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Fact-Checking GOP Debate Charges; Dangerous Animals on the Loose in Ohio; Herman Cain's Comic View; Jackson Death Trial Resumes; Prosecution May Rest Case Today; Possible Tornado Hits Homes; Hotel Worker's Musical Resignation; Bear Cub Climbs Over Produce; Defying Gravity; The Longest Walk; Cantaloupe Deaths; Student Loans; Cain Takes On the Race Issue
Aired October 19, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
Want to get you up to speed now. Texas Governor Rick Perry sported a new aggressive style at last night's CNN debate in Vegas. Perry's poll numbers, well, they tumbled after some pretty uninspiring performances in previous debates. Well, this time, he repeatedly jabbed his chief opponent, Mitt Romney, on jobs, health care and illegal immigration. And Romney fired back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm speaking. I'm speaking. I'm speaking.
(CROSSTALK)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's time for you to tell the truth. It's time for you to tell the truth, Mitt.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: You get 30 seconds. This is -- the way the rules work here is that I get 60 seconds, and then you get 30 seconds to respond, right?
(CROSSTALK)
PERRY: And they want to hear you say that you knew you had illegals working at your...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: Would you please wait? Are you just going to keep talking?
PERRY: Yes, sir.
ROMNEY: Or are you going to let me finish with my -- what I have to say?
(BOOING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: It was a wild debate.
Herman Cain, who has surged in recent polls, well, he got beat up over his signature issue. We know that. It is the 999 tax plan. His rivals portrayed it as a windfall for the wealthy. Well, Cain wants a flat 9 percent tax on individual, as well as corporate incomes, as well as anything when you buy.
President Obama's bus tour stopped at Langley Air Force base in Virginia earlier today, but it looks like the first lady beat him. Michelle Obama, she told the audience, the trade association, that supplies, consumer goods to U.S. military bases, well, they're going to hire 25,000 veterans or military spouses by the end of 2013. She also said she was glad to see her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: This is really cool. I'm very thrilled, very honored to be here.
Number one, I never get to do anything with my husband. I haven't seen him in three days. This is a nice date.
It's good to see you. You're looking good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That's the way they're dating these days, huh? OK.
Well, the president, he has been pressuring Congress to pass his jobs bill on the bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia. And that tour wraps up today.
Protesters and police scuffled in front of Greece's parliament. That happened today, as workers kicked off a two-day general strike.
Government offices and businesses are closed. Airlines, trains, taxis, now at a standstill. Greeks are angry about tax increases and pay cuts.
Now, parliament is voting on those measures. That's going to happen today and tomorrow. And both of those measures have to pass in order for Greece to get another bailout.
We have new information today about four mentally disabled adults who were held captive in a basement boiler room. Philadelphia police say the female victim gave birth to two children during captivity. Detectives say there may be 10 other victims, and six of them are children.
Well, the victims were held in a dark room, with little or no food, at least one was in chains.
Our CNN's Sarah Hoye went inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This thing was small, it was dark, and the smell -- the smell of urine and other human waste was so pungent, it burnt my nostrils. When that door was closed, it probably took me a good 10, 15 seconds to feel claustrophobic, and I wanted out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A horrific story.
Three suspects are jailed now on charges of kidnapping, assault and false imprisonment. Now, police they arrested a fourth suspect overnight. She is actually the daughter of the alleged ringleader, Linda Ann Weston.
Police believe they targeted these victims to steal their Social Security checks. Police are also looking for possible victims in McLean, Texas, and West Palm Beach, Florida. The suspects apparently lived in both towns before moving to Philadelphia.
The manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor gets back in session. That is happening in Los Angeles today.
An anesthesia expert is expected to testify that Dr. Conrad Murray's use of Propofol which helped Jackson sleep amounted to gross negligence. The prosecution could actually rest its case after today's witness completes his testimony, and then Murray's defense presents its side of the story. Now, if convicted in Jackson's death, Murray could get four years in prison.
So, this is some good news here. If you get a monthly Social Security check, it could be a little bit bigger now.
The increase -- it's based on inflation -- is 3.5 percent. So, for the average Social Security recipient, that amounts to about $38 extra a month. Fifty-five million get Social Security.
But, there is a "but" here. The Social Security raise, it's going to be eaten up by a hike in Medicare premiums. That comes in January.
Well, Queen Elizabeth is in Canberra, Australia, today for her 16th visit to the land down under. The British monarch will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting next week in Perth. Australia is considering leaving the British commonwealth once the queen's reign is complete. Despite that, she remains intensely popular with the Aussies.
And the allegations were flying fast and furious over the latest Republican debate. But were all these claims by the candidates really true?
Well, our correspondent has been doing a little fact-checking on that -- actually, a lot of fact-checking.
Want to bring in our own Tom Foreman, who joins us in Washington. So, Tom, it was a raucous debate. It was really quite interesting to see. Let's start with one of the exchanges everybody seems to be talking about, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mitt, you lose all of your standing from my perspective because you hired illegals in your home and you knew about it for a year.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I don't think I've ever hired an illegal in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So what do we know? True? Not true?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Suzanne, you know this was something that Mitt Romney faced from Rudy Giuliani in the last race.
MALVEAUX: Right.
FOREMAN: So he was ready for this.
The bottom line is, here's the claim that's being made here, from Rick Perry saying Romney hired illegal immigrants. Basically, that's what he's saying about this whole thing.
What are the facts in all this?
This was something that was uncovered by "The Boston Globe" back in 2006. What they did find was that Romney hired a company that he met through his church, and that company had hired some people from Guatemala who were here illegally.
When Romney found out about this through "The Boston Globe," basically what happened at the time is he sort of came clean and said, OK, I didn't realize they were working for this company. He said to the company, you can't do this, gave the company a second chance, as he put it. He did not get rid of the company altogether, which some people criticized him for, said he should have.
Nonetheless, when "The Boston Globe" came back the next year and said hey, they once again have people here illegally, he dismissed the company after the same problem was found once again.
So, when you try to put this on the Truth-o-Meter here, Rick Perry says Romney hired illegal immigrants. Well, Romney rightfully can say, I didn't hire them.
By the same token, for him to pretend he didn't know anything about it, sort of like, oh, Rick, I don't know what you're talking about, in both cases these gentlemen are being misleading at best -- Suzanne. MALVEAUX: A little bit misleading there.
What about the debate over Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan? Let's listen to that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is a jobs plan. It is revenue-neutral. It does not raise taxes on those that are making the least. All of those are simply not true.
ROMNEY: The analysis I did, person by person, return by return, is that middle-income people see higher taxes under your plan. If it's lower for the middle class, that's great, but that's not what I saw.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Tom, how did we do there fact-checking? What did you come up with there?
FOREMAN: Well, you know, this 9-9-9 plan, this has been the hot topic for about a week and a half here. The central claim by Mitt Romney is 9-9-9 raises taxes on the middle class. Many, many people are saying that and about the lower class.
Herman Cain keeps saying, no, no, no, that's not how it works. We're going to make it all work out. We're rewriting the whole code, it will all be great. But let's look at the facts as best they can be ascertained about this.
This is an enormously complex plan where nobody can nail everything down. But the Tax Policy Center has completed one of the most comprehensive reviews we've seen so far.
And they say 84 percent of us would pay more under Herman Cain's plan. Families making less than $30,000 would pay the most under that plan, in terms of a percentage of their income. And the highest income families would get a tax break.
Again, this is all a work in progress. But if you look at it that way, you have to say that Mr. Romney's claim appears to be true, and by proxy, many of Herman Cain's claims about 9-9-9 appear to be false -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And what about, finally, the back-and-forth on health care reform between Romney and Rick Santorum? I want you to listen to this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I was asked, is this something that you would have the whole nation do? And I said no, this is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've blown a hole in the budget up there and you've authored in Obamacare, which is going to blow a hole in the budget of this country.
ROMNEY: The people of Massachusetts like it by about a 3-1 margin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: True or not, Tom?
FOREMAN: This is one of those hand grenades sitting out there for Mitt Romney, because everybody wants to go after him, particularly on the Republican side, over this issue. So the claim is basically that Romney wants Massachusetts-style health care reform for the whole nation.
The simple truth is that Mitt Romney, numerous times, has said each state should choose its own plan, what worked for Massachusetts may not work for other states. He's never said, let's take this plan and apply it to the nation. He's been a very vocal critic of the Obama health care plan, saying basically that's trying to put a one size- fits-all on everyone.
And he is correct. There was a survey connected to Harvard University that found that the voters up there by about a 60 percent margin now approve of this program, even though previously not as many approved. So, the bottom line is, this notion that Romney wants Massachusetts- style health care reform for the nation appears to be flat-out false -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Tom, thanks for checking the facts there. Drama, but you also need to check the facts, make sure that these guys are really telling the truth. So thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: In Ohio, a search is under way right now for dangerous animals that are now on the loose. Lions, tigers, bears, other animals escaped from a preserve after the owner turned them loose and then killed himself. Dozens of the animals have been shot and killed, but some are still roaming free.
Will Travers, he is with us from New York. He is the CEO of Born Free USA. It is a group that rescues wild animals around the world.
This story from Ohio, essentially. What do you think? Do you think that this is proof that folks should not own these wild animals privately, that that should really never be allowed?
WILL TRAVERS, CEO, BORN FREE USA: Well, the truth is, Suzanne, that the legislators in Ohio and in other states like North Carolina, South Carolina, they're playing Russian roulette with animals' lives, and, frankly, with people's lives. Thank goodness no one has been hurt by this recent incident, but animals have died in significant numbers, and it could have been prevented.
MALVEAUX: How so do you think? I mean, do you agree with the sheriff who said he's had to kill and put down these animals because they are a danger to people if they're running out there like that?
TRAVERS: Well, I think the sheriff and his police force are between a rock and a hard place. I mean, if one member of the public is killed by one of these escaped animals, he's going to be blamed, although it's not his fault.
The fault lies at the door of the legislators who have not put in place the regulatory process that would mean that a guy who's been previously convicted for cruelty to animals, he's still allowed to keep animals. That seems insane to me.
MALVEAUX: You have evidence that he was previously convicted for being cruel to animals? Is that true?
TRAVERS: Yes. In 2005, he was convicted for cruelty to animals.
And the state has had many warnings about this kind of issue before. Only last year, a young man, 24 years old, was killed by a bear. The then-governor put in an emergency executive order, but that actually ended in April this year on the promise that the new administration would put in proper measures to deal with this issue. They haven't done so.
Born Free USA provided model legislation to help do that, but here we are. And we're in October. The animals have escaped. This guy has committed suicide.
When are we going to see some action in this state and in all the other states where people's lives are being put at risk and animals are suffering?
MALVEAUX: Will, so, just to be clear, you're putting the blame squarely on the government, on the state, for not providing the kind of legislation that's necessary to make sure that these animals are protected?
TRAVERS: Yes, Suzanne, because we know it can been done. States like Massachusetts have very good legislation which broadly prevents private individuals from keeping animals like this.
I mean, either the facility should have a USDA license and be open to the public, or it should be a sanctuary, meeting the standards of the Global Federation for Animal Sanctuaries such as the Born Free sanctuary in Texas. We need proper legislation to protect people from animals, but frankly, animals from people.
MALVEAUX: All right. Will Travers, well put. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
TRAVERS: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: So, for some, it's easy to see why polls show Herman Cain is the most likeable of the GOP presidential candidates. A lot of it has to do with his sense of humor. But Cain's whimsical answers also raise some questions about whether or not he is ready for the White House. He's giving comedians a lot of material.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, "THE COLBERT REPORT": There are many reasons why Cain is surging, like his great grasp of foreign policy.
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm ready for the gotcha questions. And when they ask me, who's the president of Uzbeki-beki- stan-a-stan (ph), I'm going to say, "You know, I don't know. Do you know?" And then I'm going to say, "How is that going to create one job?"
COLBERT: It won't create one job, because all of our jobs have been outsourced to Uzbeki-beki-stan-a-stanians (ph). And I just hope that Herman Cain did not offend their president, Chafalopadipindopadee (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. So Cain says that America needs to lighten up a little bit. So here's what he said when he was asked what he would bring to the White House if elected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: I would bring a sense of humor to the White House, because America's too uptight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Too uptight.
Joining us from Providence, Rhode Island, to talk about Cain, and the comedian versus Cain, the serious candidate, is Robert Traynham. He is the D.C. bureau chief for the Comcast Network.
So, Robert, Herman Cain has definitely captured the spotlight. He's risen dramatically in the polls. But there are some folks who are asking, you know, is he running for comedian-in-chief or commander-in- chief?
Do you think that his kind of folksy humor -- is it helping or is it hurting?
ROBERT TRAYNHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: I'm not sure. I think, really, the jury is still out as to whether or not people are taking him seriously or not. But, then, that's the question.
If we're talking about Herman Cain's -- his personality, or his sense of humor, as opposed to the 14 million people out there that are unemployed, the 17 million people out there that are living paycheck to paycheck, I think something's wrong with that conversation. So, you know, I think most people out there would say, you know what? It's nice that he has a sense of humor, but more importantly, where is his plan to create more jobs in this economy? That's what most people want to hear.
MALVEAUX: Well, let's take a listen to when he first raised some eyebrows over a rather serious issue, when he made some flippant comments around tackling illegal immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: When I'm in charge of the fence, we're going to have a fence. It's going to 20 feet high. It's going to have barbed wire on the top. It's going to be electrified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: It was a joke, John. And yes, I haven't learned how to be politically correct yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: It might be electrified. It was a joke to the extent in the context that it was used in that speech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAIN: It may not be electrified. That was an exaggeration, hyperbole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, now he's a front-runner. Does he run the risk of not being taken seriously?
TRAYNHAM: Absolutely. And listen to the Freudian slip that he said there a few moments ago, Suzanne. He said, "electrocuted."
So, you have to be very careful, obviously, when you're running for office. And this is also an insight to Herman Cain, who has never run at public office before, at least not at this level, who has the intensity of the spotlight on him.
Look, you're looking for president of the United States. You have hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters that are covering you on a daily basis, either virtually, or obviously in person. So he's learning the hard way that you really need to keep your personal comments to yourself and obviously focus on the policy at hand.
MALVEAUX: Robert, he wrote in his memoir that if he were president, his code name given by the Secret Service should be "Cornbread." That comment has really irked some black leaders who believes he's now playing off racial cliches or stereotypes to win folks over.
Do you think that's true? Do you think that's part of his strategy?
TRAYNHAM: I don't know. I honestly don't know.
But in the age of President Obama, someone that was obviously a transformational figure on so many issues, but just as importantly on race, who really never talked about race, who never really brought it to the forefront, because, quite frankly, he wanted to be judged on his policies, Herman Cain has taken us down a road that I'm not sure America wants to go down in terms of having this conversation about race, having this conversation about racial stereotypes. It's just very unfortunate. It goes back to my original point about, now that he's in the spotlight, he needs to be a little bit more careful in terms of how he phrases things.
MALVEAUX: That seems to be an understatement, because last night at the debate, Cain raised some eyebrows again after telling earlier our Wolf Blitzer that he would be willing as president to negotiate with al Qaeda. Well, then he was confronted with those comments at the debate and he essentially said that he misspoke.
Does he run the risk now of not really thinking things through before he speaks? Does he seem to have that kind of problem?
TRAYNHAM: Yes, it appears that way. There's no question about it.
Look, al Qaeda obviously was in charge of September 11th. They were in charge of the Yemen bombings. They were in charge of the USS Cole bombings. I mean, you go on down the list.
And in terms of negotiating with terrorists as our commander-in-chief, I'm not sure that's a very smart move. So, again, it speaks to Herman Cain's judgment and whether or not he is thinking things through.
And look, if this is his position, this is his position. It's probably a very ill-informed position, and obviously the voters will take that into consideration when they vote for him, if they vote for him, during the primary process next year.
MALVEAUX: All right. Robert, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
It was a fascinating debate to watch last night. So thanks for your insight.
TRAYNHAM: Indeed, it was. Thanks for having me.
MALVEAUX: Well, it is a story that has outraged China, as well as the world, really. A young toddler run over by a van, and then a truck. Nobody did anything to help her until one woman stepped in. We're going to get an update on how that little girl is doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We have a follow-up now to a shocking story we told you about yesterday.
In China, a young girl is now fighting for her life. A security camera video shows the toddler getting run over by a van, and then later by a small truck. More than a dozen people passed by. Nobody does anything to help the child. Well, then a good Samaritan stepped in.
CNN's Eunice Yoon has an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A limp body barely recognizable at this hospital in southern China. Her mother hoping 2-year-old Wang Yue might wake if she calls her name. Chu Fay Say (ph) has barely slept since her daughter was critically injured in not one, but two hit-and-run accidents.
"Yue Yue won't disappoint everyone," she says. "I know my girl. She's strong."
A security camera in this bustling hardware market caught the accident on tape. The footage shows the little girl wonder in front of a white van. She's hit, run over, and run over again by another vehicle. The vehicle was posted online, outraging the public.
But these are the scenes that sparked nationwide soul-searching. Over a dozen pedestrians, motorists and bikers passed by the bleeding child and do nothing.
(on camera): The hit-and-run accident happened here, in an alleyway near Wang's father's hardware store. She laid on the ground for about 10 minutes before a good Samaritan moved her here to safety.
(voice-over): Chen Xianmei was that unexpected hero, a street scavenger who stepped in to save a life, now a symbol of understated decency, a quality many fear is increasingly rare in a nation obsessed with moving up the economic ladder. "I didn't think of anything at the time," she told local reporters. "I just wanted to save the girl."
Chen's neighbors told us she appeared overwhelmed by her instant celebrity and has since gone home to the countryside.
"Granny Chen represents the best part of human nature," Chu (ph) says. "I thank her for that."
(on camera): Wang Yue is still very much in critical condition. Her mother says that she has some sensation in her lower body, but she has very little brain activity.
(voice-over): Despite the concerns of China's declining morality, here at the hospital humanity shines. During our short visit, Wang's family received a steady procession of well-wishers bearing gifts, money and comfort for someone they never knew. Wang's mother appreciates the support, but is hoping to receive the best gift of all.
"Don't give up on mom," she tells her girl. "Mom is not giving up. Let mom have one more chance to love and spoil you." Eunice Yoon, CNN, Guangzhou.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Just to give this story some context, there have been several cases recently where elderly people have collapsed and hurt themselves in public places. Then they sued the people who tried to help them. So there are some Chinese who are concerned they could get into trouble for being a good Samaritan.
Well, the break is over now for jurors in the Michael Jackson death trial. They are back in court to hear more testimony against his personal doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on next.
The prosecution in the Conrad Murray trial calls an anesthesiologist expert to talk about how Propofol was used on Michael Jackson.
Then the deadliest food-borne outbreak in 10 years is now taking more lives. We'll look at the cause behind the cantaloupe deaths.
And in 20 minutes, student loans hit historic highs. We're going to take a look at why so many are defaulting on them and what it means for the economy.
It was a break, five days, jurors now in the case against Dr. Conrad Murray, they're back in court. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of Michael Jackson.
Dr. Murray has pleaded not guilty. Well, today, the prosecution is expected to call its final witness. That is an anesthesiology expert.
Joining me from Las Vegas is criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman. Richard, good to see you. Tell us a little bit about --
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Hi. Tell us about the prosecution here. I understand they could rest today with their final witness?
HERMAN: They will rest today. As soon as Dr. Shafer finishes his testimony and the cross-examinations are done, the state's going to rest their case. Suzanne, I don't believe the case could have come in any better for the prosecution.
It really boxed the defense into a corner right now, because they're going to argue in summation whether you believe Michael Jackson injected himself with Propofol or Lorazepam or whatever he did, or you think Dr. Murray did it.
The mere fact that Dr. Murray abandoned the patient, walked out of the room with those meds in the room, knowing Michael Jackson's propensity for drugs that is gross negligence. And you must find him guilty. That's going to be the prosecution's argument, summation, pretty powerful argument.
MALVEAUX: Richard, is it likely that we might hear from Michael Jackson's son, Prince? Could he actually testify? There's been some talk around that.
HERMAN: Again, Suzanne, the case came in so smooth, it would be such a mistake to put Prince on the stand. Jurors will not believe him. They will think that he was put up to lie and manufacture evidence.
They don't need him. And I understand Katherine Jackson, the matriarch of the family, the person in charge of those children, does not want him to testify. So I don't think it's going to happen.
MALVEAUX: So Richard, just to understand why this would be significant, Dr. Murray said that he had actually comforted Jackson's children when they saw Jackson's body.
So do we think if they put Prince on the stand and he testified with his version of the story, would it help or would it hurt the doctor?
HERMAN: Well, what he would do is he would say, I heard Dr. Murray's testimony, and he did not do that. He did not comfort me or my family. He did not hug us. He did not comfort us in any which way.
And the purpose of it would be to try to undermine the credibility of Dr. Murray's statement because that's all the defense has right now. There's no way Dr. Murray's going to testify in this case. His version is in with that statement.
And the prosecution might attempt to destroy his credibility by putting Prince on. I think that the risks outweigh the benefits. I don't believe they're going to do it.
MALVEAUX: Finally here, Richard, you know, if he's convicted of involuntary manslaughter, the maximum sentence is four years. But I understand now there's a new California law intended to cut back on the overcrowded prisons. Could mean if he is convicted, that he might not even get a day behind bars, can you tell us about that?
HERMAN: Yes, absolutely. That's -- see, it's not going to bring closure. People are looking foreclosure for Michael Jackson's death. This verdict is not going to bring closure. It's too complicated to simply put it all on Murray.
But the bottom line in the state of California based on a nonviolent conviction, with no prior convictions, the state will not take Conrad Murray, he'll be directed to the county, and the county prison system is under directive that under those circumstances, the prisoner must be serving the bulk of his time in house arrest, supervised house arrest. So he may not even do one day in county jail even if he gets convicted.
MALVEAUX: All right. That might not satisfy some folks there. But Richard, thank you so much. We appreciate your perspective. And we'll be following the trial, of course.
We're going to continue bringing you the highlights from the trial as well. If you want to see gavel-to-gavel coverage, tune in to our sister network, HLN.
Check it out, science geeks gathered over the weekend in Baltimore to try out some really neat experiments. Ahead, we're going to check out a disk that defies gravity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time to check stories making news across the country. In Florida, they still haven't confirmed if this mess was caused by a tornado that may have touched down in Indiantown last night, 30 miles from West Palm Beach. A home was damaged, a barn behind it destroyed. A nearby VFW building was also damaged.
Check this story out as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to tell you that I'm quitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: This guy decides to quit his job at a hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, with a little musical help from his friends.
It's a little marching band, kind of New Orleans, little bit New Orleans style there. They followed him to the front entrance, he handed over his resignation, the band struck up a song and he was out of there.
Shoppers at the grocery store in Alaska got a surprise. The little bear cub walks in, climbs over the fruits and veggies. This happened over the weekend in the southern part of the state. The baby bear was taken outside and released.
You've got to check this out. This is really cool stuff. Is it real, is it magic? All right, so we're looking at this thing, a disk. You can see it. It's levitating.
How does all this happen? This is really bizarre. So of course, we want to bring in from one science geek to another, our own Chad Myers. Chad, I say it in the most loving way.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: When you see this, you realize --
MALVEAUX: Yes, come on.
MYERS: -- there are very smart people out there.
MALVEAUXZ: I don't get it. I don't understand how that happened.
MYERS: What that disk is that's levitating basically, it's actually stuck there because it isn't falling either. It's a piece of sapphire that's been coated with barium copper oxide.
And that, when it gets cold, like 300 degrees below zero, you can see it smoking there, that's like sitting there in liquid nitrogen, it turns into a super conductors. Super conductors and big rare earth magnets don't get along at all. In fact, they don't get along at all.
But they don't want to be away from each other and they don't want to be apart. So there's a big tract there. This is one that really gets me. The track is a magnet, both poles on the magnet.
But when you turn the thing upside down, it doesn't want to fall either. So it's not like turning a magnet back against itself because it just wants to repel each other. This thing just keeps floating around. People saying -- this was from the Tel Aviv University. Could we do this? Could we make cars do this?
MALVEAUX: Yes, exactly.
MYERS: Only if your car was 300 degrees below zero. That wouldn't be very comfortable and it doesn't stay there very long either. It is going around. It's not magic. It's not -- you know, there's nothing illegal about this, or unusual about this.
This actually literally happens. It's called quantum levitation. You can't do it unless you have a super conductor that's right at 300 degrees below zero and it's super conducting -- super conducting is like wire that doesn't use any electricity.
You put this disk on top of the magnet and it's stuck there. It's not up. It's not down. It's not floating. It's just literally trapped in nano tubes of magnetism.
MALVEAUX: I can hardly wait to discover how to do this with other stuff.
MYERS: Make a train go.
MALVEAUX: Right.
MYERS: And have no resistance. That would be awesome.
MALVEAUX: We're on our way. Thanks, Chad. That was so cool.
MYERS: Sure.
MALVEAUX: I've got to ask you about this one here. Do you remember the movie? It's one of my all-time favorites, right, "Forest Gump." Starts running, people start following him. Remember that?
MYERS: Absolutely, here he goes.
MALVEAUX: All right. So we have a story about this guy, giving a run for his money. John, he returned to his native Canada on Sunday to a hero's welcome. Why, because he's been walking for 11 years.
He took off after his business went belly-up. And he made it all the way to Atlanta before easing into what has become the longest uninterrupted walk around the world. So what do you think the miles are?
MYERS: Well, around the world is 24,000 miles, if you can walk on water over the equator, but he went farther than that.
MALVEAUX: He did, 46,000 miles. He hit 60 countries, as a matter of fact. Isn't that pretty cool?
MYERS: Maybe that's how he got to North America, from walking all over the straits.
MALVEAUX: Imagine the people -- I guess he might have had a little following as well?
MYERS: You would think maybe he would get sponsorship from shoes or something.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Well, the number of people who have actually gotten sick and died from eating cantaloupe contaminated with the bacteria Listeria, well, that's up now to at least 25. We're hearing what may have caused now the outbreak.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Want to bring you some breaking news here.
We have learned that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan. This was an unannounced stopover, at least not publicly announced, but certainly part of a plan overseas outreach with the leaders there in Afghanistan. As you know, U.S. troops, NATO troops, allied forces there to train the Afghans to take over their own security in short order. And I think we are looking at pictures -- this is from yesterday. She was actually in Tripoli, Libya. That is where she met with the new government of that nation.
So she is making the rounds here, obviously, to -- in the region to try to make an impact. The administration looking for change in the region. And, obviously, Afghanistan, a critical, critical place where our own soldiers there continue to train the Afghans to take over their own security so that American forces can soon come home.
Well, it's been more than a month since people started dying, right, from cantaloupe contaminated with a bacteria called listeria. So far, 20 people have died -- 25 people, rather, have died. One woman has had a miscarriage. And 123 people have gotten sick over this. So we're now learning a little bit more about actually what caused this outbreak. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, she's here to explain.
So, Elizabeth, what do we know now about why this is happening? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, we've been waiting a long time now to find out what actually caused this listeria to get into the cantaloupe. And what we heard from the FDA is that they went into the plant and they swabbed down about 39 different places of this facility and about a third of them had listeria. So there was definitely something going on at this plant.
For example, they found listeria in the storage facility where they keep the cantaloupe. And so now they're telling us that they have written a letter to these folks and to the farm, which is in Colorado, and they have warned them about these problems. They found certain unsanitary conditions that really were not supposed to happen. And they have not taken legal action, but that is a possibility in the future.
MALVEAUX: We have a cantaloupe here.
COHEN: Yes.
MALVEAUX: This -- these were recalled a month ago, cantaloupes were recalled. So are we out of the woods yet? I mean I guess there's this period where you -- they discover that this could actually be in your system for a while.
COHEN: Cantaloupe has a pretty long incubation period. So it is theoretically possible that someone bought a cantaloupe towards the very end of this outbreak, didn't hear about the recall, kept it in their kitchen for a couple of days, ate it, had a long incubation period. It's possible that someone still may get sick. But you know what, probably not. We probably are either at or very near the end. We probably won't be seeing lots more cases.
MALVEAUX: So it's -- is it unclear? I mean do we know if it's safe to buy a cantaloupe? You buy a cantaloupe and say, OK, I can eat it now?
COHEN: Right, all the ones have been recalled. I mean the cantaloupe that's on the shelves right now don't have listeria. The ones that could have listeria, from this particular farm -- and that's important to say. It wasn't as if all cantaloupe had listeria, it was from this one farm, Jensen Farms in Colorado, that had it. And those have been recalled.
MALVEAUX: OK.
COHEN: And I think it's interesting. I think people don't get this. If we can use our little cantaloupe here.
MALVEAUX: Yes, please.
COHEN: So listeria gets on the outside of it. And the problem is, is that when you slice into a cantaloupe, the knife then can bring the germs into the cantaloupe.
MALVEAUX: Oh, I see.
COHEN: So that's often what happens. So I know people wonder, well, you know, I don't eat the skin, so how could it be --
MALVEAUX: Right. Right. Sure.
COHEN: But you drag it in when you slice it.
MALVEAUX: So the best thing to do is just to wash it? Wash it thoroughly?
COHEN: Yes. And it's always a good idea anyhow. I mean it feels funny to wash the skin that you're not going to eat, but you can. You can take a clean produce brush and scrub it and that way if there's anything on the outside, you've got a god chance of getting rid of it. But again, now, not a concern.
MALVEAUX: OK. Good.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: Thanks. Good news. Thanks, Elizabeth.
Well, college grads, they're getting deeper into debt with student loans now at record levels. We're going to get a breakdown of the numbers in a live report from the New York Stock Exchange.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Debt level for student loans is at a record high, and that could be a huge burden on this country's new college grads for years, if not decades to come. Our Alison Kosik, she's joining us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, break it down for us, if you will. I know when I went to school, I had lots and lots of debt when I came out of it. But now it looks like things are worse for folks now.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, you and me both with that debt. And, yes, things are worse. And talking big money here. You know, more than $1 trillion in student loans have been taken out. And that's just in the first half of the year. And over the past decade when you look at it, that amount has actually quadrupled. This coming from the New York Federal Reserve.
So, yes, student loan debt has been slowly increasing because of the economy. We're seeing tuitions rise. But the reality is, many parents don't have jobs or they've had their wages cut, so they have to take out more loans. So the reality is, is that more and more families are taking out more debt.
And proof of that -- it's more debt than they can actually handle. And proof of that is that delinquencies are rising. Those are loan payments at least 90 days late. It shows that they just can't pay the bills. And this can have big repercussions because if you're a student and you're saddled with debt, it could delay you buying a home or getting married or having children.
And you can't necessarily declare personal bankruptcy. You won't be able to wipe out your student loan debt. And that's why you're seeing a lot of people, Suzanne, actually turning to community colleges. Enrollment is up there because it's cheaper to go to school at community colleges.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Sure. It's all understandable.
Alison, what are the markets doing right now, do we know?
KOSIK: We've got a mixed market right now. The Dow is actually up 46. The Nasdaq down 11. The focus remains on corporate earnings. So far we're off to a pretty good start. Tech stocks are getting hit pretty hard after Apple reported a surprise miss on its earnings. But Morgan Stanley gave a surprise to the up side on its earnings, reporting a $2 billion profit. Morgan Stanley shares are up 1.3 percent.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Alison, thank you.
Well, presidential candidate Herman Cain and the subject of race. He vowed not to talk about it, but it keeps coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So Herman Cain breaks a vow not to talk about race. Some conservatives, they welcome his comments. But some blacks say that he is not helping to advance the discussion about racism. Don Lemon takes an in-depth look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am an American black conservative, an abc, and I'm proud of it.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Herman Cain --
CAIN: I've been called a racist too.
LEMON: Says things --
CAIN: Because I won't stay on the Democrat plantation.
LEMON: That you don't usually hear publically from the mouth of a black man.
CAIN: Many African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view.
LEMON: Does he have a point? CNN contributor L.Z. GRANDERSON.
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: There is definitely a conversation to be had about the voting tendencies of the black community, absolutely. Is he trying to have that conversation? No, I don't think so. I don't think you can engage the black community on one side by dropping bombs like plantation on the other.
LEMON: Granderson questions Cain's motives.
GRANDERSON: I think he's definitely trying to use words, use phrases, even take positions that are counterintuitive of what you would think a black person would say and think, but he's not necessarily doing it from a genuine place but from a contrarian place from a person who's trying to generate some sort of buzz.
LEMON: It appears to be working. Cain is everywhere -- from major magazines, to talk shows. His poll numbers are rising. He's drawing bigger crowds -- of mostly white conservatives, Tea Party members, who, according to conservative commentator Erick Erickson, are drawn to Cain's stop blaming racism message.
ERICK ERICKSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You can't deny that Herman Cain speaks for the Tea Party (ph). They are not the homogonously white group that people characterize them as and Herman Cain really resonates with them.
LEMON: And Cain's skin color offers him cover to say things that whites and other GOP candidates wouldn't dare say.
CAIN: I don't believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way.
LEMON: Imagine a white person, let alone another GOP candidate, uttering or even insinuating the same thing.
Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher.
CORNELL BELCHER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: What Herman Cain said was a racist, bigoted statements and should be treated like a racist and bigoted person who makes racist and bigoted statements.
ERICKSON: I think Herman Cain does get a pass largely because he's a black conservative and he can say things that black conservatives can say in the same way a black person can say things that I couldn't say or any white person couldn't say relating to their experience in the United States.
LEMON: And experience that Cain believes he's more in tune with than the black man whose job he wants.
CAIN (voice-over): He's never been a part of the black experience in America. I can talk about that. I can talk about what it really meant to be 'po' before I was poor.
LEMON: So, four years later, like candidate Obama, candidate Cain, by chance or design, has landed on America's political third rail -- race.
CAIN (on camera): I often have people ask me because I happen to -- I happen to be an American black conservative, aren't you angry with the history of America? What a stupid question.
LEMON: And for a candidate who has vowed not to talk about race, lately Cain is certainly doing a lot of it.
Don Lemon, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Don Lemon, in for Randi Kaye.
