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FBI Most Wanted and Girlfriend Caught; Selling the Afghan Drawdown; World Reacts to Afghanistan Plan; Bristol Palin Releases Shocking Book; Congress Gives Mixed Reaction to Afghanistan Timetable; Interview with Sen. James Inhofe; Secret Celebrity Poker Exposed; Casey's Parents Doubt Her Innocence; Police: "Jackass" Star was Intoxicated; Accused Crime Boss Arrested; Tom Hanks Anchoring CNN Sports; Passenger: Luggage Soaked in Urine
Aired June 23, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.
Before a jury can decide if Casey Anthony murdered her 2-year-old child her parents offer their own verdict and they don't think she's innocent.
Just minutes ago a new measure of the economy. The number of Americans filing their first unemployment claims rise to 429,000. An increase of about 9,000 from the week before.
And President Obama unveiling his plans to withdraw from Afghanistan. Now his team faces a daunting mission of its own -- selling it to critics on Capitol Hill.
This morning, we begin with an old-school crime story and a new approach to nabbing a fugitive. James "Whitey" Bulger is the stuff of legend -- loan sharking, drug rackets, and more than a dozen alleged murders. A reputed Boston kingpin who inspired fear and Hollywood scriptwriters. His larger-than-life persona borrowed by Jack Nicholson in the movie "The Departed."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK NICHOLSON, ACTOR, "THE DEPARTED": Makes me curious to see you in this neighborhood.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, today, Boston's most notorious gangster and his longtime girlfriend are in jail after 16 years on the run.
Kara Finnstrom in Los Angeles where they'll make their first court appearance today.
And let's take a look at this PSA right now, Kara. It was a very unusual strategy that actually led to nabbing him, right?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Certainly it was. You know gangster -- we're told that a tipster actually saw this PSA that was airing. FBI agents say he saw it, and then he called in, and he led them to the pair last night.
Interestingly enough, James "Whitey" Bulger had eluded authorities for more than a decade and a half. They tried to find him but he traveled. He'd use disguises and he'd gone all around the world eluding them so finally they went after his girlfriend and they aired these PSAs which had specific information about her. And that's what ultimately led them to him.
PHILLIPS: And tell us about that information. Actually, some of it's quite comical.
(LAUGHTER)
FINNSTROM: Yes, they included some very specific information about her. They said that she'd numerous plastic surgeries, that she liked to go to the beauty salon, that she's been a dental hygienist. And so she usually had her teeth cleaned about once a month.
And then you see a picture here of her with some dogs. They also say she loved dogs and that she often would take long walks on the beaches with Bulger. So they created kind of a painting of who she was hoping that would lead them to her and it did.
PHILLIPS: Nothing like bright white teeth leading you to a notorious gangster.
Now the FBI has actually been criticized for overlooking a lot of his heinous crimes for information -- in response for getting information from him on other gangsters, right?
FINNSTROM: Yes. He's legendary in the Boston area and there had been widespread reports that the FBI had used him as an informant and perhaps they had cozied up to him too much, allowing him to escape, that he'd gotten word of -- that he was about to be arrested.
The FBI on its own Web site does say that he had infiltrated their agency. So there were lots of concerns about this over the years. I am sure they are very glad at this point to have him behind bars and to try and close this chapter.
PHILLIPS: No doubt. Kara Finnstrom, we'll talk more about it at 10:00. Thanks so much.
The drawdown in Afghanistan. The first U.S. troops will be pulled out next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the beginning but not the end of our effort to wind down this war. We'll have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we've made while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Now just hours after the president outlined the details in a prime time address, members of his team face critics on Capitol Hill. Democrats, Republicans, even military leaders have grave concerns about how to end the longest war in the nation's history.
Kate Bolduan is on the hill.
So, Kate, who is the White House going to send to defend this plan and who are the critics they're going to go up against?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I'll get to the criticism in one second. They are -- White house are sending some pretty heavy-hitters up to the Hill today to make the case for and likely answer some tough questions on the president's plans for the troop drawdown in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for one. She'll be before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, he'll be before a House committee. And then General David Petraeus, the president's top commander in Afghanistan, he'll be speaking before another Senate committee. He is actually coming to the Hill to handle a confirmation hearing for his potential new post as the director of the CIA.
But with word that military leaders, Kyra, were pushing for a more modest, a slower drawdown than what the president had decided on. You can be sure that senators are keying on hearing General David Petraeus' thoughts on this.
The criticism, the reaction, I should say, Kyra, has been mixed. I would say the Democrats in general, if I had to generalize, they agree that the drawdown should begin but some liberal -- some, including liberal Democrats, they think it's not fast enough. They want to see a more aggressive timeline, more troops being pulled out at a quicker pace.
But others, including some very influential Republicans, they are calling this plan maybe too aggressive. They are looking forward to their -- they are concerned that this could risk the substantial gains that have been made in Afghanistan. One of those people includes Senator Lindsey Graham. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think the president rejected a modest withdrawal in 2011. That he's accelerated withdrawal in 2011 and '12 that could compromise our ability to maintain the gains we have fought so hard. The Afghan security forces are better, but not yet able to sustain the fight without our help.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Words that I'm hearing in terms of reaction, Kyra, the need for flexibility in this plan. Fear that a precipitous pullout could risk the gains that have been made there. Senator McCain, a very influential Republican in terms of these foreign relations issues, said it pretty clearly, that this is not the modest withdrawal that he was looking for.
But I should say it does not cut cleanly along party lines as there are many that are feeling the war weariness, if you will, from their home districts -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Kate Bolduan on the Hill, thanks so much.
And in just about 10 minutes from now, we're going to hear from a Republican senator who's among the critics of the plan. James Inhofe is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and we'll be asking some tough questions of the Obama team. He's going to join me live.
The U.S. withdrawal plan is igniting similar debate in other countries taking part in the war effort.
Zain Verjee is following that for us and some international headlines out of London.
Hey, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. A couple of headlines for you, both are pretty critical actually. The "Guardian," a left-leaning newspaper here has this headline, "Strategic drawdown or rush for the door?"
It goes on to say, "Those who call for an immediate full exit are making a grave mistake. Such an approach risks an outcome that should be unacceptable in Washington and London. A Taliban takeover of all or substantial portions of Afghanistan."
"International Herald Tribune" has this headline, it's three words and a question, "The Way Out?" "Obama will need to do a lot more to explain why it is in this country's strategic interests to stick things out for another three years plus and why his drawdown plan has a credible chance of leaving behind an Afghanistan that won't implode as soon as American troops are gone."
And that's part of the debate, Kyra. That's a big concern. Is Afghanistan, once U.S. troops pull out, going to disintegrate into total chaos and civil war? Or are the Afghan security forces actually going to be able to step up and take responsibility for security? That's a big question mark.
PHILLIPS: Yes. And we'll be talking a lot about it, no doubt, for many years to come.
Zain, thanks.
Shocking, inspiring. Well, those words from Sarah Palin who's describing her daughter Bristol's new tell-all book.
CNN's Jim Acosta is in Washington.
Jim, before we get to the daughter's book, you've actually got some news about mom, correct? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There's been a lot of speculation over the last 24 hours, Kyra, that Sarah Palin's One Nation bus tour has run out of gas. Well, not so says the former Alaska governor. She has taken to her Facebook page to announce that she has been called in for jury duty up in Alaska. And that this is going to sideline the bus tour for a little while.
She does say on her Facebook page that the next leg of the tour will come when the time comes. But as you mentioned, Kyra, there's also the matter of her daughter's book. Bristol Palin has come out with an autobiography. And some may ask, well, aren't you a little young to come out with an autobiography?
But it's been an interesting couple of years for Bristol Palin. She talks about in his book her relationship with Levi Johnston, the father of her son, and Sarah Palin has stayed active on her Twitter page saying, on her account, talking about Bristol Palin's book that the book is shocking, refreshing, honest, inspiring and perfect. So some support there from mom for Bristol Palin.
And meantime, also on the Republican side, we should mention coming up on Monday, a big announcement from Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann. She is going to be throwing her hat in the ring for the 2012 nomination on the Republican side.
She is going to make this announcement and, Kyra, not a lot of people know this even though she's a congresswoman from Minnesota, her birth place -- where she was born is Waterloo, Iowa. So that is where she's going to be making that announcement. And then she's going to be embarking on a three-state tour starting in Iowa and then heading off to, of course, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
So it's going to be a busy week for Michele Bachmann starting on Monday. I looked at her Web site this morning. She's got a Web site up as we speak, asking for donations. There isn't much more than that, but all of that, of course, is coming soon -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks.
We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news now, let's go to our Web site 24/7, CNNPolitics.com.
Secretary Clinton will be on the Hill today selling the president's plan to Congress. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe will be one of the individuals questioning her. He's called the president's plan a strategy to end the war, not win the war.
Senator Inhofe joining me live.
High stakes and high-end hotels. A celebrity poker ring uncovered. You'll get the names in 10 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories "Cross Country." A Phoenix jury says self-help guru James Ray is guilty of negligent homicide. Three people died of dehydration and heat stroke in what he called a sweat lodge ceremony in the Arizona desert in 2009.
For 17 hours he held off police in Ogden, Utah, all the while he updated his status on Facebook. The hostage is OK but gunman Jason Valdez is in critical condition after shooting himself.
Space history coming to an end next month and this is the shuttle crew that will take us on the final launch. NASA is retiring the fleet after 30 years and 135 missions. Chris Ferguson will command Atlantis July 8th.
Now you can watch it all right here on CNN. Our coverage begins Friday morning, July 8th, 10:30 Eastern Time.
Well, next hour Washington's heaviest hitters from Hillary Clinton to David Petraeus will be facing their critics on the Hill trying to convince a skeptical Congress that the president's new Afghanistan withdrawal will work.
Republican Senator James Inhofe will be one of the senators questioning Clinton. The senator joins me now live from the Hill.
Senator, you say the president is more caught up in ending this war versus winning this war. Define what win -- what a win would look like to you.
SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: Win means we're going to disarm the al Qaeda, we're going to put them out of the power position that they're in right now, and for people who think that somehow if Osama bin Laden out of the way, that they're leaderless, that's not true at all. Al-Zawahiri has actually been in charge of this thing for quite some period of time. And they are emboldened right now.
My concern, Kyra, and I'm really concerned about this, is that I'm the second ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have found out about this precisely the same time that al Qaeda did, that the Taliban did, that the terrorists did -- this is wrong. We were not a part of this decision.
Now, we have the problem that he's given three deadlines. One, the -- on July of this year, then July of next year, and then July of 2014. And I can see it right now, the Taliban, behind closed doors, are saying, all right, we'll just kind of wait this thing out, now they know everything that I know. And I think it's wrong.
PHILLIPS: Well, as you know, Senator, the Americans are growing so impatient with both wars. And in a bad economy, it's costing a lot of money, as you well know. Just consider the cost in staying in this, as you say, to win. I mean, the war is going to cost $118 billion this year alone.
Just to put that number in perspective, we crunched the numbers. You know, it takes just under $15 million to build an elementary school. So, for $118 million, you could actually build nearly 22 schools a day all year in the U.S. So, I guess my point is, you know, how do you continue to justify that expense to taxpayers?
INHOFE: Well, first of all, let's look at what would be the expense if we pull out precipitously and put someone in a position where they can strike America in a way that is far greater than 3,000 lives. We know that there have been at least 12 attempts since 9/11 we have been able to stop. If we allow them to be emboldened, to grow, then the cost of that is far greater in American lives than building a schoolhouse somewhere.
When you -- when they talk about the money, let's stop and look. Afghanistan alone is probably half -- half as is, half as much as the president had in just stimulus program. So, let's look at what the real expensive things are, but look at American lives. That's my concern.
I don't want to have them have the same information that we have and they -- look, the Middle Eastern mentality thinks in terms of years and decades. We think in terms of hours and days. So, they are very patient. They're going to sit back until they know when they can strike.
This is my concern. I'm genuinely concerned about it.
PHILLIPS: So, Senator, how long do we stay?
INHOFE: Well, we stay until it's over, and we've already defined what over is. We -- and think --
PHILLIPS: What is over?
INHOFE: It's pretty much over when there are no longer emboldened and in a position to make another major attack on the United States of America. And we have to do that, or win the Afghans.
And I just came back from there. I spent New Year's Eve in Afghanistan. I know those kids are training hard. They are training the Afghan national army, the ANA. They're making great progress.
This is right in the middle of what they call the fighting season and this is no time, in my opinion, to make these decisions -- particularly, unilaterally, without any advice and consent from the Senate.
PHILLIPS: We are going to be watching the questioning today. That's for sure. Senator James Inhofe, sure appreciate your time, sir.
INHOFE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Still ahead, high stakes and high-end hotels. A celebrity poker ring uncovered. You'll get the names in five minutes.
And remember the Winklevoss twins? The arch-nemesis of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, back in the headlines this morning. Find out why you might not hear their name -- bottom line, they are dropping the lawsuit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Women everywhere happy to know actor George Clooney is single again and back on the market. Clooney has split from his girlfriend of two years, 32-year-old Italian Elisabetta Canalis.
Lindsay Lohan also back in court this morning, could herself behind bars again. She reportedly violated her probation, testing positive for alcohol. Lohan is currently serving a sentence under home confinement under a separate case involving a stolen necklace.
"The Today Show's" Matt Lauer actually flew out to interview Lohan but left empty handed. Here's how he explained it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": I was with Lindsay Lohan at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon. We were supposed to sit down and talk about her current situation and her plans for the future. At the last minute, Lindsay and her people did express concerns about the timing of the interview and it was canceled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And "Harry Potter," author J.K. Rowling says that her new Web site, Pottermore.com, will be a rich new telling of the boy wizard story. Rowling will offer new Potter material and allow fans to contribute.
Well, it sounds like something out of a movie. Celebrities involved in secret high stakes gambling and high-end hotels. But one lawyer not only says it was really going on, he is going after one actor's alleged $311,000 take.
CNN's Kareen Wynter is in Los Angeles with the story -- Kareen.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this story raising a lot of brows. "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire, he's caught in a middle of illegal web. This involves high stakes poker playing.
Here's what happened. The actor who was slapped with a lawsuit claiming that a former hedge fund manager by the name of Bradley Ruderman who is now serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for tax and wire fraud convictions that he took part in secret, high stakes and elite poker games at several luxury hotels here in Beverly Hills.
Now, Ruderman, he reportedly lost money to Maguire and several other high-profile celebs who weren't named in the lawsuit but allegedly took part in these exclusive gambling events.
The suit also claims that Ruderman devised an illegal Ponzi scheme in order to pay his debt. Now, Maguire is being sued by the trustee of those who lost money in the scheme. The investors who allegedly lost money are going after Maguire and $311,000 he allegedly won from Ruderman that he wired to Maguire through bank transfers. This is according to the complaint, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right.
WYNTER: The suit contends that since these games were technically illegal and weren't licensed, Maguire and the other defendants have no right to keep the money that they won. We reached out take Maguire's reps for comment, but we're told that they're not responding at this time, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. You mentioned other Hollywood celebrities. Are there any more big names being sued?
WYNTER: Well, here's the thing. There's so much speculation about other stars who are allegedly involved in this poker ring. But CNN, we can confirm that actor and director, Nick Cassavetes, remember him, he directed "The Notebook," as well as former "Welcome Back, Kotter" star Gabe Kaplan, they're also being sued. Cassavetes for $73,000 and Kaplan for $62,000. We reached out to both of these actors for comment, and have yet got a response from them.
PHILLIPS: All right. Kareen Wynter, thanks so much.
Well, they claim to be the brains behind Facebook and they got paid. And then said they didn't get paid enough.
Poppy Harlow with more on the lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Hey, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey. Good to see you, Kyra.
We have heard these names for so long, the Winklevoss twins, colleagues and peers of Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. They sued him, saying that he stole the idea for Facebook from them. They settled along with their third partner, Divya Narendra, back in 2008 for a reported $65 million. Then they said Facebook undervalued, misrepresented the value of its stock, so they came back for more.
That ruling asking to undo their settlement was knocked down by an appellate court. The judge said, at some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has been reached.
And now, the Winklevoss twins seem to agree, Kyra. They were maybe taking it up to the Supreme Court. They have now decided today to drop that appeal. They will not take it to a higher court. They will stick with that settlement they had in 2008.
And, of course, watching the stock market heading into the opening bell on Wall Street, sharply lower heading into this session. Investors are very concerned after the Fed came out yesterday and said that the U.S. economy is going to grow a lot less than it expected. Then, we had a pretty weak jobs report this morning, more than 400,000 jobless claims coming in for the 11th straight week in a row.
And I do want to give you a little breaking news that just came in. The secretary to the energy secretary is saying that the U.S. has decided to release 60 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve. Interesting to see what that does to gas and oil prices today. Just above $91 a barrel for oil right now. We'll keep an eye on it all -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Poppy.
A CNN exclusive. The parents of suspected child killer Casey Anthony say they don't believe their daughter is innocent. We'll soon find out if those stunning comments could impact the case.
Also ahead, the TSA saw the tapes and heard the outrage. Now, it's changing rules on how airports screeners search your children.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories.
Drug rackets and loan sharking and murder. Alleged crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger captured and heading to court today. The Boston gangster was arrested in southern California after 16 years on the run.
About one-third of the population of Minot, North Dakota, have evacuated. Record flooding is expected after heavy rain and dam releases.
And President Obama hits the road to push his plan for withdrawing 33,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan by September 2012. The president meets soldiers at Fort Drum this afternoon.
A stunning admission from the parents of Casey Anthony. It's a CNN exclusive. Mark Lippman, the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony, telling CNN's Gary Tuchman that the couple doesn't believe their daughter is innocent.
Casey Anthony is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
Live pictures now from the courtroom.
And CNN's David Mattingly is covering the trial for us, joining us live from Orlando -- David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George and Cindy Anthony walked in the courtroom and sat in the same seats they have been sitting in this entire time, looking today like nothing was different from any other day that they've been inside this courtroom. They have already testified for the prosecution, provided damaging testimony against their daughter. So, still, it was a surprise to hear from their attorney to find out what they were thinking inside about her guilt or innocence.
And this coming from Mark Lippman, the Orlando attorney representing the couple. He says, "They want to see the truth. They want to see justice. They do not think Casey is innocent."
But this is something he wanted to emphasize here: "They love her. They are supporting her. They do not want to see her get the death penalty."
And every day, her parents come inside. They sit in the back of the courtroom, just like they are today. They are physically just about as far as possible as they can be from Casey on that main floor of the courtroom. Sometimes they are taking notes. They both carry notebooks and they usually bring a Bible with them.
Today, Mrs. Anthony has the Bible opened to -- is opened on her lap as she listens to testimony.
This couple has had to go through some very difficult days listening to some very graphic testimony about what happened to their granddaughter. And now, we find out what they are thinking about their daughter as this is going on. It must be even more difficult for them to sit and listen to this trial -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: David Mattingly live from Orlando, we'll continue to follow the trial with you.
The TSA is changing its policy on children. Agents will actually learn how to screen them without the dreaded pat-down.
Mary Schiavo is a former Transportation Department inspector general.
You don't -- you don't actually agree with these new policies. You think kids should be patted down, Mary. Why?
MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL: Well, whenever you carve out wholesale exceptions to the security rules, terrorists, hijackers, et cetera -- people who want to see us harm -- will exploit the wholesale carve-outs of the security rule. And so, what would be a better policy is to train the screeners to use better discretion to figure out what is the threat and what isn't and to hone in more particularly instead of carving out these wholesale exceptions.
And as a former prosecutor, I can tell you, I had worked on cases or know of cases where children as young as 6 or 7 in the United States were used unwittingly to carry out plots of crimes. So, we are creating an exception that will be exploited by terrorists.
PHILLIPS: All right. Interesting. You hit the age that I wanted to bring an example of exactly. As the TSA is changing its policy on children, it came after this video was released of a 6-year-old girl getting a pat-down.
You know, what do you tell a parent, though, who is very uncomfortable with this? How do you justify it to them?
SCHIAVO: Well, I'm a parent and I traveled the world with my kids because of my job as an aviation lawyer. My kids as young as infants had to go with me on many work assignments. And what you do is you train your children. You're a parent. Children take clues from you.
My parents as young as 3 were taught how to go through pat-downs and back then, the airlines were doing it, and they were far worse than the TSA and we were often targeted because of my work.
And so, you train your children. This is what we do.
And, just remember, you know, every inconvenience is not a constitutional infringement. And so, some things you have to do, and what I told my children is we have to do this because sometimes bad people take things on planes, which turned out to be sadly true on September 11th.
And I think the parents owe a responsibility to the children so they can travel the world without feeling insecure or hassled.
PHILLIPS: Mary Schiavo, via Skype out of New Orleans -- Mary, thanks.
Open mike, shocking rant. Listen to this airline pilot's outrageous comments.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PILOT: I mean, it's all these (EXPLETIVE DELETED) old dudes and grannies and there's like maybe a handful of cute chicks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We'll tell you what happened to that pilot.
And he died driving almost 140 miles an hour. His blood alcohol twice the legal limit. "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn's toxicology test results revealed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Poppy Harlow, what is going on with the market? Tanking right now. Negative 146.
HARLOW: Right. The market is down sharply just six minutes after the open.
Here's what's going on, Kyra:
Yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke came out, had a press conference and basically said, look, what we're seeing is that the U.S. economy is going to grow a lot less than we expected. They revised those predictions for growth downward. They said the job market is still in very, very bad shape. They said unemployment next quarter is going to be between 8.6 percent, 9 percent. That it's going to be years before we get to a normal unemployment rate.
He added on to that -- major concerns about the housing market. What's interesting is the market didn't really sell off yesterday late in the session after that news, but investors pulling back a lot this morning, likely because what we also got this morning was a very bad jobs report. More than 400,000 Americans are lining up for unemployment benefits. Again this week, 11th straight week of that.
We got bad news from the Fed on the economy, bad news on jobs. I will tell you one thing that's interesting -- oil is down 4 percent right now, because as I've said a few minutes ago, we are releasing some of that oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve.
So, a little bit of good news, but the market is taking a big hit -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. Poppy, thanks.
Well, he called flight attendants gays and grannies. He bragged about his sexual escapades. Now, the Southwest pilot who was caught on open air traffic control mic is back on the job.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve with the audiotape that everyone is talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pilot's tirade about flight attendants is peppered with obscenities, insults and slurs against homosexuals and women.
PILOT: Eleven (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over the top (EXPLETIVE DELETED) homosexuals and a granny. Eleven, I mean, think of the odds of that. I thought I was in Chicago, which was party land. After that, it was just a continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes.
MESERVE: Grandes, an apparent reference to overweight people.
PILOT: I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I hate -- I hate 100 percent of their asses.
MESERVE: The pilot talks about exploits with some of them.
PILOT: So, six months, I went to the bar three times -- in six months, three times. Once with the granny and the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I wish I hadn't gone. At the very end with two girls, one of 'em was probably doable.
MESERVE: An air traffic controller tries to stop the pilot.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: OK, whoever is transmitting, better watch what you're saying now.
MESERVE: But the rant goes.
PILOT: I still wouldn't want anybody to know if I had (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them. I mean, it's all of these (EXPLETIVE DELETED) old dudes and grannies and there's like maybe a handful of cute chicks.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: OK, someone has to stuck mic and telling us about their endeavors and we don't need to hear that.
MESERVE: Finally, the transmission ends.
Pilots on other planes chime in quickly to say it wasn't me. One adds some commentary. SKY WEST PILOT: And they wonder why airline pilots have a bad reputation.
MESERVE: The Federal Aviation Administration says it expects a higher level of professionalism from flight crews. Southwest put out a video press release.
CHUCK MAGILL, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: What he said is offensive and inconsistent with the professional behavior and overall respect we require from all employees.
MESERVE (on camera): The pilot was reprimanded, suspended without pay, and underwent diversity education. He is now back on the job.
The pilot has apologized, Southwest says, to controllers, his bosses and pilots and, of course, flight attendants.
But the flight attendants union is not happy. It says Southwest's response to the incident has added insult to injury and it is considering filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, our Jeff Fischel is going to join us a little later for sports. And the pressure is on him. You see, Jeff is fighting for his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: The Texas Rangers gave out sunglasses at last night's game at a night game with the Houston Astros, that so you wouldn't have to see the game! Thirty-three thousand fans, including George W. Bush, former president of the United States, and the Rangers team president, Nolan Ryan, put on the shades and pretended to be other people than they actually are! That was at the end of the sixth inning. They looked cool and went home and made love to their wives and girlfriends.
The Rangers were hoping to set a record for the most people wearing sunglasses in the dark as though that matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Tom Hanks giving Jeff a run for his money, but Jeff says, "Hey, I'm here to stay." And, Tom, stick to your day job. We'll have sports in five minutes!
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PHILLIPS: Crash results are in and "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn was drunk when he smashed his Porsche, driving almost 140 miles per hour. It was early in the morning when police say Dunn was speeding along a Pennsylvania highway when he lost control of his sports car and it crashed and burst into flames. Dunn and the passenger died.
Alan Duke is in L.A. with the toxicology test results.
Alan, what do they show?
ALAN DUKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's surprising, it didn't take them long. These were very important for the West Coast police to get back to the coroner. It showed that he was very drunk, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. He was 0.196 in his blood alcohol content when he crashed his Porsche at a high rate of speed. When we say high rate of speed, we are talking, according to the reconstruction investigation, between 132 and 140 miles per hour. Now, this is a highway on the outskirts of Philadelphia. He crashed into a guardrail at that speed. The Porsche burst into flames. Dunn and his passenger were both killed and from blunt trauma and thermal trauma, according to the coroner.
PHILLIPS: And what were these reports of Dunn's photo being posted on his Twitter account just before the crash -- Alan.
DUKE: He was at a bar about a mile from where the crash happened; not long before the crash. In fact, he was there drinking with friends. One of the friends was his passenger in his car who was also killed along with him.
I talked with the manager there who said he was drinking but didn't appear to be intoxicated. But acknowledged he was drinking and of course, you can see from the picture that he sent up through his Twitter account that he had a drink in his hand. He had a previous DUI several years ago. But the manager says that he wouldn't have left him -- let him leave if he thought he had been intoxicated.
PHILLIPS: Alan Duke covering the story for us out of L.A., thanks.
Alleged crime boss "Whitey" Bulger a legend in Boston and today the talk of the town in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O'BRIEN, NEIGHBOR: It's just a surprise to come and see that he was right around the corner from me because I know his story. Crime boss from Boston. You know?
JIMMY LEBLANC, BOSTON NATIVE: I grew up south east and moved out here and I've been out here for about a week. And wow. Whitey is caught? You've got to be kidding me. No way. We had to come down and check it out and see what is going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: How the FBI nabbed him after 16 years on the run.
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PHILLIPS: Looking ahead at some of the stories that will be making headlines today. Members of Congress who want a sizeable troop withdrawal from Afghanistan holding a news conference this morning reacting to President Obama's drawdown.
And the President hits the road today to sell his plan. He's meeting with soldiers at Ft. Drum, New York many of whom have just returned from Afghanistan.
And on Capitol Hill, General David Petraeus faces a Senate confirmation hearing. He's the man President Obama tapped to replace Leon Panetta as the head of the CIA.
Well, we're following lots of other developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM including much more on the Afghan drawdown. Let's go ahead and start first with Brianna Keilar at the White House -- Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, as you mentioned, President Obama heads to Ft. Drum, New York today after his announcement last night. But then he moves on to fund-raising and tries to turn the conversation back to the economy and jobs.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kara Finnstrom in Los Angeles. Overnight, a notorious crime boss, one of the country's top ten wanted fugitives was caught here in Los Angeles. We'll tell you how he was found at the top of the hour.
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST: I'm Jim Spellman in Minot, North Dakota, where the city is trying to defend itself from fast- rising flood waters. We have more at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, guys.
Also ahead, airport screeners patting down children. Parents outraged, saying all of that touching is too invasive. TSA listened. Now they're changing the rules. We'll have a live report next hour.
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PHILLIPS: Well, we tried out a new sports anchor yesterday. He did pretty well too and you might have heard of him. If you missed it, here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: The Texas Rangers gave out sunglasses at last night's game at a night game with the Houston Astros, that's so you wouldn't have to see the game. 33,000 fans, including George W. Bush, former president of the United States and the Ranger's team President Nolan Ryan put on the shades and pretended to be other people than they actually are. That was at the end of the sixth inning.
They looked cool, they went home to make love to their wives and girlfriends. The Rangers were hoping to set the record for the most people wearing sunglasses in the dark as though that matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Jeff he's not. Don't worry.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm so tired of this Johnnie come lately who's trying to steal my job.
PHILLIPS: You know, you -- one day you can say to your grandkids, guess who subbed for me? Tom Hanks.
FISCHEL: That's right. And I hear he had some fashion recommendations for you.
PHILLIPS: Ok let's move on.
FISCHEL: Something about a cat suit --
(CROSSTALK)
FISCHEL: Let's go to the Gold Cup.
FISCHEL: Anyone, anyone.
PHILLIPS: Oh boy let's go, U.S. versus Panama and we're destined for the U.S.
FISCHEL: Yes, that's right, it's the semi-finals and the U.S. looking for some revenge because they lost earlier in the tournament to Panama. The 77th minute, the two biggest names in U.S. soccer, Landon Donovan to Clint Dempsey, the goal. And that was the only goal in the match. The U.S. wins, 1-0. The U.S. has shut out opponents the last three times since that loss to Panama. The U.S. faces Mexico in the Gold Cup finals.
Now at the all-England long tennis club, Venus Williams, pushed to the limit by 40-year-old Kimico Date-Krumm, nearly a three-hour match. Venus Williams did put 6-7, 6-3, 8-6 in that flashy jumpsuit. She too has fashion sense, Kyra.
Speaking of fashion sense, check out American tennis player Bethany Mattek-Sands, she's got the eye black, but that's not what everyone is noticing. Her jacket is covered with tennis balls, tassels, spikes, but wait, it gets better. This is what she wore to a player's party designed by Alex Novell (ph), who designs for Lady Gaga.
PHILLIPS: Imagine that.
FISCHEL: She's very proud of look. Maybe a cat suit next time.
Baseball, interleague play in the Majors, Reds hosting the Yankees, Cincinnati's Chris Heisey takes it out in the first inning. Gone.
He's not done. Bombs away, another one in the fifth. Heisey is battling for a regular playing time out in left field for the Cincinnati Reds and I think he might have earned the spot in today's line up, don't you? A third homerun in the game. The Reds win that one 10-2. And our fielding play of the night. From Atlanta, the Braves George (INAUDIBLE), deep to right, Toronto's Jose Batista, no for hitting a home run. This time he steals one. Look at him use the glove. That's a great catch, but the braves did win.
Speaking of great catches, Giants hosting the twins. Here is one a fan wishes he hadn't made. Left field with Cody Ross heading towards the seat. Jumps. The fan gets it instead and the home crowd let's him know they are not happy, not good.
They start booing him. And you can see he's a little upset with himself for taking the ball away. He had to be escorted from his seat for his own safety.
Remember, Steve Bartmoth did this in the play offs and the Cubs fans will not forget. This guy fortunately just a regular season game but fans will not forget that one.
PHILLIPS: What happens when a fan does that?
FISCHEL: Well, you know, it's a very clear line. Right where the seats start. If it's in the seats, he has every right to catch it. It's a foul ball. It's the fan's ball. If it's out in the field, then the umpires can call interference.
PHILLIPS: Got you.
Fischel: So, it was in the seats. He can make a play for it and take it home as a souvenir. He just has to be careful.
PHILLIPS: Thanks for schooling, Jeff.
This story brings a whole new frustration to the airport luggage experience.
Our Jeanne Moos talks to a guy who is very relieved now that he has his bag back.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You may wish the airlines were a whiz with luggage, but at least you've never had someone allegedly take a whiz inside your luggage.
SIMON HEIGHES, BRITISH TRAVELER: The overwhelming stench of urine.
MOOS: That's what British traveler Simon Heighes says greeted him when he opened the bag that Delta Airlines had lost four days earlier as he traveled from London to Minneapolis.
HEIGHES: It's just absolutely disgusting.
MOOS: Heighes was so angry, he did a show and smell on his hotel bed and posted it on YouTube, displaying everything from his damp shorts --
HEIGHES: My pajamas.
MOOS: -- to his stained work trousers.
HEIGHES: The smelling coming off these is like either -- somebody with a serious renal issue has peed.
MOOS: How are you certain that that's actually urine?
HEIGHES: From the smell alone.
MOOS: Heighes, an avid fisherman, says he even got a second opinion to confirm the smell.
HEIGHES: Got the people on the front desk to give it the nose test.
MOOS: His YouTube video resulted in sympathy and disgust. "Eew, you're touching it." Other blogs wondered if a Delta employee did the deed. Others suggested perhaps a bomb dog lifted his leg into the upright position.
HEIGHES: Whether it's a dog that peed on it or whether it's a human that peed on it; it's kind of immaterial a little bit, I think.
MOOS: Yes. Still gross.
HEIGHES: Yes.
When Delta saw the "Thanks, Delta, for using my luggage as a toilet" video going viral and the Twitter hash tag --
HEIGHES: "It's DeltaPeeBags.
MOOS: They contacted Heighes who had had no luck trying to reach them.
HEIGHES: Obviously, they're appalled and they've apologized profusely.
MOOS: Delta told CNN if anything happened, it is unacceptable and will be closely reviewed. He will be reimbursed about $250 and bumped up to the front of the cabin for his return trip to London. Heighes also found his toothpaste squirted around his shaving kit and his fragrances missing. Dolce and Gabbana's "the one"; not to be confused with doing number one.
So the next time you check your luggage, you might want to check afterwards to see if it passes the sniff test.
Even his waterproof raincoat got sprinkled.
HEIGHES: That spent some time in the shower yesterday getting a good washing off.
MOOS: New regulation, no urinating on the luggage. With a bag this smelly, you could use an oxygen mask.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
HEIGHES: It's like a toilet.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
