And that is in part what we're seeing. YELLIN: Now, is it -- is there any legitimacy to the argument this is politically motivated, the fact that these are being exposed and brought down by the FBI? Can you put that to rest, that argument to rest?
(CROSSTALK)
AVLON: Yes, I don't believe that's the case.
YELLIN: Right.
AVLON: The Department of Homeland Security report last year, which was considered political at the time, has been vindicated, I think, by a lot of recent actions.
So, I think it's important to view these threats outside the realms of partisan politics. We have seen the rise of militias before. In that case, it ended with Oklahoma City. So, let's all take this seriously, as well as keeping it in perspective.
YELLIN: OK, great.
John Avlon, thank you so much.
Tom Fuentes, thank you both for joining us.
FUENTES: Thank you, Jessica.
YELLIN: All right.
And coming up: chairman in the hot seat, a wild week of controversy and criticism for the GOP's Michael Steele. Today, word he is making some changes, but will it be enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: This has not been the best of weeks for Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele. A new scandal is bringing more questions about his leadership. This week's episode in the Steele chronicles, quite a doozy, the ingredients, sex, money, and some very bad judgment. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Uh-oh. RNC money paid for a boys' night out at a strip club where bondage is exhibited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At Club Voyeur, there are performances by topless dancers and women in bondage outfits. In West Hollywood, it hardly raises an eyebrow. But, in Washington, it raised a major political ruckus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Insiders worry the controversy is distracting from the party's primary goal: seizing majority control of Congress this fall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The expenditures are raising new questions about Michael Steele's leadership as chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Initial reports suggested that embattled RNC chairman Michael Steele was there. But in a statement, the RNC says, "At no time was chairman Steele aware of the purpose of this reimbursement or present at the after-hours non-official get- together."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And here with me now to talk about this are CNN political analyst Roland Martin, senior political reporter for Politico Jonathan Martin, and Reihan Salam, columnist for The Daily Beast.
Gentlemen, thank you for being here.
OK, first, let's start with you.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Glad to be here.
YELLIN: Jonathan, if you will give us a little bit of a sense of the toll this bondage club fiasco is taking on Michael Steele. It really does seem to be the last straw for some Republicans.
JONATHAN MARTIN, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, POLITICO.COM: And it's not just the fact that this is causing embarrassing headlines and it's fodder for late-night comedians, Jessica. It's the impact financially on the committee.
There are a lot of major donors out there, a lot of Republicans that were already sort of leery about the RNC. And this gives them one more reason to sort of keep their pocketbook closed, or just give their money to candidates or other GOP campaign committees.
That's where it really matters I think for the long-term. It's not so much the sort of short-term headlines and the embarrassment. It's what does it mean financially? In an otherwise good year for the GOP if they don't have the money to play in a lot of races, they may not have the opportunity to retake the House or the Senate this fall.
YELLIN: Right. It's having real repercussions, Roland. But you think this whole thing about the bondage club is really much ado about nothing. Listen to what Jonathan is saying, though. He thinks it's going to have an effect.
R. MARTIN: OK. First of all, many of these same Republicans hated Michael Steele from the get-go. OK?
YELLIN: Right.
R. MARTIN: It's not like he was on their party list anyway. And so you have seen this constant battle, remember, early on, where the leadership in the House said, look, man, we deal with policy, you deal with politics, stay out of our lanes.
So, you have had this battle that has been going on. Also, understand, the battle in the Republicans, you have the traditional Republicans. You have the social conservatives. You have those in policy.
YELLIN: Right.
R. MARTIN: You have moderates. You have young folks. So, you have all these people trying to jockey. But the real issue here is that, you know, folks are trying to grab at any one thing to try to sit here and bring down Steele, when, really, your focus needs to be, how do you still stick to your message?
There is no doubt that this bondage club, paying this deal, really hurt them. But you know what? I'm sorry. Maybe, for a younger generation, having some freaks in the Republican Party not too bad, because they're trying to appeal to a younger demo.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Let me put that to you, Reihan. You're the conservative in this group. Does it reflect badly on the RNC, or is it just an excuse to attack Michael Steele by people who already didn't like him?
REIHAN SALAM, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: Well, there is also option C, which is that the RNC was also -- hasn't been relevant for a long time.
For example, there is a group called American Crossroads.
YELLIN: Right.
SALAM: That's a 527 or so-called soft money group. And who is heading it up? It's Ed Gillespie and Karl Rove who are raising money for it. These are A-listers. And, basically, these 527s, they are a lot more flexible than the old party committees. They can do things that the party committees can't. They're not the party itself, but they're kind of a shadow party.
And you already saw this on the left. You saw America Coming Together. You saw MoveOn.org and other groups that are more nimble, more flexible and more innovative. And they're going to be playing a much bigger role.
YELLIN: So, it was going this way anyway, is what you're saying?
R. MARTIN: Actually...
YELLIN: Go ahead.
R. MARTIN: Yes, actually, actually, understand something. Any time a political party gets in trouble, you see other people want to create a message. After the 1980 and 1984 election, you saw the emergence of the DLC, a more conservative group in the Democratic Party.
After they lost, frankly, in 2000, 2004, liberal groups said, look, we need to have more groups. You saw think tanks come about. Republicans figured this out after the '60s, and you saw the Heritage Foundation and AEI, all these different groups that came out.
So, you naturally see this. So, what you're trying to see, you're seeing people who are saying, OK, we no longer have the influence over controlling the RNC. So, we will create our own entity.
But you cannot ignore the importance of the Republican National Committee, because the infrastructure they represent is critical.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Jonathan, go ahead, yes.
J. MARTIN: Yes, I was going to say, Roland has a good point. The only difference this time around is the sort of argument is not about the message. It's about the messenger.
And I think there is no doubt that the Republican Party is going to stay a conservative party. And unlike some of those previous election cycles, this time around, the real conversation in the party is not about, are we going to be conservative or moderate? It's just about who is going to sort of lead the party.
And I think that is really what is central here in this issue. It's more over sort of Steele than it is if we're going to be conservative or moderate, yes.
YELLIN: Let me ask you to delve into that a little more, Jonathan. Take us into some of the other missteps that got us here with Steele. This isn't his first time in trouble.
J. MARTIN: Sure. Right.
He's made some gaffes himself. A lot of his errors have been forced, as they say in sports -- or -- I'm sorry -- unforced, as they say in sports, for example, going after Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk show host, very popular among the sort of grassroots of the party. There was a finance presentation that leaked out to my colleague Ben Smith that portrayed President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi almost as cartoon figures almost. That was very embarrassing.
And there has just been sort of a series of events where Steele has come off as more interested in promoting himself -- for example, he has this book that he has been out promoting -- than advancing the party.
Now, I think that's what has really annoyed a lot of donors and operatives is this sort of image of Steele being out for himself, not necessarily out for the party.
Now, that said, if the Republicans win big, Jessica, this fall, and if they recapture the House, for example, it's tough to see how Michael Steele doesn't have a sort of solid case to make to his party if they do well in November. That's going to be the ultimate message here. YELLIN: Right.
R. MARTIN: He already has a solid case. He already has a solid case.
OK? They won New Jersey. They won Virginia. They won Massachusetts. And so, it's very interesting how, when they're winning, people say, oh, no, that really wasn't you, Michael. It wasn't about you. But, if they lose, hey, man, it's really on you.
(CROSSTALK)
SALAM: Michael Steele was a very -- he was -- his candidacy was a really interesting, clever idea.
Here is a guy from Maryland. Here's a guy who is going to reach out to nontraditional audiences. The idea was that, in the Obama era, the Republican Party needs to go in a very different direction. And he represented that.
YELLIN: Well, let's say what it is. African-Americans need to be drawn to the Republican Party.
SALAM: Well, there's that, but that was only a piece of it.
But the thing about Michael Steele in reality is that the RNC chairman has to be a nuts-and-bolts guy, has to be someone who knows how to make the gears work, is someone who is -- it's a fundamentally managerial role.
And the thing is that Michael Steele, for all his many virtues, that doesn't happen to be his great strength. And that's why we have seen the rise of parallel organizations that have really been driving the conservative message.
YELLIN: Right.
But, Jonathan, your reporting is showing that this is actually going to take a toll on the fund-raising, which has a real effect on the party's chances in November.
J. MARTIN: And that's exactly where the rubber hits the road, is, if they can't raise the money to sort of distribute it to candidates, state parties, and the other campaign committees that oversee House races and Senate races, then that could have ramifications as to whether or not the Republican Party can regain control of one of the sort of chambers of Congress.
And that's where all these issues really matter. I think Reihan is right and I think Roland is right in the sense there were folks that never wanted to give him a chance...
SALAM: You're triangulating.
YELLIN: He's a peacemaker.
J. MARTIN: ... and are looking for an opportunity to go...
(CROSSTALK)
R. MARTIN: No, he's stating facts.
YELLIN: OK, we have got to leave there it.
(LAUGHTER)
R. MARTIN: All right.
YELLIN: Gentlemen, lively discussion. Thank you so much for joining us.
R. MARTIN: Thanks, you all, for having me.
YELLIN: And still ahead: the gizmo that has the tech world practically giddy, the iPad. What works? What doesn't? And just how soon will it be sold out? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: The iPad countdown has begun. Apple's latest gizmo goes on sale tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., and the anticipation, it couldn't be higher. Preorders are in the hundreds of thousands. Most analysts say the gadget will be sold out by tomorrow afternoon. So our question is, can it live up to the buzz? Just listen to what a few of the very earliest adopters had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST: The big story tonight is I have an iPad. Now -- never mind how I got it. I had two kidneys. Luckily, there is an app that filters urine.
Folks, I got to tell you, I am not the only one who should be excited. Everyone, look under your chairs, because everyone here tonight gets a picture of me holding my iPad. You're welcome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you here for the iPad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am here for the iPad. The greatest, newest, best thing ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know that? You have not played with it yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I saw the Kindle and I didn't really like that. And I love the iPod touch, you know. So like the iPad should be the new best thing ever.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: And then you take the thing here and do that. Look at it. And look, for people who don't have kids or don't like the kids they have, it comes with photos of a family. So you're not --
(LAUGHTER)
You're not buying an unnecessary electronic device. You're buying a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: All right. So let's get to it. What is so great, or maybe not so great about the new iPad? We're here with Natali Del Conte, senior editor for cnet.com, and Arik Hesseldahl, senior technology writer and bite "Bite of the Apple" columnist for BusinessWeek.com.
First of all, I hope neither of you had to hock a kidney to get your new iPads.
ARIK HESSELDAHL, SR. TECHNOLOGY WRITER, BUSINESSWEEK.COM: Not at all.
YELLIN: OK, let's take a look at it. Tell me if this is the next wave in computing or just a cool new toy?
HESSELDAHL: I think it's the new wave in computing. And I think it is the next wave of computing. There have been a lot of interest threads that are coming together here. You think back to the PDAs of the 1990s, the smartphones of the last decade. All of the sudden it all come downs to this. And suddenly it works.
YELLIN: OK, Natali, may I hold yours?
NATALI DEL CONTE, SENIOR EDITOR, CNET: Yes, you can.
YELLIN: Because we did this before.
DEL CONTE: But you must give it back.
YELLIN: It's very heavy.
DEL CONTE: It's heavy.
YELLIN: I mean very heavy. It's heavier than I expected.
HESSELDAHL: 1.5 pounds.
YELLIN: 1.5 pounds.
DEL CONTE: Right.
YELLIN: But not that heavy. But who's the ideal user for this?
DEL CONTE: Well, I think it's designed for several demographics. It's designed for the avid reader and the avid news reader. You can read magazines online. You can read newspapers on the Kindle. I don't enjoy either experience. So it's very nice here. It feels like you're reading a magazine. It's also designed for the gaming enthusiast who wants to play games on a bigger screen than the iPod touch. And also what they call stackers are people who sit down in front of the TV and they keep their laptop on their lap.
YELLIN: Yes.
DEL CONTE: So they're stacking their media. This is going to be a lot better to stack with instead of your laptop.
YELLIN: Wow. That's a lot to look at once. Is it -- the question I have, a Kindle killer?
HESSELDAHL: I don't think so. I think those two devices can co- exist nicely. A Kindle is much lighter, but it really only does one thing, but it does it pretty well. Interestingly, Amazon launched the Kindle application for this device today. So if you already have a Kindle and have books loaded on to it, you can load them on here. And so they all can co-exist together.
YELLIN: A little co-existence. OK. So you both had a chance to play around with these devices.
HESSELDAHL: Yes.
YELLIN: So, Natali, tell us first, what do you love about the iPad, and how does it compare to your Kindle, your e-reader?
DEL CONTE: I really do love reading books, magazines and newspapers. On here, I just feel like it's a much more enjoyable experience.
YELLIN: Right.
DEL CONTE: And I don't miss things, whereas on the Kindle things are sort of listed and I have to just choose what I want to read. Now, I can just say oh, that was interesting where I wouldn't have planned that before. And I really do like the web browsing. It's speedy and it looks very nice. It's great as a web browser.
YELLIN: Bottom line, you can use it as a computer.
DEL CONTE: You can -- well, I wouldn't say that.
YELLIN: No?
DEL CONTE: Because it doesn't multitask. That means it's not going to do several things at once. So if you're e-mailing, you're only e-mailing. If you're web browsing, you're only web browsing. If you want to stop web browsing and go to e-mail, you have to close all windows.
HESSELDAHL: It doesn't run like a regular computer.
YELLIN: It doesn't take the place of your regular laptop.
DEL CONTE: No. I don't think it --
YELLIN: And it doesn't take the place of your phone either.
HESSELDAHL: No.
YELLIN: You still need a phone.
HESSELDAHL: Precisely. This is kind of in between. If you think of personal commuting as like a family tree, this is a new branch.
YELLIN: OK, you can watch movies on it?
HESSELDAHL: You can watch movies on it. Yes, parents are going to love it because look what it does with pictures here. You can -- look at that.
YELLIN: Show pictures.
HESSELDAHL: Yes. Show pictures and --
YELLIN: But you cannot take pictures with it?
HESSELDAHL: You cannot take pictures. Not yet.
YELLIN: OK. What's your favorite feature?
HESSELDAHL: Well, I like the photos that I was just showing. I think grandparents are going to go crazy for that. I really like the comic book application. I mean --
YELLIN: Ah.
HESSELDAHL: I used to love comic books when I was a kid. And so I was thinking about them the other day.
YELLIN: And the visuals are very bright. Look at it.
HESSELDAHL: The visuals are very bright. Yes.
YELLIN: Look at it, you can see very well.
HESSELDAHL: And then, you know, that looks like a comic book. What's not to like about that? That's a great application.
YELLIN: And your least favorite aspect of it?
HESSELDAHL: I'm with you guys. I think it's a little on the heavy side. I think it could stand to lose that extra half a pound.
YELLIN: I feel ridiculous saying one and a half pounds is too heavy, but it does feel a little.
HESSELDAHL: Yes.
DEL CONTE: Well, when you can hold it for a long time.
YELLIN: Right.
DEL CONTE: Or you have it somewhere that you don't want it to fall off like on a console on a gym machine.
YELLIN: OK.
HESSELDAHL: Yes.
YELLIN: Now, if you already have a laptop and an iPhone, or a BlackBerry --
DEL CONTE: Right.
YELLIN: -- and a cell phone, could this take the place of any of those? You said not a laptop.
DEL CONTE: I think maybe a netbook, because if you travel with your netbook and you only need to do web browsing and e-mailing on the go when you're doing business trips, this is something that could replace that. But I don't think it's going to replace your main staple electronics, which is your laptop and your phone, no.
YELLIN: So you could still have your BlackBerry, your cell phone --
HESSELDAHL: Yes.
YELLIN: Your lap -- maybe your laptop or not and --
HESSELDAHL: Yes, if you're on any of those flights with in- flight wi-fi, you're going to want this.
YELLIN: OK.
HESSELDAHL: You're going to want this big time.
YELLIN: OK.
DEL CONTE: And it has great battery life for the full flight, too.
HESSELDAHL: It does.
DEL CONTE: It lasts about 11 hours.
HESSELDAHL: And how much does this cost?
DEL CONTE: It starts at $499. Now, the wi-fi version is the only thing that goes on sale this week. If you want the 3G version, you have to wait a few weeks. But $499, between $499 and $699 this week.
YELLIN: So $700 for watching movies and reading cool magazines?
DEL CONTE: And other things, yes. You know, I like to say you don't need it, but once you have it, you're going to keep wanting it.
HESSELDAHL: You're going to want -- you're going to figure out stuff to do with it. That's the one thing. YELLIN: Right. And I bet it will be the hot gift.
HESSELDAHL: I saw -- I met two young folks from Cypress today that flew in. They made their vacation coincide in New York with buying this from Cypress.
YELLIN: Wow. OK. Yes, it's hot right now.
All right, thanks, guys. Really appreciate it.
HESSELDAHL: You bet.
YELLIN: You don't mind my just borrowing this for a little while longer?
DEL CONTE: Well, I guess during the commercial break.
YELLIN: OK.
And coming up, targeted for death. How the Mexican drug wars have put U.S. border patrol agents in the line of fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: Towns along the U.S. border with Mexico have been on high alert in the wake of a rash of drug cartel murders. The situation is especially dangerous on the front lines where U.S. border patrol agents face the very real threat of violence every day. CNN's Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, we have been given some unique access. We are in between the two fences that separate Mexico and the United States. That's Tijuana over there. And that is the old primary fence that used to be the only thing that separated the two countries.
This corridor was over the years the most violent when it came to assaults on border patrol agents. But some improvements over the last few years have made a difference. There's a new road here which creates a buffer zone. And then there's this new secondary fence which was finished two years ago. But last year they put in this razor wire, and when they did that, assaults went down 50 percent plus, and they continue to go down because the only way through now is to literally go through the fence. And you can see the hole there's where people still do try to get through, but it takes them more time.
The downside to the equation now is the fact that when there is an assault against an agent, because of the drug wars going on in Mexico, it can be potentially deadly
CHIEF SAMMY ANDERSON, ASST. CHIEF BORDER PATROL: There are people out there that spend every waking moment of their days thinking of how they'll defeat us. ROWLANDS (voice-over): Riding along the U.S.-Mexican border, Agent Sammy Anderson says while border violence may be decreasing, the threat to officers on patrol is getting worse.
ANDERSON: At any given time, threats against the agents could occur.
ROWLANDS: An example, just this week, an agent in McAllen, Texas, was hospitalized with head injuries after suspected drug smugglers attacked him with a piece of cement. He was lucky. He survived.
Agent Robert Rosas was ambushed and shot to death while on patrol in San Diego County last summer, leaving behind a wife and two young children. His death changed Sammy Anderson's view of the job forever.
ANDERSON: Never in my career of 21 years would I have ever thought that somebody would target a border patrol agent for death. And with that mindset, not only me, but for every other border patrol agent out there, we have a new resolve to protect America and protect ourselves.
ROWLANDS: Historically, this stretch of border separating Tijuana and the U.S. has been the most active and most violent in the entire southwest.
ANDERSON: I actually had somebody that partially took control of my weapon and intended to use it against me. So the threat is very real out there in the border.
ROWLANDS: But in the past few years, there's been a dramatic drop in arrests and assaults. According to the border patrol, taxpayer investments in cameras, a secondary fence with razor wire, and more agents on the ground is paying off.
(on camera): Are we winning this battle?
ANDERSON: I would say especially here in San Diego sector, our ability to control or gain operational control of this particular area has increased immensely.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Agent Anderson says while his chief responsibility is still trying to stop illegal immigrants, he's now dealing with a much more serious threat.
ANDERSON: The cartels that are in Mexico are creating instability for that nation. That is our biggest threat here in the United States.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Bottom line, talking to agents now because of what's going on in Mexico with the violent drug trade, when they approach somebody, they just don't know if they're encountering somebody who is simply looking for a better life in the United States, or if it is a potentially deadly encounter with a drug smuggler.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, along the U.S.-Mexican border. (END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: And still ahead tonight, Anderson Cooper's investigation into allegations of abuse at the highest levels of the Church of Scientology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: Coming up, allegations of violent abuse in the Church of Scientology. Anderson Cooper is here with that investigation. But first, more must-see news happening right now. Joe Johns has tonight's "Download."
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. Officials say a second American woman will be charged in connection with the so- called "Jihad Jane" terror case. Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, originally from Chicago, had been recently detained in the alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist whose work angered Muslims. Colleen LaRose who used the screen name "Jihad Jane" has already been charged.
The government says thousands of homes built with drywall imported from China need to be totally gutted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the drywall causes corrosion and possible health effects such as throat, nose, and lung irritation. Homeowners have complained of a rotten egg stench. There are about 3,000 tainted houses, the majority in Florida. No word tonight on who will pay for all of this.
Singer Erykah Badu has been charged with disorderly conduct in Dallas for stripping nude in public. The stunt was all part of a bit for Badu's new music video. It turns out a Texas woman filed an indecency complaint after she and her mother watched Badu get totally naked. It all happened near the same spot where President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963.
Pro-football player Shaun Rogers was hit with a concealed weapon charge for allegedly trying to get a handgun through airport security. Prosecutors say the Cleveland Brown nose tackle carried a 45-caliber semiautomatic along with eight rounds in his carry-on luggage at Cleveland Hopkins airport. He claims it was all just a big mistake. No word from the NFL yet on any possible punishment.
More amazing pictures tonight of that spectacular volcanic eruption in Iceland. The volcano on top of a glacier has come back to life in dramatic fashion after 200 years. Tourists have been flocking to see the eruption since it first starred over a week ago. Scientists say there's no real threat to local residents, but a larger, more dangerous volcano nearby could be provoked by all the activity.
A Southern California surfer who was paddling to raise breast cancer awareness got some big help from a 30-foot mink whale. Jody Nelson says the whale that she nicknamed Larry was super friendly during her 40-mile trip from Santa Catalina Island to Dana Point. Experts say the whales are not that rare in the area, but this type of encounter is highly unusual. And it sounds like she actually raised a load of cash after all this got publicized, Jessica.
YELLIN: Absolutely great pictures, Joe. Wow. Thank you.
And coming up next, Anderson Cooper's investigation into accusations of physical abuse at the highest levels of the Church of Scientology. Tonight, strong reaction from within the church itself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: Over the past week, "AC 360" has been reporting on allegations of physical abuse inside the Church of Scientology. The allegations have been made by a number of former high-ranking scientologists, former high-ranking officials of the Sea Organization, the church's religious order against the church's leader David Miscavige. The church strongly denies these claims, and has sent dozens of e-mails, affidavits and letters from current and former scientologists, including their ex-wives who claim all those making these claims are liars.
Anderson Cooper spoke with those ex-wives, who are also current senior officials in the church, and here's a review of what they have to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I read all of your affidavits. Obviously, your ex-husbands have made charges against David Miscavige, saying that they have seen repeated acts of physical violence perpetrated by Mr. Miscavige. Is any of that true?
SCIENTOLOGY SEA ORGANZIATION MEMBERS: No.
JENNY LINSON, SCIENTOLOGY SEA ORGANIZATION MEMBER: Not one ounce of it. Not one.
COOPER: Why do you think they're saying these things?
LINSON: I think that they are bitter individuals who once had a life that had glory and some form of power. And they now have nothing. They have no job. They have no life. And the media is giving them attention, and they're going for that attention.
But we personally know. I mean, I slept with Tom De Vocht (ph) for almost 20 years. I knew every inch of him. If he ever complained about something, if he had a headache, if he had a backache, he had me rub his feet at night. I mean, I was his wife. I never saw one scratch. I never saw one bruise. I never saw one black eye, nothing. Nor did he complain about anything personally. And he would have told me, because any, anything that would happen, I would know about.
And besides that, that's not the character of Mr. David Miscavige. Nothing like that. It's outrageous that these men are doing that, and they're bitter, and they're getting attention from the media. COOPER: And you were married to Marty Rathbun.
ANNE JOASEM, SCIENTOLOGY SEA ORGANIZATION MEMBER: Fifteen years. I know the man better than anybody else. Now, you got to understand, Marty Rathbun is a liar, OK.
COOPER: Catherine, how about you? You were married to Jeff Hawkins.
CATHERINE FRASER, SCIENTOLOGY SEA ORGANIZATION MEMBER: Yes, I was married to Jeff Hawkins during the entire time of these allegations that he said apparently happened. I was -- you know, we were very close, obviously. We were married. He used to tell me about everything he did, the meetings he went to, et cetera. He never mentioned one thing to the contrary, he mentioned to me how much Mr. David Miscavige supported him, how much he believed in him.
COOPER: Catherine, you were married to Mike Rinder for an awful long time.
CATHERINE BERNARDINI, SCIENTOLOGY SEA ORGANIZATION MEMBER: Yes, I was.
COOPER: He says that he was beaten by David Miscavige some 50 times, and multiple people have also said that they saw Mike Rinder bearing the brunt of David Miscavige's --
BERNARDINI: Mike Rinder, Mr. Miscavige never laid a hand on Mike Rinder. I lived with Mike Rinder for over 35 years. I know every square inch of Mike Rinder's body. I know everything that's ever happened to him, every accident, every time he broke his wrist. I've been with him. We've been together all our lives. It's utterly ridiculous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: Anderson Cooper joins me now. Anderson, these women seem very sincere. What do their ex-husbands have to say about it?
COOPER: Their ex-husbands have seen the interview that you just saw and say that essentially all of these women are still in the Church of Scientology. They hold senior positions and that they are saying whatever David Miscavige wants them to say. We'll have more of them tonight at 10:00.
YELLIN: All right, fascinating. Thank you.
And "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. But first, a couple leaves their infant baby to die while they play a video game for hours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
YELLIN: A disturbing case of Internet gaming obsession in South Korea has led to the death of a 3-month-old baby. Eunice Yoon has the story in tonight's breakout. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This 3-month-old baby in South Korea died from malnutrition. Her parents choosing to raise and protect a virtual sibling, a girl called "Anima." It's child favoritism in a nation obsessed with the Internet, where top online gamers are treated like rock stars.
In court Friday, the couple, 40-year-old Kim Jae-beom (ph), and his partner, 25-year-old Kim Yun-jeong (ph) pled guilty to negligent homicide after their arrests last month. The two admitted leaving their premature infant, Sa-rang, or love in English, at home so they could play this popular online game, Prius, often for 10-hour long stretches. Ironically, the point of this 3-D fantasy game is to raise a girl, who, as she grows, gains magical powers.
"I think of our baby in heaven," Sa-rang's father told the judge. "I will be guilty until the day I die."
As part of the couple's defense, their lawyer argued the two are addicted to online gaming, a condition counselors say can be very destructive.
ANDREW LEVANDER, ADDICTION COUNSELOR: Over time in the absence of an intervention, this totally can rip through somebody's life and certainly in this sad case, rip through a family's life very quickly.
YOON (on camera): Prosecutors want a five-year jail sentence, but the defense hopes that the judge will consider the couple's addiction for the ruling on April 16th.
(voice-over): Leniency for Internet addiction would be a first in the country.
LEVANDER: In this case, the death of their child is such an enormous, egregious consequence. I certainly could understand that there are a lot of people who are probably very angry about this.
YOON: Yet the Kims are expecting their second child. Sa-rang's father insists there will be no second mistake. A couple promising to tackle the responsibilities of real life after too long a journey in the virtual world.
Eunice Yoon, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: Well, that's all for now. I'm Jessica Yellin. Campbell Brown is back on Monday. Thanks for joining us.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
