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Campbell Brown
Terror Trail from Pakistan; Critical Gulf Mission Begins; Widespread Cancer Risks
Aired May 06, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: CNN prime time begins right now.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there, everybody.
An absolutely wild day on Wall Street. In the space of less than an hour, the Dow fell off a cliff, dropping nearly 1,000 points today, stunned traders on the floor and said they had never seen anything like it. And you won't believe why it happened.
Also, tonight, Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to breakdown today's pretty alarming report from a presidential panel that calls the cancer risk from chemicals in our environment unacceptable. And the report says children are especially at risk.
We're also watching that 100-ton dome to be lowered over the gushing oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, but are there serious questions tonight about whether there's any real chance it could work. We'll talk with the White House point man in charge of all of this, Admiral Thad Allen.
And we are following the very latest on the Times Square bomb plot. Tonight, senior American officials say Faisal Shahzad definitely got training in Pakistan. But what kind, and from whom? We have a report tonight from the heart of Karachi.
Lots of breaking news stories to tell you about. Let's go right to the cheat sheet for the day's top stories, the "Mash-Up."
And tonight, our top international story: the riots in the streets of Athens today -- what many originally thought was the sole cause for that dramatic plunge in the Dow. The violence broke out after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity budget. These pictures right now from CNN's Diana Magnay are pretty incredible. She was on the scene when protestors began throwing bottles at riot police, who fought back with tear gas and pepper spray.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news now. We want to take you to Greece, take a look at these pictures. It looks like we're seeing riot police there and they're going after these protesters.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right. (INAUDIBLE) and a few sticks of dynamite at the police and it was a very tense situation where essentially we're just waiting, waiting for something to happen, and then I'm not sure what exactly it was that kicked it off. The police pushed forward with tear gas and (INAUDIBLE) being pushed down into the side streets, thousands of people.
LEMON: They have hiked taxes there. They have cut pay there. They have upped the retirement age there. So people are really fed- up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The crowd broke up quickly and police say they arrested four people.
And that leads directly to our top domestic story: a roller- coaster day for the Dow. And as we told you, it dropped nearly a thousand points in a matter of minutes this afternoon. In part, that was because of fears that Greece's financial crisis could spread across Europe. But there was something else at work, a trading error that may had been essentially a push of the wrong button.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Traders looked on in horror when late in the day the Dow suddenly plunged nearly 1,000 points, or 9 percent in just a matter of minutes.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The NASDAQ is saying there was a faulty Procter & Gamble stock quote that was a major factor in the market's huge afternoon drop.
TV ANCHOR: It's being dubbed "the fat finger trade."
REPORTER: Speculation that a trader looking to sell $60 million in shares accidentally punched in $16 billion.
REPORTER: Because that trade went through at such a low price, it took the entire market down with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is probably one of the scariest things that I've seen in the street in close to 30 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: At the closing bell, the Dow was down to the great relief many, only 348 points.
Another story making headlines tonight, former NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor charged with raping a 16-year-old prostitute. Through his attorney, Taylor, who was known as L.T. during his playing days, denied the charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Authorities say a 36-year-old New York City man brought the girl to Taylor's hotel room last night in Suffern, New York. Police say the 16-year-old girl was there against her will. Held there by Rasheed Davis, beaten and handed over to Lawrence Taylor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're alleging that they engaged in sexual contact. At that point when she left the room, she texted her uncle, told him about the pimp, they picked him up and then picked up Lawrence Taylor who was still in that hotel room.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: He's been in trouble with the law in the past, including drugs, and recently tried on revive his career with an appearance on TV on "Dancing with the Stars."
REPORTER: His lawyer says Taylor will fight the charges.
ARTHUR AIDALA, LAWRENCE TAYLOR'S ATTORNEY: He charged with rape. Lawrence Taylor did not rape anybody. Am I clear?
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
BROWN: Taylor was freed tonight after posting $75,000 bail. We're going to have a whole lot more on the story just ahead.
And our number one political story comes from Capitol Hill. A build-up would strip terror suspects of their U.S. citizenship. It was prompted by the Times Square bomb plot and sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman and Scott Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: If an American citizen traveled to Somalia to train and fight for the terrorist group al- Shabab, as more than 20 young men have done over the past years, the State Department will now have the authority to begin proceedings to revoke their citizenship so that they cannot return here on their passports to carry out an attack against Americans.
SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Individuals who pick up arms -- this is what I believe -- have effectively denounced their citizenship and this legislation simply memorializes that effort. So, somebody who wants to burn their passport -- well, let's help them along, and let's take away that citizenship.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
BROWN: Critics from both parties say the bill would never hold up in court. House Minority Leader John Boehner told the reporters the bill's chances, quote, "would be pretty difficult under the U.S. Constitution."
And that brings us to the "Punch Line." and there's no contest here. Behold, Jon Stewart calling out his favorite thing on CNN, the fashion stylings of our very own Roland Martin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, TV HOST: CNN's Roland Martin --
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: -- wore an ascot. Now, the only explanation that I can think of were the ascot. Perhaps they interrupted Roland Martin while he was hosting his other show, "Remy Martin Presents the Situation Grotto" featuring Roland Martin.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And Roland will be responding to Mr. Stewart coming up a little bit later in the show. That is your Thursday "Mash-Up."
The important developments tonight in the Times Square bomber investigation -- top U.S. officials find new links between suspected bomber Faisal Shahzad and Pakistani extremists. We are on the ground in Pakistan with the very latest on the investigation -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, new developments in the Times Square bomber investigation. We are seeing brand-new video of the suspect buying fireworks allegedly used in the attempt. You see it there. This surveillance video shows Faisal Shahzad buying consumer-glade fireworks from a store in Pennsylvania. Explosives, the company says, frankly wouldn't damage a watermelon.
Meantime, new leads in Pakistan show Shahzad was likely trained by extremist groups. Now, investigators haven't pinpointed which groups specifically, but they're looking at the Pakistani Taliban. And it could be a potential game-changer.
A U.S. senior official today says, if that link can be proven, the Obama will ask the Pakistani government to, quote, "take them down." Shahzad, of course, is charged with trying to use a weapon of mass destruction in connection with Saturday's failed car bombing.
Today, authorities in Pakistan questioned his father, a retired senior Pakistani air force officer. And over the last few days, they have rounded up a number of other people believed to have met with Shahzad on his recent trip home.
Tonight, senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is in Pakistan and on the trail of the alleged Times Square bomber.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 17th, 2009, Faisal Shahzad becomes an American citizen. He has no known ties to terrorism. Only 2 1/2 months later, he returns to his homeland. (on camera): When he left the United States, he came here to Pakistan's port city Karachi, to this middle-class neighborhood. And within a week, according to senior Pakistani government officials, he met a man who took him to meet Taliban leaders.
(voice-over): On these streets, a neighborhood near his wife's family, Pakistani police believe are some of the clues to Shahzad's radicalization and a new threat facing the United States.
(on camera): This is the mosque here where Faisal Shahzad is reported to have attended when he came to Karachi. And it's where also, we understand, at least one of the people detained by the authorities here was picked up.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON: And what about Faisal Shahzad? Did Faisal Shahzad come here to this -- did he come to the (INAUDIBLE) -- did he come to the mosque here?
(voice-over): They tell us no one was picked up here. They also deny reports the mosque has ties to an outlaw radical Islamic group connected to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
(on camera): Does this mosque, though, have a history of a relationship with Jaish-e-Muhammad in the past?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): They tell us, we must be confused with a nearby mosque with the same name.
(on camera): Well, despite what they told us that there were two mosques by the same name, we've just run a few checks, and it's clear this is the right place.
(voice-over): Shahzad did pray there. It turns out the man in question was picked up a few blocks away.
(on camera): This is where the police track down the man who took Shahzad to meet the Taliban leaders, an amusement park in Karachi. And so far, all the detentions that have taken place that have happened within a few miles of here.
(voice-over): It's hundreds of miles to the Pakistani Taliban strongholds in the tribal border region, where officials tell CNN, Shahzad was taken for his meeting.
The Pakistani Taliban denied they trained Shahzad, but they do praise him -- and following in the footsteps of al Qaeda, vow more attacks like his in the United States.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Karachi, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: So, what would drive an otherwise successful suburban dad into the arms of extremists? You see Faisal Shahzad here on the far right in the CBS News photo posing in Times Square like millions of tourists do every single day. Well, now, investigators are grilling him to determine the full extent of his ties to the Taliban. And could this represent a major shift in the terrorist threat against the U.S.?
Reza Aslan is the author of "How to Win a Cosmic War" and columnist for "The Daily Beast" and he's joining us tonight along with Fran Townsend, CNN national security contributor and former homeland security adviser to President Bush.
Fran, give me your take. How significant is that a Pakistani Taliban group may have been involved in this? What does it say, I guess, about the evolving nature of the threat we face?
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Campbell, I think it's very serious. And frankly, senior law enforcement officials said to me today, "Look, now it's more than him simply saying," Faisal says -- saying that he was in -- trained in Waziristan. Now, we have confidence that it's true, and what we need to understand is, how deep -- how deep was that relationship? How much -- did he get training? Who did he have contact with? Those are the sorts of leads they're following now.
I equate this, frankly, to -- you recall with the Christmas Day attempted bombing, we heard from the administration that they were surprised that al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula was more than a regional group that actually threatened the U.S. That's how I see this. If the Pakistani Taliban now has not only threatened us, Baitullah Mehsud said that they would attack in U.S. cities and they've actually done it now, that suggests a real turning point in these -- in yet another regional group having the capability to extend their reach and attack the homeland.
BROWN: And, Reza, you've made this point exactly. I mean, you noted that the Pakistani Taliban was never really focused on jihad. That they were really much more involved with regional issues. So if this is a change, what did change for them?
REZA ASLAN, AUTHOR, "HOW TO WIN A COSMIC WAR": If this is a change, and I think that's the important thing to keep in mind here, then I think Fran's right. It's a very troubling development. It means that the Pakistani Taliban are just the latest of these so- called Islamist groups, these nationalistic organizations, that have local grievances, and local agendas, who are making a transition to a much more global ideology.
In other words, they're becoming much more like al Qaeda and far less like what we would expect from a regional organization like the Taliban. But I do think that we need to make sure that all of the information is in here, because this could just as easily had been the case in which they sent Shahzad to the United States just to cause some trouble because they had no use for him.
Whether this indicates an actual ideological shift, we don't know yet. But if it does, I think we're in trouble.
BROWN: Well, to that point, Reza, I mean, this was not a sophisticated, sort of terrorist mastermind that we're talking about here. I mean the plan was kind of a mess, frankly. Is he the kind of person that you would expect that the Taliban would select as a quality recruit?
ASLAN: No unsophisticated think is an understatement when it comes to this particular attempt, and I don't mean to make light of it because it is just as dangerous. But I do think that it is important to understand that what we're seeing here is the results of, frankly, the success that the United States has had in cutting off these organizations at the knees.
And we should thank the Bush administration's Treasury Department for this, because in going after the money, we have hit al Qaeda where it hurts. They simply do not have the means any longer to take part in the spectacular displays of violence that we saw in September 11th. Instead, they're relying on these rogue individuals, which pose a trouble -- problem of their own, in a completely different sense, but which obviously do not have the destructive power that we saw in the pre-9/11 attacks.
BROWN: And, Fran, what's your take on that?
TOWNSEND: You know, I think it's interesting, Campbell. I think what Reza's saying is exactly why we saw the Pakistani Taliban praise the actions in Times Square, but denied that it was them behind it because it was so ham-handed, it was so amateurish, if you will, to be embarrassing for them.
Now, as Reza points out, it's still very difficult to find these people to disrupt them before they launch an attack and, frankly, you know, if he -- if he had successfully put this thing together, he still would have killed people. And so, so we can't -- we can't dismiss it out of hand.
BROWN: Reza Aslan, Fran Townsend -- guys, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much.
TOWNSEND: Thanks, Campbell.
ASLAN: You are welcome.
BROWN: And tonight, the race to save the Gulf of Mexico kicking into high gear. At any time now, a giant metal box, essentially, is set to be lowered to try to cap the massive oil spill. President Obama's point man, Admiral Thad Allen, is here.
And a stunning new government report just coming out on the risk of developing cancer from what we eat, breathe, and even touch. Sanjay will tell us about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, the first streaks of oil from the massive spill in the Gulf have made landfall, reaching Louisiana's barrier islands -- this as crews prepare to lower a 100-ton concrete and steel box into the water. They hope it will help cap the nearly 200,000 gallons of oil gushing into the sea each day.
A dome at the top of the container would act as a funnel carrying the oil to a tanker wading above, but massive box must go nearly a mile below the surface. And until now, something like this has only been tried 300 feet below, and we won't know until at least Sunday if it's going to work.
Meantime, there is growing concern about when pushing more of this spill even closer to land. And a short time ago, I spoke with Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Thad Allen, who is leading the federal response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Admiral, a lot of hope rests tonight on that 100-ton dome that will be lowered into the oceans, and a lot of skeptics are out there, even a B.P. executive, when asked the odds of this working said that typically you put odds on something that's been done before, this hasn't. How confident you are that this is going to do the trick?
ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD COMMANDANT: Well, I think we're all hopeful that this will have an impact on this leak. But I think that he's absolutely right, Campbell. This is something that's never -- it's been done before, but never at these depths. But I think it goes to show the amount of effort that's going in to try everything possible to diminish the oil that's coming out of the ocean floor there, but this will be difficult.
BROWN: So, 5,000 feet, I think, below the surface. Talk to me a little bit about some of the challenges that you face. I'm guessing the high pressure, you know, frigid waters -- sort of what the conditions under water are that might get in the way.
ALLEN: Well, once the coffered dam is lowered over the leak side and the oil is collected, they're going to have to bring it up through a pipe to the surface and then decant it off to another vessel to be taken ashore. Outside that drill pipe, there will be a larger pipe containing it. And one of the reasons they're going do that is when the oil comes up from 18,000 feet is actually warmer than the sea water and there's natural gas and water contained in that oil that needs to be separated later.
When it gets down below 30-degree range and lower end of that pipe, some of those gas molecules could actually start to freeze or hydrate, as they say. And they're actually going to pump surface water at 78 degrees down around that to try to keep it warm. But this is all in anticipation of what they think might happen with the product that's in that pipe trying to reduce all risks that something could go wrong, but this is certainly not fail-safe.
BROWN: I'm trying to simplify this. Let's say the dome does work and then there takes care most the oil. I know another key part of that is drilling that second relief well, which is sort of -- if I can totally oversimplify this -- kind of contain or deal with the rest of it. But that is supposed to take three months to complete and that seems like an awful long time for this to continue leaking, doesn't it?
ALLEN: Well, that's what we're concerned about, Campbell. And the best of all possible worlds, we would secure all of the leak sources until the relief well can be drilled and we can actually cap the well. The problem is, we're operating at 5,000 feet where we've never had do this before.
So, in addition to the cofferdam that we're talking about, we're looking at applying these dispersants which we hope will disperse the oil further down, but there are issues associated with that as well because we're in effect putting detergent into the water column and we need to understand the effects of that as well.
BROWN: And talk to us about the affects of that and what the concerns from scientists. I know, right now, they are worried about this moving beyond the Gulf area, right? They're seeing those tides maybe pushing into Florida or maybe even into North Carolina.
ALLEN: Well, we've asked the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to take a look at this. There is a current called the "loop current." It basically follows the contour of the United States around the Gulf of Mexico and down by Florida. That is not near the spill at this point.
But because the issue's been raised and some concerns were expressed, we've actually asked for an analysis of that and that's ongoing right now. And earlier today, there was actually a conference call held with the staffs of the governors on the eastern seaboard to start to acquaint them with what's going on.
We have no reason to believe that that might happen right now, but because the concerns have been raised, we're certainly looking into it.
BROWN: Admiral Thad Allen, we really appreciate your time right now, especially given how busy you are right now. Thank you so much, sir, for joining us.
ALLEN: My pleasure, Campbell. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Still ahead, an alarming new study shows cancer risks are everywhere, in your food, clothing, and even the air you breathe. What you can do to protect yourself and your children. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be here next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: A startling report today on the widespread cancer risks in everyday life, especially for children. The president's cancer panel says Americans are facing, quote, "grievous harm" from our chemicals in our air and our water. And now, the panel is calling for a new national strategy to combat threats in the environment and the workplace.
I spoke with CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: This is pretty big news. You've got this blue-ribbon panel seeming to say that the government has really dropped the ball on regulating chemicals in the food we eat and the water we drink. Walk us through their findings.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is some the strongest language I think that we've of heard from this particular panel. They advise the president on all issues related to cancer.
This is the first time they've talked specifically about a link, a potential link between the environment and cancer. And they're really targeting in on some laws that they say are inept, a law called TOSCA, the Toxic Substances Control Act. They say it has really not worked.
I want to give you more perspective. There are about 80,000 chemicals out there right now. Of those 80,000, only 200 have been tested and only five have been either restricted or banned, and that's over a few decades. So, they're not saying they're necessarily dangerous, they're not saying that they're safe. They're saying we simply don't know and that's unacceptable.
But they took it one step further, Campbell -- I think this is what got a lot of people's attention. They're saying, we don't know for sure, but based on all of the existing data out there, we believe that there's widespread possibility that there are a lots of cancer- causing chemicals out there right now that we're being exposed to and we want something done about it. That's what this panel said.
BROWN: And the big concern here -- I mean, it's all a big concern -- but target focus is children, right? Especially children in utero, meaning pregnant women, ought to be especially careful?
GUPTA: That's right. You know, when it comes to children, there's really three issues. One is, first of all, as little testing as being done on adults, there's been even less on children -- first problem.
Second problem is that pound for pound. Even though children weigh less than adults, they take in more air. They take in more water. They take in more food. Again pound for pound.
And finally, children are going to live longer, presumably. So, if the exposures are increasing, they're going to see more exposures. And those exposures are going to accumulate in their bodies.
Campbell, you'll be interested to know I was interested to know as a dad that if you test the umbilical cord of new moms, of babies, you can find 200-plus chemicals in that umbilical cord blood that are currently classified as hazardous.
BROWN: Wow.
GUPTA: It's pretty shocking. You know and I'm always careful as I'm sure you are. I don't want to overstate this because they haven't drawn the cause-and-effect relationship, but 200-plus chemicals before a baby is even born.
BROWN: It's amazing. One article I read said that our babies are being born and the word they used was "pre-polluted," which I thought was incredible. So let me ask, are we going to see because of this, the government step up in a big way? Do you anticipate new regulations to deal with all this stuff?
GUPTA: Well, I think this panel's recommendations are going to make an impact. But you know, the guy who's really been, I think the biggest champion for some time, is Senator Frank Lautenberg. He says this issue is going to be his legacy. He believes that he wants to introduce this thing called the safe chemical act, where basically you have to prove something as safe before you release it. Right now, if you think about chemicals, a lot of them are innocent until proven guilty. You've got to prove something is unsafe and then take it off the market. He wants to reverse that equation, prove it's safe before we can release it. That's sort of what he's trying to adopt and fight for.
BROWN: Well, we'll see what comes in all of this. Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us tonight. Sanjay, as always, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: Thank you, Campbell. Anytime, thank you.
BROWN: Up next, with floodwaters in Nashville finally receding, the city bracing for what lies beneath. And Anderson Cooper talks to the survivors and joins two hometown favorites for a walk-through the devastation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Thirty-one people now confirmed dead following weekend storms in the southeast, 21 in Tennessee alone. In Nashville today, waters have now subsided six days after record-setting rains flooded much of the city considered the very heart of country music.
Anderson Cooper is in Nashville tonight where he joins some of those hardest hit by the disaster, as well as two of the city's biggest names, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, for a walk through their devastated town.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAITH HILL, SINGER: A place like Nashville, one of the things that keeps us alive and keeps the schools running and -- you know tourists coming into our town. So I think you know, everyone realizes that it's incredible community in Tennessee. And we've seen that downtown, but also in the surrounding areas of this city. People are just, right away, just picked up and started helping their neighbors.
TIM MCGRAW, SINGER: When you think about Nashville you think about the rich and famous country music singers who live there. And that's true, a lot of us do live here. But this town is made up of people who live paycheck to paycheck, who work hard. They go to church. They go to little league. They take their kids to softball games on Tuesday nights. They own homes. They're the backbone of our community. They make this community. They make this community run. And those are the people who are suffering. Those are the people who've lost their homes. They've lost their livelihoods.
HILL: They've lost everything.
MCGRAW: They've lost everything, and in some case lost family members.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Anderson Cooper joining us right now from Nashville. And, Anderson, I know you talked to a lot of those people. How are they holding up?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's an incredible place. I've never seen so many volunteers so quickly after a disaster descending and helping out neighbors. I mean, hundreds of members of church groups, thousands of members of church groups and individuals who just come out. You see people in front homes and you say, is this your home there? Like no, I'm just here, I just came down here to help.
It's an incredible sight to see. It's a real testament to the spirit and strength of Nashville. But there's a lot of frustration here. You know, a lot of people feel the national media hasn't paid enough attention to this soon enough and, you know, they're certainly justified in feeling that way. And you look at these homes, I mean, the homes are still standing but there are hundreds, probably thousands of homes which inside are just completely destroyed and they've had to rip everything out. Everything is just laying out on the ground. People have taken out all their possessions to try to fight the molds, fight the mildew. And most of these folks, none of them have flood insurance, so that's going to be a huge loss for just thousands and thousands of people. It's going to -- the governor's estimating in Nashville alone a cost maybe of more than a billion dollars statewide. A lot of suffering as well. So the story here has just really begun, Campbell.
BROWN: And, Anderson, we know you're going to have a lot more coming up tonight on "AC 360." That's 10:00 Eastern Time.
And coming up, Lawrence Taylor, L.T., one of the biggest stars in football history. He's been in trouble with the law before, but never like this. The very latest on his shocking arrest today coming up in just a moment.
But first, Tom Foreman has tonight's "Download" for us. Hey, Tom. TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Campbell. What a day on Wall Street. A massive and sudden sell-off crashed the Dow Jones Industrial Average in a big way. It plummeted nearly 1,000 points. That's the biggest midday drop ever. The stomach-churning losses were apparently triggered by a trading error if you can believe it. The turmoil in Greece also rattled the markets. The Dow did recover, but closed down nearly 350 points anyway.
Violent clashes in the streets of Athens tonight. Thousands of demonstrators vented their anger against the state after the government approved drastic spending cuts there. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to break up the crowd after protesters started throwing bottles. The Greek government's financial crisis is dragging down markets all around the world.
The furor over Arizona's new immigration crackdown is spilling over into California tonight. In Los Angeles, police arrested protesters who chained themselves together and laid down on the streets in front of a federal immigration building. They blocked traffic for hours. The group was also calling for amnesty for all illegal immigrants -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Tom Foreman for us tonight. Tom, thanks very much.
Coming up, decision day for voters in Great Britain and it was a real nail-biter. That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Control of the British government is up for grabs tonight. Voters in the UK went to the polls today and what turned out to be Britain's closest election in decades. Exit polls project David Cameron's Conservative Party eked out a victory over Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg, but not enough seats for the conservatives to ensure a majority.
Joining us to talk about it, Tony Blankley, a political consultant who has been closely following the British elections.
So, Tony, what do you make of the exit polls? Explain what they mean.
TONY BLANKLEY, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Well, it's sort of bad news. They suggest that the Torys (ph) will win a plurality of seats but not a majority, which means they're going to have trouble forming a government. They're going to have to struggle to find another dozen or so seats and as a result they will -- it will be hard to be a decisive strong government because they're going to have to constantly be compromising with whoever nonparty members they get.
BROWN: It's almost impossible, I think, for us to believe in the U.S., but this was the first time that Britain had televised debates as part of the campaign. And Gordon Brown has blamed his poor performance in part on that. Explain why that was such a factor. BLANKLEY: Well, the British public has never seen this presidential-style debate where the leaders of the parties speak. One of the consequences, and not a good one I think everyone will agree, was that the very small Lib Dem party, which normally is not much of a contender because their leader did such a good job in the first debate, he surged up. And so what should had been a binary choice between a Labour Party that has been in for 13 years and was tired and the Tory Party that was ready to replace them turned into a three-way race.
BROWN: There are obviously important policy and political issues involved. But there are people who are saying that if Gordon Brown's Labour Party loses, you could trace it to this moment. The prime minister caught on tape talking up a voter first and then insulting her after he got away from the cameras, but it was caught on tape. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLIAN DUFFY: But don't' say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're -- well, all of these Eastern Europeans welcomed in.
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's been very good to meet you. Very good to meet you. Nice to see you. Good. Good. And it's very nice to see you.
That was a disaster. You should have never put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? It's just ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did she say?
BROWN: Ah, everything. She's just a SOTOMAYOR: of -- bigoted woman. She said she used to be Labour.
DUFFY: You're a joke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think Gordon Brown said what he said?
DUFFY: I don't know. You tell me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I have to say, Tony, I watched this video I don't know how many times. You saw her reaction to what the prime minister said.
BLANKLEY: Yes.
BROWN: The Telegraph called the whole incident a political snuff movie. How much do you think this really did influence this election?
BLANKLEY: Look, it was an extremely damaging moment for this reason. The Labour Party, the base of their vote are working people and they're more harshly affected by economic competition from jobs from immigrants than middle class or upper-class people. So she was raising a genuine concern for millions of Labour Party voters and he calls her a bigot for that. I mean he was probably going to lose anyway. You know he's had a very hard time. They've had scandals. The economy's going south, but that was the frosting on the cake. It was just catastrophic.
BROWN: All right. Tony Blankley for us tonight. Tony, as always, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BLANKLEY: Pleasure.
BROWN: And "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. Larry, what do you have tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Well, Campbell, we're a little chagrinned. As you know, Lawrence Taylor was arrested today on rape charges in New York. And I spoke with his wife earlier, Lynette Taylor, and she told us she was coming on the show tonight. We arranged transportation. She was coming to a studio in Miami and she was ready to speak out and at the last minute, canceled. Probably due I guess to lawyer's advice. She did tell me though she thought her husband was setup. She thinks that someone is out to get him. And she is very, very supportive and loving of him.
We'll discuss the Taylor case. We'll discuss the goings-on, as well in Nashville. Lots of other things to get at. But mainly we'll focus on the Taylor case without Mrs. Taylor. But we'll have attorneys on both sides of the issues. That's at the top of the hour, coming up, Campbell.
BROWN: Frustrating, yes. I'm sure it'll be a good show regardless. Larry, we will be watching as always, thank you.
KING: Thank you.
BROWN: And coming up, the moment we have all been waiting for. Roland Martin ready to rumble. Why nobody makes fun of his ascot, not even Jon Stewart.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Time now for "M2," our in-house debate team of Mary Matalin and Roland Martin facing off on some choice topics. Guys, what do you have tonight?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: All right, Campbell, thanks a bunch.
Senator Joe Lieberman, he's come up with a great idea to take away the citizenship of Americans who are linked to terrorist groups. You know, Mary, with some people who are on the terror watch list who don't even belong on the watch list, this is an absolutely ridiculous idea from the independent Lieberman.
MARY MATALIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The independent Democratic Lieberman and it's a genius idea. And he's a chairman of the committee that makes up these sorts of statutes and he's only appending to an existing statute, stripping of citizenship for aiding and abetting foreign enemies, in this case terrorists. This is to eradicate or mitigate all these Mirandizing issues that have so flummoxed this administration.
MARTIN: Well, first of all, the Bush folks also provided Miranda, the folks who were arrested, but this is still ridiculous. Look, here's the deal, OK?
Senator, focus on securing borders, focus on ports. This issue right here, this is not the overriding issue when it comes to terrorism in this country. It is not. So there are much greater issues.
MATALIN: Oh, my God.
MARTIN: No, this is not it. You know this, Mary.
MATALIN: Where have you been, Roland?
MARTIN: This is a sideshow.
MATALIN: Have you been -- weren't we just together yesterday? Have you been like on drugs this week?
MARTIN: Yes, I've been here. Look, this is a sideshow.
MATALIN: We have had a -- we had an American citizen, a Pakistani, who was radicalized, an American citizen who almost just blew up countless people in Times Square. That's exactly what this is.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Well, actually he's been arrested. He hasn't been convicted. So don't start convicting Americans until we have a process whether on military court or a federal court.
MATALIN: Look, in your fantasy world, you can let these guys have their civil rights over our personal lights.
MARTIN: No. I like my rights.
MATALIN: Just like this -- all right, we're going to have another conversation every day and that's my endless quest to find crazy political correctness.
My favorite one of the day is the five kids, high school kids who were suspended for wearing American flag shirts in California, of all places. One of the kids had this to say about his sartorial splendor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no -- no problem with them wearing their Mexico flag or anything like that. I just thought that I would show my pride, American pride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATALIN: See, Roland, here's my -- these political correctness issues would be funny if they weren't so dangerous because they lead to things like what happened in Fort Hood. In this case, this is the best possible outcome. It just leads to divisiveness (ph).
MARTIN: Wow, lead to Fort Hood murder, wow.
MATALIN: Yes, that was political correctness gone crazy.
MARTIN: Don't sit here and equate this t-shirt to Fort Hood. That's nonsense.
MATALIN: Don't make that leap. That's not the leap. I said political correctness --
MARTIN: OK.
MATALIN: -- on steroids is what's happened. That slippery slope is exactly what happened at Fort Hood, exactly.
MARTIN: Right, a big difference between the two.
All right. You were speaking of a sartorial splendor of a student at a high school wearing their American t-shirts. "The Daily Show"'s Jon Stewart had his own particular take on my sartorial splendor right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: We have political punks in Washington.
JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Don't dare punch that (INAUDIBLE). There it is. On national television in front of millions -- no, CNN -- in front of some viewers, CNN's Roland Martin wore an ascot on a news program. A news cop, if you will. Now, the only explanation I can think of or the ascot perhaps they interrupted Roland Martin while he was hosting his other show "Remy Martin Presents The Situation Grotto."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: Mary, Jon Stewart asked why, why wear an ascot on national television? Mary, I'll tell you because this country is going to a hell in a hand basket. We're lost. We succumbed to the insane desires of this new generation that is devoid of a common purpose of Americans.
Mary, why an ascot? Because I want my America back. I want to reclaim the soul and the style that made us the greatest country on earth. We have abandoned the stylistic principles of the founding fathers and their wigs and top hats and ruffled tops, for the God awful look of flip-flops and t-shirts and baggy pants and sweats. Jackie O. took up to new heights. Now we have the fashion sense of James Carville. Look, I want to help restore the values of America, Mary. I want us to be great again. I want an ascot for every God-fearing boy in man. It is time that we reclaim our history, Mary. It is time that we return to our roots as a leader in fashion. Join me in this fight and accept this call to arms and may we all rediscover what it means to be an American. We are, Mary, the United States of ascots.
MATALIN: God bless -- I was with you until you brought up flip- flops. And you thought you were going to get a rise out of me on Carville.
MARTIN: Oh, no, I should have known.
MATALIN: We know Carville still wears -- you know I wear flip- flops to work every day and we know that Jon (INAUDIBLE) from the same thing I am relative to use sartorial jealousy. I feel your pain, Jon Stewart, but we love you. We love Colbert more.
MARTIN: As we say --
MATALIN: But get out of your suit and pick up an ascot.
MARTIN: As we say, Mary --
MATALIN: You're right, Roland, I'm jealous.
MARTIN: Don't hate, congratulate, and Jon Stewart might let you celebrate.
MATALIN: All right, Campbell -- Campbell, we need Roland in our dressing room. If he was dressing us, who knows, maybe we'd be on "Comedy Central."
MARTIN: I loved it, too. I loved it.
BROWN: Thanks, Mary and Roland. Everybody, "LARRY KING LIVE" starting in just a few minutes.
Coming up, he was a gridiron giant but off the field Lawrence Taylor has been a no star at all. We have the story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Former Hall of Fame football pro Lawrence Taylor is in serious trouble with the law again. The man everybody knows as L.T. today pled not guilty to charges he raped a 16-year-old girl early this morning at a Holiday Inn in upstate New York. He pled this morning. The girl was a runaway from the Bronx who had been reported missing by her family back in March. Taylor's wife claims the whole thing was a setup.
Joining us right now to talk about this is Christine Brennan, sports columnist for "USA Today." And, Christine, you know, he's been in trouble before. Drugs, tax problems, he seemed to be doing better. He made this appearance on "Dancing with the Stars," but you can't help but look at the images of him sitting in the courtroom in handcuffs waiting for an arraignment and not be a little stunned by this, right?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, COLUMNIST, "USA TODAY": Oh, absolutely. I mean he's 51 years old. Lawrence Taylor, the -- you know would just wreak havoc on the football field, but that was of course in the 1980s and '90s, and he's been retired since 1993. So he's had probably more chances, more second chances and third chances, Campbell, maybe than any athlete of this era, and now to hear this sorted story and to have him in the news again for this, it's -- at a time when he's been trying to rehabilitate his image and do things in the mainstream, it really is a surprise and obviously not good for Lawrence Taylor.
BROWN: And he did have this sort of oversized reputation both on and off of the field. What's been the general reaction in the sports world?
BRENNAN: It's not good. I mean when his lawyer is saying, I hope you understand at the hearing today that he has a wife and three children, you know you're kind of scratching your head and say, why wouldn't have Lawrence Taylor thought of this if these allegations are true of this incredibly sorted story. A 16-year-old, again, we don't know if it's true or not. But I think, you know, Lawrence Taylor once said that -- that the fury that he unleashed on the field that made him one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the National Football League, it was hard for him to unleash -- to stop that. He kept going off the field. The drugs, so much of the misbehavior, time in jail, suspensions, but you would have thought as he moved into his 50s, Campbell, that he would had been able to rein that in, and allegedly he's, obviously not able to do that.
BROWN: And, Christine, I've only got about a minute left here but that there have been a number of big sports stories in the last year, an awful lot of them have involved athletes behaving badly. And I know you think it's a sort of sense of entitlement by famous athletes.
BRENNAN: Exactly, Campbell. I think we're seeing this more whether it's Tiger Woods or Ben Roethlisberger, Gilbert arenas with the guns in the NBA locker room, the tragic story at UVA. What is the common denominator -- the Lacrosse story, the murder, terrible. What's the common denominator here? Is it an issue of entitlement and what we are doing to prop up athletes to think they're untouchable? There's so many questions. More questions unfortunately than answers at this point.
BROWN: Christine Brennan for us tonight. Christine, as always, thanks. Good to see you.
And that is going to do it for us tonight. Thanks for joining us.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
