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Unemployment Stuck at 8.2 Percent; City Workers' Pay Cut To $7.25; Police Knew Of FAMU Band Hazing; 16,000 Syrians Killed In Uprising; Top Syrian General Flees; Obama Talks Jobs, Economy, Student Loans; Deadly Police Beating Lawsuit; Obama To Sign Transit, Loan Bill; "You All Better Hit Back!"; Zimmerman Bonds Out Of Jail; Internet Blackout Coming Monday

Aired July 06, 2012 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux. I'm Ashley Banfield in for Brooke Baldwin. And we have a very busy couple of hours ahead. So let's just get right to it, shall we?

And 82,000 new jobs last month, 80,000. It's the big story this Friday. Rate of unemployment is stuck at 8.2 percent. The 80,000 jobs is slightly better than May, but it's still not good enough.

It's three straight months in a row in which the number of jobs created was less than 100,000. You can see January and February looking not too bad, but then the slowdown really started in March.

It hit hard in April and has not relented. Of the 80,000 jobs created in June, you have 71,000 service positions and 13,000 manufacturing jobs. Do the math, that's 84,000. So I know you're saying, Ashleigh, Ashleigh, your numbers don't add up.

It's a bit of a joke as to our program yesterday if you were watching. They do. The numbers really do add up because you got to subtract the 4,000 jobs that were lost in the public sector. The government jobs that are gone.

So disappointing report really and this comes four months to the day before the general election just as the president is reaching out to working class voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

So Mitt Romney's on vacation, but no way was he going to miss this chance to summon the cameras and talk about this issue. Romney is in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Seeing the jobs report this morning and it is another kick in the gut to middle class families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Kick in the gut says Governor Romney. So I want to start with our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, who has been on the road. He went through Ohio. He is now in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh to be specific.

And in fact, he's among that crowd where the president is as well because President Obama plans to make an address as well. We've been waiting on this.

Dan, give me a bit of a rundown as to what we're going to hear the president say when the news really can't be spun to be very good.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, I think, you know, we'll continue to hear the president talk about what he and his administration have been doing over the last three and a half years to try to right the economy.

But certainly there will be an admission from the president that there's a lot more that needs to be done and that turning the economy around will not happen overnight.

You've heard the president and others in the campaign and the administration talking about how this is a problem that's been developing over a decade. It will not be reversed overnight.

So the president will talk about what he hopes to accomplish if he is elected another four years. We don't expect the president will talk about the jobs numbers at this event here.

Earlier today, a poll in Poland, Ohio, the president did touch on a subject just briefly. He said that it's, quote, "Still tough out there."

But he tried to highlight that the private sector jobs that you were just talking about that there's growth there and it shows there's a step in the right direction, but the president admitting that it's not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Our mission is not just to get back to where we were before the crisis. We've got to deal with what's been happening over the last decade, last 15 years.

Manufacturing leaving our shores, incomes flat lining, all those things are what we got to struggle and fight for. That's the reason I'm running for a second term of president of the United States. I want to move this country forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Dan Lothian, do we still have you on the phone? I know we're watching as the tech operators get the mics ready for the president to take to the podium and speak at Carnegie Melon University.

But if you can hear me, give me the thumbs up. I've got one more question for you.

LOTHIAN: I can hear you. Yes, I can.

BANFIELD: All right, let me ask you this. As the president is on the stump on this bus tour, one of the things that's been said not only by him and his campaign, his surrogates, et cetera, has been look, it's fine for the Republicans to criticize this chronic, chronic economy is now the word that we're hearing.

But what kind of plan does Mitt Romney and the Republicans, what do they have in terms of fixing the job problem? Mitt Romney has already jumped to that saying he's got a 59-step plan in fact.

So he's answering to that just as quickly as it comes out the president's mouth. It is bracketed by Mitt Romney's mouth. How is he going to effectuate some kind of a leapfrog on this?

LOTHIAN: You know, you're right. It's not just about, when the president goes after Mitt Romney and whatever it is he's offering to right the economy, the president sort of lumped along with Republicans in general and saying.

Look, Republicans have had their chance time and again to try to come up with solutions and they're solutions have failed. That's the tag line that the president has been using. They go after him, but what do they have to offer.

We do expect the president to talk about that more at this, his final stop of this two-day tour. In addition to that, we'll hear the president beyond sort of the broader strokes of what he is pitching that his administration has done to try and right the economy.

The president talks specifically about how his administration has afforded a job here in the Pittsburgh area and talking about infrastructure and Pittsburgh airports and roads and bridges across the city.

Again, the president trying to make that personal connection because this is the region he hopes to hang onto to win in 2012 like he did in 2008.

BANFIELD: OK, Dan Lothian, stand by live at Carnegie Melon University. We'll keep a live eye on the podium as well for the president.

In the meantime, we're also watching Governor Romney and we will hear from his people in just a moment. So make sure you hang on for just a second.

In the meantime though, more numbers because that's where it seems to be at with this economic tour. We're looking at 12.7 million Americans who don't have jobs right now. Of those, 5.4 million have been out of work for at least six months. Those are the long-term unemployed and that's not good news again.

We're getting indications from around the globe from Europe and China and from India that the world's major economies are slowing down again. That makes the situation even worse for us as well.

So Alison Kosik is live today for us to give us a snapshot of just where we stand here, July 6, 2012, four months to the day before the election.

Give me a bit of a feel for what this economic numbers really mean especially as we move forward. Could we get some momentum? Could things change? Will the narrative of the election change?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, anything is possible, but where we stand right now, you know, it's really hard to sugar coat what's happening.

You know, the economy is just not in a great place. You know, this weak jobs report is coming on exactly the same date as the director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde came out and said that the IMF is going to be cutting its global growth estimate for this year.

What that means is that the economies around the world are expected to perform worse than everybody originally thought. OK, so then we get today's jobs report from June and the interesting thing with this report, Ashleigh, is that the bar for this reading was already very, very low.

But economists who were surveyed by CNN Money had expected a gain of 95,000. And 80,000, that 80,000 number that couldn't even live up to these lower expectations and then you look at the jobs picture from April of this year through June.

It's actually the weakest job quarter in two years. So we've had three months in a row of job additions below 100,000. So I'd it's safe to say that this is a trend.

It's not good enough to bring down the unemployment rate, which you really need to see anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 jobs added consistently month after month to help the economy dig out of the recession.

You know, one analyst put it this way, Ashleigh, saying that the economy recovery is clearly stuck in quicksand -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, what about the markets? I mean, one analyst can say that, but the markets speak volumes as well. How are the markets reacting?

KOSIK: And as you can expect and also did you hear the surprise, there's a sell off. The Dow down 172 points, but look at how stocks responded to the past three jobs reports, which were, by the way, disappointments.

The Dow sold off in the triple digits after those disappointing reports in March, April and May. So now the question as far as Wall Street sees it is, is this 80,000 job addition bad enough for the fed to do something at this point.

Is it enough to encourage the fed to pump some more stimulus into the system? And one analyst I talked to, you know what, at this point he said, it's not bad enough.

So what you're seeing play out on the board right now is investors are disappointed and they're selling their positions. Because they know that the fed at this point, most likely will not act any time soon -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange for us. Thanks so much.

I want to continue on this narrative as well because Governor Mitt Romney is also on vacation, but look, with this lousy jobs report, it's certainly reason enough to just get back right into the game.

Have yourself a press conference even if it is brief and CNN's Dana Bash joins us now from Boston. So we did see the governor react to this and react fast.

He is laying out a 59-point plan. I'm curious to find out if he's echoing that louder than he is the criticism of these job numbers.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's such a great question. First of all, 90 minutes to be exact. That is how fast Mitt Romney got out in front of the cameras.

He came off of his vacation after these job numbers came out, but the reason I think that is such a good question, Ashleigh, is because certainly what Mitt Romney has been doing and continued to do today was really, really hit the president on the fact that these job numbers are still bad because that is his best, best point.

Anybody agrees, against the president for not having another term in office. But Mitt Romney has gotten criticism not just from Democrats, but there's been some friendly fire this week from some of the most influential, editorial pages in this country.

"The Wall Street Journal" and "The Weekly Standard" saying that he, Mitt Romney needs to not hit the president but also, pardon the truck, come up with his own plan. So listen to what Mitt Romney said earlier today about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I have a plan. My plan calls for action that will get America working again and create good jobs both near term and long term. It includes finally taking advantage of our energy resource, building the Keystone pipeline. Making sure we create energy jobs and convince manufacturers that energy will be available and low cost in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, part of the criticism, Ashleigh, is not so much that he is not talking about his 59-point plan. It's that he has a 59-point plan. Certainly, people out there want to know that your candidate or potential president has ideas, but part of the issue messaging wise and we heard this from John Sununu, the former senator from New Hampshire who was a very close ally of Mitt Romney with Wolf Blitzer yesterday.

That they are not doing it in a cogent and direct enough way, and declarative sentences was I think is the way he put it so that people understand that he has plan and what that is.

BANFIELD: That is certainly friendly fire. All right, well, the narrative continues because the bus tour continues too. Dana Bash, thank you. Good to see you.

Speaking of jobs, nearly 400 city workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania still have their jobs, but there's a catch. Starting today, their paycheck is going to be a lot lower.

Would you believe they automatically went to minimum wage like that? Bam. We're going to tell you why and why there's a legal battle ahead too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A city in Pennsylvania is so broke that every city workers' pay has just been automatically slashed to minimum wage no matter what they make. No matter what they take home. No matter what they do for a living.

Nearly 400 employees in Scranton opened up their paychecks today to see that their hourly pay rate is just $7.25 per hour. We're talking police officers, firefighters, any public workers and get this.

Scranton cut their pay even though a judge told them, told the city that they could not do it. Now for the city's part, the city did it because we are broke, period.

They got $5,000 left in the bank after issuing the checks just for the minimum wage. That's their reason. Despite the injunction saying you can't send out checks at minimum wage, they did it anyway. So expect another date in court. The unions are livid. This story definitely continues.

News just in to CNN. Breaking development now in the hazing case that involved that band at Florida's A&M University. There is now word that police warned that school just days before the death of one of the band members.

Let's go live now to George Howell who has been tracking the story since the beginning and all of its developments. Bring me up to speed on this story and what this new development means, George?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, we are getting notes. These newly released notes from the dean of students, Henry Kirby, apparently, he got a report three days before Robert Champion was killed.

He got a phone call from someone who reported an alleged case of hazing off campus. That day he called a meeting with several top officials including the school's police chief, a police chief, Kelvin Ross.

They both agreed, they both suggested that the band be suspended because of these hazing incidents. But again, the result of that meeting, that action was not taken.

Instead they decided to talk to the band directly and talk to them about hazing and the consequences that could result from it. But again, the band was not suspended.

And Ashleigh, as you know, three days later, Robert Champion was killed.

BANFIELD: Are there legal implications here or are we just getting these, you know, germinations of this story so quickly that no one's even had a chance to ruminate and figure out what the next move is?

HOWELL: Well, certainly you can rest assure that Pam Champion, Pam and Robert Champion's attorney, they are paying very close attention to all of these developments.

I spoke with Pam Champion earlier. They are not yet releasing a comment on these newly released notes from the dean of students. But you can tell this is something they are definitely looking into.

Pam Champion said this is not new information to her. She had heard about this possible meeting, but now that it's confirmed and we have proof that this meeting did happen, it's something they are looking into it.

BANFIELD: It's fascinating development. George Howell, thanks very much. Keep your eyes and ears tuned and let us know what happens there.

In the meantime, a stunning blow to Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad. One of his top generals, someone he really counted on, has said goodbye, defecting. Could this be the beginning of the end for the embattled leader? Will there be more defections to come. The story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Shelling of neighborhoods in Syria today. Opposition groups saying 16,000 people, that's now the tally of those who died since the uprising began in that country.

An uprising against the government the killings at the hand of the government forces, but now a huge blow for that government. One of President Assad's top generals has left him, defected, left for Paris.

You can see him next to President Assad in this picture. He was considered very close to Assad, a close confidant, member of the inner circle. The reason for leaving is being reported that he is disgusted over the killings of many Sunnis.

We have been told that about three and four people in Syria are Sunni Muslim. It is a form of Islam, but President Assad is a different sect of Shia, a different branch, a branch that holds the most power there, important to note that.

Ivan Watson is in neighboring Turkey right now. Let's talk about this defection, the politics of it. Is this truly an altruistic defection, Ivan, or is this a guy who is seeing the house of cards about to fall and wants to save his own neck?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I talked to a Syrian journalist who interviewed him on the phone last night after he got to Turkey.

At that moment in that conversation, he insisted he was disgusted with the killing of civilians and with the dictatorship in Syria and that's why he was leaving.

He did not say he was going to join the Syrian opposition even though it's rebel fighters from his hometown who we're told helped him escape.

It's interesting that I'm already hearing from Syrian opposition activists from some of them that they want this guy brought up on charges of crimes against humanity.

And the other atrocities that we have seen committed against Syrian people by Syrian security forces over the course of the last 16 very bloody, very deadly months -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Ivan, the way it works in the United States when there's a crime committed, the first guy to go to the prosecutor's and tell all usually gets the best deal and saves his neck.

That's why I asked that question. Is it possible that he could be one of first to leave, but many more are about to follow because things don't look good for Bashar Al-Assad right now?

WATSON: No, they don't. I mean, significant chunks of his own country are out of his government's control. The economy has taken a beating. Now the son of one of the -- well, you can argue one of the aristocratic families of the Syrian regime has now apparently fled.

You do make a good point. He's likely to be courted by western intelligence agencies right now who are very keen to learn about the workings of the Syrian regime, perhaps where the money is hidden.

Perhaps where some of the chemical weapon arsenals are hidden, which are very much a concern right now. This is a wealthy man. His family is wealthy. His father was defense minister for more than 30 years.

His brother, who I've interviewed was a very successful businessman, (inaudible). So he's likely to have made this move to have set his way up to probably land somewhere cushy.

Anybody that comes after him, we don't know. Another final point that's really important to point out here, Ashleigh. In Libya, we saw the big fish dropping very quickly within the first couple of months abandoning Moammar Gadhafi.

It's been 16 months and this is the first real face of the regime to have left, which is remarkable. It shows how disciplined and tight this regime really was.

BANFIELD: Well, loyalty can be about as thick as water when you get to this stage of the game and the noose begins to tighten. Ivan Watson, thanks very much. Appreciate that.

By the way, Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State is in Paris. She's attending a conference called "The Friends of Syria" meeting. It's a group made up of countries who want to end the violence there.

It's a bit of misnomer if you really think about it. They want to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his followers.

Let's take you live now though back here in this country where our president has been ready to speak. He is at Carnegie Melon University Pittsburgh, PA. Here he is on another stop on the bus tour.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: If you're willing to work hard, if you're willing to take responsibility for your life, you can make it if you try here in the United States of America.

That basic idea, that basic bargain that says here we all deserve a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share and everybody should play by the same set of rules.

That basic bargain that says if you're willing to work hard and take responsibility in your own life then you can find a job that pays a living wage. You can save up and buy a home.

You won't go bankrupt if you get sick. Maybe you can take a vacation with your family once in a while. Nothing fancy, but, you know, you can go out, go visit some of our national parks.

I remember my favorite vacation when I was a kid, traveling with my mom and my grandma and my sister and we traveled the country on Greyhound buses and railroads and once in a while we'd rent a car, not that often and stay at Howard Johnsons.

Didn't matter how big the pool was. If there was a pool, I'd jump in. I was 11 years old and I was excited to go to the vending machine to get the ice bucket and the ice.

And then the chance to retire with dignity and respect, that dream of a strong middle class that's what America's been about.

BANFIELD: And those are the kinds of words you use when you're on the stump and hitting up the rust belt middle class especially day when your jobs numbers are lousy.

Let's move on, shall we. His videotaped beating by the police and then his subsequent death shook a California city to its core. Now the father of a homeless man who became a victim to beating, that father is suing the city of Fullerton and strangely enough it's not money he's after.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The father of a California homeless man who died after being beaten by police officers has decided to sue the city of Fullerton, California and its police chief and the officers allegedly involved.

He's blaming them for what happened to his son, Kelly Thomas. It was caught on camera last July and it is disturbing. It starts with the 37-year-old vagrant being defiant to Fullerton police officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: See my fists?

THOMAS: Yes, what about them.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: They're getting ready to -- you up.

THOMAS: Start punching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, it ends more than seven minutes later with Thomas calling for his daddy. I do want to give you warning. It's really tough to watch this tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: Daddy. Dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Thomas died five days after that beating. He died in the hospital. Now a year after he died, his father and a lawsuit seeking more than $25,000 in damages. You heard right, $25,000 in damages.

Normally you hear requests in the millions for something like this. He's asking for $25,000. CNN's Casey Wian is in Los Angeles with some answers.

I have a lot of questions about this. Let me start with the number because I think it's critical in this story. Why is it relatively so low?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, what that is sort of a pro-form of designation of the lawsuit. When Ron Thomas and his attorney filed this suit, under California law they have to designate whether this lawsuit is going to be seeking damages in excess of $25,000, which is an unlimited civil suit in California or less than $25,000.

Clearly, if this case goes to trial and a jury hears it and they do find damages. It's going to be damages far in excess of $25,000. At least that is the expectation.

Here is what the gist of the lawsuit is. They are saying that the Fullerton Police Department, the city of Fullerton, these six police officers, they should have known that Kelly Thomas was mentally ill and that he posed no threat to the officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARO MARDIROSSIAN, THOMAS FAMILY ATTORNEY: The important thing to remember is that Kelly had every right that all of us have. The fact that he was homeless, the fact that he was mentally ill did not reduce his rights.

He has the same right all of us had and have. These police officers owed him an obligation to protect him and to serve him, not to beat him to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Now earlier, Kelly Thomas' mother settled with the city of Fullerton for $1 million. His father says money is not at issue in this case. He's trying to force change in the city of Fullerton.

He wants the entire city structure to be revamped and he wants closer oversight of the city's police department by city officials. He says that this lawsuit says that city officials have allowed corruption and civil rights violations to go on in this police department for years.

We'd have to point out that the Fullerton Police Department and the city are both declining to comment on the civil suit as of right now -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Understandably so. I mean, two of them are facing criminal charges. So it doesn't surprise me at all that they didn't comment. They shouldn't exactly. Casey Wian, thank you for that.

He calls this the most important job creation bill ever, ever. His opinion matters because Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is the man who helped to make it happen.

So what does the new transportation bill do for you, and how in the world did Democrats and Republicans finally come together on anything? I'm going to ask the man who is there with the coordinated tie in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: If you're one of those people that think Republicans and Democrats just can't agree on anything, think again, have I got a story for you.

In just a couple of hours, the president is expected to sign, are you ready, a bipartisan bill. I know you haven't heard that term in a long time, but this is a really important thing.

It could create or save more than two million jobs. This is jobs day, so that's a big deal. Here's how it works. Part of this measure is going to call for the extension of interest rates on certain college loans.

You probably already heard about that part of it. What you may not have heard is the transportation side of it. It includes a part that is going to fund highways and transit projects for the next two years.

It's the first long term transportation bill since way, way back in 2005. One of the lawmakers credited with the idea, not even from Capitol Hill, from Los Angeles, the mayor there, Antonio Villaraigosa.

He's going to be beside the president during that signing if all goes well today. The mayor is credited with spearheading this idea. It's an idea that both the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats agreed upon, magic.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joins me live now from Washington, D.C. Mr. Mayor, it's nice to meet you again. Congratulations. How on earth did this happen?

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), LOS ANGELES: Well, you said it. Job number one right now at a time when we're struggling in our economy is to put people back to work. Unfortunately, the Congress hasn't been doing much in that area.

And so yes, I spearheaded this part of the bill, you talked about two million jobs creating and preserving. There's another part. The part that I proposed about three years ago, it's called "America Fast Forward."

And what it is, at a time of high deficit and debt, it incentivises localities like L.A. or cities across the nation, which is why 200 mayors have gotten behind it to put up their own money.

Get a loan from the federal government, pay them back, create another million jobs. So this is an important day for people in the construction industry.

It's an important day for people who want to repair our roads, highways, build our public transportation system and repair our bridges. I'm very excited to be here today.

BANFIELD: So I couldn't imagine anything could possibly be controversial in a bill like this when you have so much bipartisan agreement. Then I found this.

Mr. Mayor, I found the taxpayers for common sense who weren't the least bit thrilled about this because they say this is $105 billion regardless of job savings or creation.

It kind of like a bailout and doesn't do what we should be doing with that kind of money. In fact, let me read just part of this very long statement says.

It says, by initiating another massive treasury bailout of the transportation program, Congress fails to face the acute funding challenges the nation's transportation program faces. Why are they wrong?

VILLARAIGOSA: They're from Mars. They're not living in the real world.

BANFIELD: At least you didn't say my name 15 times to make that point. I thank you profusely for that.

VILLARAIGOSA: And they got their heads stuck in the sand. Nobody agrees. Look, we've got to put people back to work. Our bridges are crumbling, our highways, roads, streets. We've got to repair our infrastructure system.

Every Republican and Democrat president since Eisenhower has been supportive of extending this surface transportation bill and making an investment. This Congress extended it 11 times.

They hadn't passed since 2005. They finally got on their job and did their job thanks to mayors. Thanks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a broad coalition of people very different from the group that you just mentioned who said job number one is to put people back to work right now.

BANFIELD: I'll give you this. I know your community. You put forth a half cent sales tax in order to raise funds to secure those loans so hopefully other communities are going to be doing the same thing.

I got to switch gears for a moment because I don't get to interview you that often. Since you have this brand new title of the Democratic National Chairman of the Convention, I've got a couple of questions to ask you.

How is the DNC doing in terms of fundraising? Have you met your fundraising goals for the campaign?

VILLARAIGOSA: We're chugging along like the little train that could. We're moving ahead. I can tell you that we expect to be funded by September when the convention is going on.

You know, we've got a very difficult task ahead because we're not raising money from corporations, just individuals and foundations. That makes it a little tougher, but we're moving ahead and expect to meet our goal.

BANFIELD: And you think you got enough to fund the convention?

VILLARAIGOSA: I believe we will.

BANFIELD: Wow, that's not a full on yes though. I believe we will. Is there a possibility it might not happen?

VILLARAIGOSA: I expect we will.

BANFIELD: Still, you're saying there's a possibility?

VILLARAIGOSA: No. We're not there yet, but we will be there by September. How about that?

BANFIELD: You need yourself a Sheldon Adelson, my friend. That's what you need.

VILLARAIGOSA: Yes, we do.

BANFIELD: Well, it's nice to see you again, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for being with us. I look forward to our next encounter.

VILLARAIGOSA: Thanks a lot, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Take care of yourself.

All right, so you are not going to believe be story we have come can go up for you. A St. Louis mother videotaping two toddlers, that's not unusual.

It is unusual when they are fighting. It is unusual when they are in diapers and it is unusual when she's egging them onto fight better and harder. It's outrageous and there is some law attached to this one. We'll tackle it in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZACH HUDSON: I've been a police officer for a little over 10 years. We see people at their worst. The one thing I've seen over and over again is victimization of the elderly.

They are the forgotten portion of our society that nobody really thinks about. They are alone. Yet they don't ask for help.

Buddy, you got a flat tire going there.

UNIDENTIIFIED MALE: I know. I don't have the money to fix it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a not good. They are that much easier to victimize. If I can help you with that tire, give me a call. I realized something had to be done. I had enough.

I'm Officer Zach Hudson. I was raised by my grandmother and great-grand mother. I'm bringing this community together to help keep seniors safe.

Cops and firefighters come across seniors with various problem, able to call us and seniors reach out directly to us.

How is your floor looking? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My floor getting mushy. I was scared I'd go right down through it.

HUDSON: We get it taken care of for free. If we can get the tile down, the wheelchair won't take a toll like it did. There's no job too small. We have 25 yards to do. It takes commitment from the community. Nice and solid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it.

HUDSON: Elderly people rescued me in a lot of ways. What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to leave my bathroom.

HUDSON: This is simply an opportunity for me to give back to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We don't know her face. We don't know her name, but there's a Missouri woman gaining a lot of notoriety for some of the worst parenting ever.

In an online video over the wails of two toddlers she eggs on the little ones to pummel each other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You all better hit back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: You heard it right. You all better hit back. Our affiliate, KTVI, alerted the Missouri Department of Social Services because of this video because a viewer who knows the mother told the TV station, KTVI, about the video.

Now for privacy reasons, the officials at Social Services would not give any comment about this to KTVI. The defense attorney we want to touch on with this is Joey Jackson.

He is on this case for us today. I don't know where to begin with this one. I'll begin with this child endangerment times two.

JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No question about it. There are a couple of problems here, Ashleigh. The first problem is the criminal problem, why, because you're endangering the welfare of a child.

Have it right here, Missouri revised statutes, there's a statute that deals specifically with that issue and in the event that you endanger the child, it can even rise to the level not only of a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a year, but a felony, which goes far in excess of it.

BANFIELD: Why isn't it a felony to start with?

JACKSON: You know, it certainly could be depending upon how it's evaluated and what the authorities do in their investigation. So that's not to be ruled out, of course.

Her second problem forgetting about the criminal problem and that's the family unit. Look, Social Services is going to investigate this as we know and they are going to say are you really fit to be a parent.

Shouldn't we as parents be encouraging kids to read and write instead of cursing and fighting? Look the reality is --

BANFIELD: Or stopping them from being hurt.

JACKSON: It's so true. The fact is that as parents, you know, you have an obligation to protect your children. The most precious resource when you're encouraging this type of behavior and the foundation.

This is foundational. If these kids are doing this and this is what we're learning and molding them into when they are just out of diapers, what is she going to be doing years from now? So this presents a major problem.

BANFIELD: And understandably Social Services wouldn't comment, but honestly, there's no way that they are not looking for this woman.

JACKSON: There's no question about it. This woman will be brought in. She'll be questioned. In an event, she'll certainly get an attorney. She certainly should.

I think we'll see an arrest here. I think we will see a prosecution here. But I think more importantly than the whole jail issue though is parenting.

I mean, come on, attached to these sentences are these programs that can teach you how to do better, what to do, how to treat your children and certainly not to engage in this behavior.

BANFIELD: OK, what level does this kind of neglect abuse, assault, whatever you want to say, endangerment, what level does it have to rise to whereby Social Services says you don't even get the parenting classes to get that child back. You don't get that child back?

JACKSON: Short answer, Ashleigh, short answer. It has to engage to a level that's a lot less than we see here, right? We shouldn't have it get to the instance where you have fisticuffs and have people egging it on.

Look, these agencies are in the business of ensuring that the family unit remains as a family unit because they need a mother, but they need a mother and they need a parent who is going to be responsible, who's going to do the right thing.

And share values that actually are developmental with the child and not destructive. I think this is beyond the pail. It will be looked into and it will be strictly and harshly dealt with.

BANFIELD: I did not set you up for this, but I'm going to test you. I have some breaking news and you're the perfect person on the set. I'm just getting this crossing the wires right now.

George Zimmerman who is the suspect in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, he has just posted that $1 million bond and he's been released from the Sanford, Florida facility where he's bee jailed.

I would love it if you would sort of give me the play by play on just what it takes to post a million dollar bond.

JACKSON: Sure. Well, end up happening is, it always depends. But generally speaking, if you have 10 percent, you can either do it in one or two ways.

You can either do it with property in terms of collateral. You can post the bond as long as the bond's person is assured you have the collateral in the event you don't go back to court then of course, they take it away from you.

So you're either looking at 10 percent of a million dollars which is $100,000 or some property instead of the case in order to ensure that you would return.

And of course, if you don't, guess what happens to your money it gets taken away. The other quick issue here though is the safety issue. He's going to have to be taken to place, he can't leave the county.

Remember we talked yesterday about the whole bail conditions and the bond conditions. Since he can't leave, he's going to have to be at some place that he's available because he has to report back every two days.

So that in and of itself could present a media circus. I think his safety is certainly going to be at issue. There's a dispute whether people care about his safety. People have a lot of strong opinions about this case.

BANFIELD: You know, in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. You need to care about people's safety. We are not a lynch mob in this country. Summary executions don't happen here. I've been to countries where that happen.

JACKSON: We have a lot more rights here.

BANFIELD: Yes, and we should appreciate our constitutional rights for those who are innocent before proven guilty. Let me ask you this just quickly though.

The conditions, I'm not going to test you on it because it was a long list of conditions we talked about yesterday. There were some unusual conditions and they are specific to him.

JACKSON: They are. I mean, the point is that they are the obvious conditions, of course. There's the curfew and he has to be home by 6:00 p.m. He can't have any alcohol. He has an electronic monitoring bracelet that he pays for. Those are normal.

BANFIELD: But he can't go to an airport.

JACKSON: He cannot go to an airport, can't touch upon airport property. You know, that certainly presents an issue. Of course, as we know, Ashleigh, he cannot have or apply for a passport. The judge is very concerned about whether he poses a risk of flight.

BANFIELD: OK, that was the critical point I wanted you to point out because the judge did say in boosting that bond from $150,000 to a million, flight risk. Fear of flight.

So Joey Jackson, thank you. Stick around. I got a whole bunch more questions about a whole bunch more topics. So in a moment, we'll return.

In the meantime, on Monday, watch your iPad and your computer because a bunch of us could be in the dark while trying to surf the web. Virus, yes, tens of thousands of us Americans, if we use computers, we are infected and may not know about this.

A dangerous virus that could boot you off the internet. Guess what, it's the government that's going to boot you off the internet. They are trying to help you. You're not answering their call.

We will explain to you what this is about and we will help you help yourself in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: An internet blackout is coming to a screen near you on Monday possibly. Your computer could go dead and be completely useless if you need to surf.

Your personal and your financial information could be stolen if your computer is one of the thousands across America and actually worldwide infected by a malware virus.

Cyber criminals, nasty ones at that used the malware to infect four million computers all around the world. The FBI got on this thing and they actually set up temporary servers to sort of harness what those malware nasty fellows were doing and protected you.

The problem is they can't protect you forever. They tried to warn you. The servers have to been turned off at some point. You can clean this thing off your computer, but the government can't continue to protect you with its servers.

So all those people still infected who don't hear this message or the message that hopefully everybody else is trying to get out of there, you're going to lose your internet service without any warning.

Kevin Mitnick is here with me now. He's an expert on hacking. Here is the deal. First of all, if I don't know about this message, I have no recourse. I'll be kicked off the internet. What do I do to make sure it doesn't happen to me?

KEVIN MITNICK, FORMER COMPUTER HACKER: Well, what will happen is your computer will stop working because when you go to like www.cnn.com, it won't know how to get there. But there is definitely something that we could all do and there's a web site that was actually --