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A-Rod Suspended Through 2014 Season; Honeymooning Woman Killed By Car On Venice Beach Boardwalk; 22 U.S. Embassies And Consulates Closed; American College Student Locked Up In Jail Cell For Five Days

Aired August 04, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield; a look at the top stories this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

U.S. embassies and consulates from the Middle East to North Africa are locked tight today. Fear of a terror attack has been on high alert. This as Americans traveling the globe are being urged to stay vigilant.

And people on Venice Beach in California, on the boardwalk there, ran for their lives as a hit-and-run driver swerved into the crowd. A woman on her honeymoon was killed, the driver now under arrest.

And breaking news about A-Rod's future in major league baseball, all linked to a doping scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: And more on that breaking news right now in major league baseball.

The steroid investigation, "USA Today" is reporting Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be suspended through the 2014 season. That suspension will come tomorrow. The paper also says A-Rod will appeal that suspension. That appeal would leave him eligible to play tomorrow night in the Yankees game against the white sox.

Let's bring in now Andy Scholes of "Bleacher Report."

Andy, what more can you tell us? We heard from an adamant and seemingly confident A-Rod on Friday and now days later looks like he will be suspended?

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT (via phone): Yes, looking that way. But this is actually good news for A-Rod, you know. There was the talk that maybe he was going to get a lifetime ban. But that looks like it's off the table now. He would be suspended for the rest of this year and next year. But through the appeals process, he gets to continue playing and will be in the lineup for the Yankee Monday night in Chicago and these arbitration hearings is what he would be going through now, they take quite a while. He would be treated for week so A-rod could get to play in to September while this arbitration hearing is going on.

So it's pretty good win for A-Rod. It is not only not getting banned for life, he get going to get to play through the appeals process and, you know, he makes about half a billion dollars in his career. And he know he has got pretty good lawyers so they have a little bit chance they will be able to get the suspension taken down even further but if it sticks after the appeals process he will be suspended for this season and then all of next season.

WHITFIELD: So Andy, help us understand what and how this so-called mountain of evidence has piled up against A-Rod. And I say mountain of evidence because there's been a number of reports, today's "New York Times," at "USA Today," and even espn.com has been reporting, and so many people say there was a mountain of evidence yet, there has not, and correct me if I'm wrong or misunderstood the information, there's not a positive steroid test. He's not failed a test. But what is it so-called mountain of evidence that he has been a user of performance-enhancing drugs?

SCHOLES: You're absolutely right, Fredricka. He has never actually failed a test. The reason baseball is going after A-Rod from more than anybody else, than the other players that are going to be suspended reportedly are going to get just 50 games, A-Rod is going to get so much more because according to reports major league baseball says he obstructed their investigation in to the bio genesis clinic, meaning he did things to try to keep them from finding out that he did receive performance-enhancing drugs from them and the reason -- of course, he lied about it. So, that's the reason the major guys are really going after A-Rod, not only the big fish in the whole thing but tried to obstruct the investigation. So, it is not about the performance-enhancing drugs, per se. That would have been 50 games, it is because he tried to obstruct their investigation either try to go after him so hard.

WHITFIELD: And Andy, just this Friday, A-Rod taking to the cameras, the microphones and said that -- or really implied, never said the Yankees but he said, you know, he is not getting the resistance from the fans or the other Yankees. It's not a good time to say from whom but many were inferring that he was saying that the Yankees just don't want to live up to that guarantee of $100 million and they're looking for a way out of that and that's what's led to this.

What are your sources or people in the MLB circle saying about this, whether, you know, what he says has any truth?

SCHOLES: Yes. There might be some traction to that, you know, for every 50 games A-Rod gets suspended, the Yankees sustain $7.5 million. So, you can do the math. For 215 games for the suspension would be the Yankees, they are going to say, clear over $30 million for that suspension and that's why people are suggesting fits to A-Rod that the Yankees, they were in major league baseball's corner saying yes, ban for life. Suspend him for as long as possible. We get so much money they would be saying with A-Rod off the field because, of course, the suspension, you're suspended without pay. Your contract basically for the time of the suspension is void. So, that's another reason A-Rod is saying the Yanks were so-called conspiring with major league baseball trying to keep him off the field to save quite a bit of money if he's not playing.

WHITFIELD: All right. Andy Scholes, thank you for being with us with the CNN's "Bleacher Report."

Of course, if you want more information on this and the pending game that a-rod is scheduled to play in tomorrow, go to bleacherreport.com.

Thanks so much, Andy. Appreciate it.

SCHOLES: No problem.

WHITFIELD: All right, we have a very big story that we are following today, 22 U.S. embassies and consulates closed. American travelers around the world on alert and new details are coming in on what may have led to the concerns that al-Qaeda is planning a major attack. We have reporters around the world monitoring the situation at the embassies in the Middle East and Northern Africa remain locked up.

But let's start with our new details out of Washington now. Emily Schmidt is live with more on this.

What have what have we learned with what precipitated the embassy closers?

EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we are getting information about what led to the shutdown. CNN's Barbara Starr report that is an intercepted message of senior al-Qaeda operatives within the last few days really caused the concern.

Now, CNN agreed to a request from an Obama administration official not to go in to details about the message all because of its sensitivity. But we know that this interceptive message was a critical factor in leading to the shutdown but it not the only factor.

Several U.S. officials said they have seen an increase of threats of Yemen for weeks. What's more today, in important day in the Muslim calendar and there have been some major prison breaks throughout the entire region that was affected. They are leaving some al-Qaeda members who have been behind bars now unaccounted for. Regardless, this was an unprecedented move.

On the Sunday morning talk shows, we saw something we don't always see in Washington -- agreement between Democrats and Republicans who say they think the administration did the right thing by shutting down these 22 embassies and consulates.

And for President Obama, he spent the weekend in Camp David celebrating his birthday. But he is back in Washington now. The White House said he has also been briefed about the threat and his national security team has met to discuss it -- Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: And Emily, it is Monday in some places where these embassies have been closed, so what do we know about what's happening next? Will they remain closed or open for business?

SCHMIDT: It's a question everybody is asking. We don't have an answer yet, Fredricka. As you mentioned, it's 4:00 in Washington but it is beginning to be Monday in many of the area where the embassies and consulates have been closed. It is important to note when they first announced there would be a Sunday closure, it was left open that that could be extended as to whether it will we are still waiting to hear.

WHITFIELD: All right, Emily Schmidt. Thanks so much in Washington.

All right, looking around the world now, as it pertains to the global threat, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. embassy normally would have been open today on a Sunday as it is the start of a new workweek there. But instead, doors are shut. John Difterios has more on what it was lie there today.

JOHN DIFTERIOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Washington took a very broad brush approach here shutting down 22 facilities for a 24-hour period in the broader Middle East, North Africa and even reaching in to South Asia.

But it raised some eyebrows here in Abu Dhabi because security, even in a normalize basis is very tight. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.

We are about a mile away from the diplomatic quarter here in Abu Dhabi with the U.S. embassy is. Even during in standard news coverage, we can't go in with a still or video camera in to that area. The UAE is about 300 kilometers across the straits Hormuz from Iran so security is front and center. In fact, one European ambassador told me he thought this policy response was a direct response to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya September 11th, 2012.

Washington did not want to get caught with its guard down. One point here, to make as we conclude, that this is the last week of Ramadan, which is normally a time for prayer and reflection for Muslims around the world. The security officials suggest it could also be a moment for al-Qaeda to regroup and perhaps attack. And this is also weighing heavily on the minds of those who made the decision in Washington.

Fredericka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, John Defterios.

All right, moving now to Cairo where the U.S. embassy was also closed.

Arwa Damon is there.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredericka, behind this blast wall, the U.S. embassy in Cairo. We are not allowed to film in there.

Now, this location may be of particular concern because Egyptian officials say that back in May they detained three men who were plotting to attack it. Those men are believed to have ties to al- Qaeda and the Islamist (INAUDIBLE). And there was also around a year ago on September 11th that n this very street, an angry mob tried to attack the U.S. embassy here and sensed over the release of a film that was insulting prophet Mohammad. And that it was also on that very same night that we saw the coordinated complex attack against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. The United States understandably not wanting to take any risks when it comes to securing the facilities and its diplomats.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Arwa Damon, there in Cairo.

All right. We will, of course, have more on the terror threat alert straight ahead. We will be talking with a former CIA agent and we will hear from an al-Qaeda expert about just how strong that terror organization has become again.

All right. Now to a horrifying story right here in the U.S., chaos at one of Los Angeles area's busiest tourist spots, the Venice beach board walk. A hit and run driver plunged the car in to a crowd there late yesterday. Police say the driver was, quote "one guy bent on doing evil" end quote. They say his actions were deliberate. A woman on her honeymoon was killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like something out of a movie, something you never expect to see. People flying, laying on the ground, tents flying. Everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had to have pressed his foot to the gas pedal. Pedal to the metal because the tires started screeching. He was looking for blood. That guy was, his intention was to kill people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia here now with new information on the man police arrested and charged with murder.

And Nick, do we know more about him and why he allegedly did this?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the motive is part of the ongoing investigation right now. 38-year-old Nathan Campbell is the suspect charged with murder, Fred. He is being held on $1 million bond.

I asked the police if there's any connection between Campbell and the people he ran over. They said right now there's no line drawn between any of them. Didn't know anybody and as you mentioned, they told me that it's one guy bent on doing evil.

One person was killed and a handful of people were injured when police say this man intentionally drove his car on to a busy Venice beach boardwalk. Those witnesses said that this man it looked like he did it on purpose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BLACKBURN, EYEWITNESS: He just drove and took that left turn down the center of the boa boardwalk and just started driving and bodies were scattering and bodies were flying in the air and people were screaming. And it was absolute mayhem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: If Nathan Campbell's intention was to injure people, he did it at the right time of day, 5:00 p.m., just a couple of hours before the sun goes down. Time of day when Venice beach is packed with people -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: Nick, you know, I have been to Venice beach. You know it.

VALENCIA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But you know, it is open to anyone who wants to be there. But how is it believed that this car got on here without anybody really noticing it or, you know, just being caught you have guard like that.

VALENCIA: That's a great point. We called the councilman to try to get answers about why there's no barricades on the boardwalk. That probably made it very easy for this man to get in on the boardwalk. I have been there a number of times as you have. And you know, cars can drive on intentionally or accidentally on to the boardwalk. Police say this man did it intentionally. Witnesses say he got in a parked car. He made a hard turn on to the boardwalk and just sped up trying to fly through people, Fred. They say a very disturbing scene there yesterday evening.

WHITFIELD: Terrible situation. All right. Thanks so much, Nick Valencia.

VALENCIA: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. A former CIA operative says he has never seen the U.S. government close 22 overseas outposts at one time. I will ask him just how serious this threat of an al-Qaeda attack is in his view. And where he thinks the biggest trouble spot might be.

Plus, a student gets a $4 million settlement from the U.S. government. Seems like a lot of money. Right? Well, just wait until you hear what happened to him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. embassies around the world are on high alert. CNN has learned an intercepted message among senior al-Qaeda leaders is in large part why the U.S. has shutdown 22 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The closures are unprecedented move. President Obama has been briefed by top members of the national security team all weekend long. The defense and state departments and other White House senior staff all involved.

Bob Baer is a former CIA operative and a CNN intelligence security and surveillance analyst.

Good to see you, Bob.

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Hi. WHITFIELD: So, the Obama administration said they won't reveal much more for sake of security, of course. But Bob, what other details do you think intelligence has gathered?

BAER: I'm quite convinced this was based on solid evidence. You don't close 22 embassies and consulates on something flimsy.

WHITFIELD: What solid information? What do you mean?

BAER: Chatter, a known player in al-Qaeda on the telephone saying, all right, we are going to hit. Now's the time. Is everybody in place? These conversations that are a bit vague but if the players are important and type of people to make things happen, Washington pays attention. This didn't come from a human source. I have heard this from somebody, a guy I know. No. It is probably from chatter.

WHITFIELD: And you know, if it's believed that Yemen based operatives may be behind a lot of serious planning, you know, how porous has this country become? How much in the making has this moment come?

BAER: Well, you have to look at Yemen, the mountainous areas of the country never under the control of the central government. It's a good place for al-Qaeda to hide, keep arms, make plans. The capital cannot send forces in to the areas and nothing we can do about it, either. You can drop drones, missile strikes but that's about it.

WHITFIELD: And reportedly, the embassies and consulates may not be the targets according to some news reports. And if that's the case, then, why close the embassies and consulates? What's the connection here in your view?

BAER: Well, the embassies and the consulates are the immediate threat, the easiest to get to, the most obvious. But you can count in the back of people's minds in Washington, that actually the United States may be the target of this. You know, I have read a lot of these intercepts before and you know something's coming but they don't really pinpoint where and when.

WHITFIELD: OK. And we understand or at least we have been told before today it would be for a day. In your view, is this likely, this embassy and consulate closure, likely to go in to several days?

BAER: Well, I don't know about the closure. But if you're al-Qaeda, you are listening to the news reports, you are in position to slip this back. IF they will attack at their convenience and where they want to. And we won't necessarily get another warning so this could go in to next week and next month. But I tend to agree with the White House. This is coming one way or another.

WHITFIELD: And what advantage do you believe al-Qaeda has just been given or any other extremists group that may be likely to be at the core of this terror threat? What advantage do they now have knowing that we have closed embassies, that there as a global terror alert?

BAER: Well, I think they're gauging our reaction. This is what they want us to do is to panic in a situation like this because they will get more effect out of it. They want us to believe that there's another 9/11 coming. They want us to go in to a defensive position. They prefer we close down our embassies and consulates permanently. We are not going to but that's what they are after.

WHITFIELD: Bob Bear, thanks so much for joining us from Irvine, California.

A young student gets thrown in to a jail cell and guess what, then forgotten for days. It sounds like a horror story from some repressive regime perhaps? Well, guess what. It happened here in the U.S. of A. Now, payback time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The body of a snow boarder who was buried under ten feet of ice was recovered on Mt. Hood in Oregon today. Our affiliate KGW reports the 25-year-old was climbing through a tunnel on the mountain yesterday when an ice chunk the size of a school bus fell on him. It took rescuers about three hours today to get his body out.

And now to a pretty horrifying mistake that has forced the drug enforcement administration to settle a lawsuit for $4 million. They locked up an American college student in San Diego and then forgot about him for five days.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on how he survived and what led to him being detained in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was left for four and a half days in a windowless cell. No food or water the entire time. No one even checked on him. He was never formally arrested or charged. This didn't happen in a lawless, developing country. It happened in San Diego to an American college student Daniel Chong.

DANIEL CHONG, LEFT IN DEA CELL: I did go crazy.

TODD: Chong has just reached a $4.1 million settlement with the U.S. government. The nightmare began on April 21st of last year. Chong was visiting a friend at a house in the San Diego area when agents of the drug enforcement administration burst in. They seized thousands of ecstasy pills, other drugs and guns. Chong admitted he would smoke pot there but knew nothing of the other contraband. When they took him to a DAE holding cell --

They said they wouldn't charge you. What else did they tell you?

CHONG: They said they will come get me in a minute to take me home.

TODD: Minutes, hours, days passed. No food, water or toilet facilities. His lawyer says Chong was in total darkness the last two days.

What did you do to survive? CHONG: Eventually your survival instincts do kick in. And you start to realize what you have to do which is drink any fluid that's around which is my urine at the time. And I went ahead and did that.

TODD: He hallucinated he said, so desperate at one point, he bit into this glasses, broke them and --

CHONG: I tried to carve a message saying sorry, mom on to my arm. But I -- I didn't finish that.

TODD: Did you call out? Did you try to get their attention in any way?

CHONG: Of course, I did. I don't think anybody sits there and meditates. I was kicking and screaming.

TODD: Finally, someone opened the cell. Chong's lawyer say he spent three days in an ICU, had kidney failure, dehydration, he lost 15 pounds.

The DEA apologized to Chong. At justice department investigation ensued. Neither the DEA nor the justice department will comment now beyond that. But Chong's lawyers say that because no criminal intent was found, no one would be prosecuted.

Chong and his lawyers say they do believe it was all accidental. Martin Horn who ran the New York City department of corrections says a key question is whether DEA had ruled in place for incarceration.

MARTIN HORN, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: They are an investigations agency. They're not a corrections agency. They are neither equipped nor trained nor organized to super vise people who are held in confinement.

TODD: One of Chong's lawyers says at the time he was held there were no written policies on the treatment of DEA detainees but as a result of this case she says the agency has put new rules in place to make sure they're treated humanely.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Breaking new details on the closures of 22 embassies and consulates. What is going on and who might this affect? Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN's breaking news.

WHITFIELD: All right, new details now on the widespread U.S. embassy closures. The U.S. state department announcing today that it will close more embassies and consulates, unclear how many more right now. And it is also extending the closures of some of the 22 already shutdown today. Some of those embassies and consulates remaining closed now until Saturday. U.S. State Department said it was not an indication of a new threat several embassies that were closed today will reopen tomorrow, including those in Baghdad and Kabul.

All right. In light of the new threat from al Qaeda, we wanted to take a closer look at whether that terrorist group is getting stronger. Listen to what President Obama said about al Qaeda back in October during his re-election campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said we'd refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11 and we have. And today, a new tower rises above the New York skyline and al Qaeda's on the path to defeat and Osama bin Laden is dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in CNN security analyst Peter Bergen. So Peter, you hear the president say that last fall that al Qaeda was on the path to defeat but now you see this. Is this a result of a reorganization of al Qaeda? Does it appear as though it is still a threat or even more so of a threat than it once was even with the removal of Osama bin Laden and many of the lieutenants?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Fredericka, as a factual matter al Qaeda hasn't attacked the United States since 9/11. It hasn't attacked in the west since July 7th, 2005. And under the Obama administration, almost the entire top leadership has either been killed in drone strikes or in the case of bin Laden killed in a U.S. Navy S.E.A.L raid and the documents recovered at the bin Laden compound with bin Laden and other leaders wrote paint an organization that well understood the pressures they were under and thinking about moving the organization from western Pakistan where all the drones are concentrated in to a remote area of Afghanistan, a web of the al Qaeda brand has been very tarnished by the actions of al Qaeda in Iraq, et cetera, et cetera.

So that portrait doesn't necessarily conflict with the fact that CNN is reporting a message was intercepted between senior al Qaeda members about an attack in some unspecified area of the world in the middle east or Asia. Those things aren't necessarily contradictory. I mean organizations that are very weak are still capable of committing terrorist acts somewhere in the world.

WHITFIELD: So the gravity of this global threat, is there any real parallel to the power or the greatness or the capability of al Qaeda today in your view?

BERGEN: Parallel to what?

WHITFIELD: Well, this is a global threat that is impacting so many countries including that of the United States. You have France. You have Germany and even Great Britain that are also closing embassies in Yemen and you have to wonder as though this is a response to a very serious threat that is an indicator that al Qaeda or at least these extremist groups have regained strength if they are certainly a force, you know, that has to be taken very seriously. This is an unprecedented level of closures involving embassies and consulates.

BERGEN: Sure. But in the political environment here is post-Benghazi. No one wants to go to Capitol Hill a year from testifying about any form of an attack on any American government facility anywhere in the world which they could have preempted by closure or these kinds of actions that we have seen.

I think if you do the thought experiment with Benghazi hadn't happened, clearly this as you point out unprecedented closures wouldn't have happened. Typically when we have had these kinds of threats, the information is quite specific and its particular country and you get a closure of embassy and consulate facilities in a particular country.

This is a generalized threat. But does it mean that al Qaeda is back? There's no logical consistency between the idea that there is a threat from these groups and that somehow that they're back at some status as they were around the time of 9/11. That doesn't make sense.

WHITFIELD: In your view has al Qaeda or terrorist organizations that have branched off from al Qaeda in any way morphed in to something different, more sophisticated, reportedly there's this use or possible reported use of surgically implanted bombs. Is this an indications, are these indications that this group has become more fortified, more sophisticated in your view?

BERGEN: No, I think the reverse. Al Qaeda in the Raven Peninsula which has got this very sophisticated bomb maker who has implanted bombs in underwear although I don't think there's any evidence that he's been able to put a bomb in somebody's -- actual inside somebody's body because there are all sorts of problems with detonating such a device.

You know, this group is zero for four in its attempts to kill people with these devices. They try to kill the Saudi minister responsible for terrorism. That didn't work. They tried to blow up Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. That didn't work. They tried to blow up cargo planes going into the United States in 2010. That didn't work. They had a plan that was actually infatuated by British and Saudi intelligence to try and put a bomb on another American plane. So far that is a record shorts, ingenious these bombs, because so far they haven't been able to do anything with them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Peter Bergen thanks so much for your insight. Good to see you.

BERGEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We're hearing now new news in this sports world that New York Yankee's third baseman A-Rod is about to be suspended. But he'll also be in the lineup for tomorrow night when the Yankees play the White Sox. So how does that work? We'll explain. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Christiane Amanpour and this is CNN.

WHITFIELD: The lights may be off on Capitol Hill this week but that doesn't mean it is going to be a quiet week politically. There are threats of protests against Obama's health care, presidential road trip and the return of Mitt Romney. Political editor Paul Steinhauser has it all in this week's "Political look ahead."

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey Fred. It's August and Capitol Hill's quiet as lawmakers head back to their home districts and states for summer recess. The big question -- will we see a repeat of this?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Get off of me!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEINHAUSER: Those were the Tea Party protests against Obama care, congressional town halls four Augusts ago. Conservative groups say they're planning a repeat performance with pro-Obama groups saying they plan to be out in force in supporting the health care law. Talking about the president, Tuesday he heads to Arizona to talk about the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Growing the economy, making sure that the middle class is strong is like getting in shape.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEINHAUSER: Then it's on to Los Angeles later in the day as he joins Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." The man he beat last year is back in the political spotlight this week. Mitt Romney is the main attraction at a GOP Party reception in New Hampshire. It is the first fund-raiser he has headlined since his election lost last November. Two Republicans who may run for president in 2016, Rick Sanatorium and Ted Cruz show up at the end of the social gathering in you guessed it, Iowa.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: Of course, it is always Iowa. Thanks so much, Paul Steinhauser.

All right. A baseball superstar reportedly suspended from the game. But A-Rod is still planning to play tomorrow night. So how is he going to do that? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Fans of CBS programming in several major cities are pretty upset about now. Time Warner cable and CBS television at odds over transmission fees. So Time Warner cable has dropped CBS stations in some of the biggest cities. Here's Alina Cho.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Turn on the nation's number one network CBS in New York, L.A. and six other major cities and this is what you will see. No programming, just a slate. With a Time Warner cable logo and a scathing open letter that reads in part, CBS has made outrageous demands for the programming that it delivers free over the air and online. Requiring us to remove their stations from your lineup while we continue to negotiate for fair and reasonable terms.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I think it's a travesty. I love CBS.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Oh it is annoying. You know it is like everything, a ton of stuff that I watch. You know? CBS. That's the main annoying thing. David Letterman, I'm about ready to lose my mind.

CHO: For golf fans, no PGA Tour this weekend. No "Big Brother" or "The Mentalist." Not even this "60 Minutes." Roughly 3 million customers affected also lose access to CBS-owned premium networks like Showtime and the movie channel. Why is this happening? The fight is over retransmission fees. The millions cable networks are required to pay broadcasters in exchange for their content.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I mean I pay $200 a month. That's, you know, a lot of money so my thing is, for that kind of money it better work when I want it to work.

CHO: The contract between CBS and Time Warner cable expired on June 30th. It was extended and extended again but by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Friday; Time Warner had had enough and pulled the plug. CBS says it's the first time in its history the network has been dropped by a cable system. The question is, when will viewers be able to see their favorite shows again? Nobody knows.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Just get over it. Give me my Letterman.

CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And this is shaking up the world of the MLB. A baseball superstar facing suspension from the game for at least a year. A-rod learning his fate now and he is fighting to stay in the game. I'm talking to the reporter who broke this story, when we come right back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. GEORGES BWELLE: For a country like mine, people like to drink, to dance, to enjoy their life. But with policies, they cannot enjoy their life. It's a pleasure to help two or three people that would be great. I saw my father ill for 23 years. Before he passed away I asked him, you see how people suffer to see a doctor? Please, if you graduate to be a doctor, help people. My name is Georges Bwelle. I bring free surgery and health services to people in poor areas.

Beating the drums to say thanks to come. They can leave 60 kilometers around and they come on foot. We are studying. And in an afternoon, they have a list of medications and going to operate. We have a generator. There's no light. We start doing operations until Sunday morning. We are doing around 40 surgical operations for free.

We leave our address to all the patients that if there's any problem they can come back to us. We help people and they are happy. I'm doing that to give them opportunity to restart.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Right back to our breaking story. "USA Today" reporting that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be suspended through the 2014 season. That's suspension coming tomorrow. The paper also says A-Rod will appeal that suspension. And that appeal would leave him eligibility to still play tomorrow night in the Yankees game against the White Sox in Chicago.

BOB NIGHTENGALE, "USA TODAY" SPORTS (via telephone): So let's bring in Bob Nightengale from "USA Today" sports. He actually broke this story. Bob is on the phone with us right now from Chicago. So Bob, the MLB has suspended A-Rod. Based on what?

They believe that he's been lying for years about taking performance- enhancing drugs in the bio genesis investigation. His name is all over the documents. It appears 16 times complete with doping scheduling and everything else. They believe they have a mountain of evidence to suspend him for this long.

WHITFIELD: So name on documents. That in their view is enough despite the fact that he has never actually tested positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, right?

NIGHTENGALE: Correct. They have the director of that clinic, his name is Tony Bars (ph) he is cooperating with major league baseball officials. So they have his testimony and plus records and from other people, as well, that confirm this to major league baseball, that you guys can suspend him. You have enough proof. WHITFIELD: So Bob, in today's "The New York Times" it was reported that his attorneys, A-Rod's attorneys, have been meeting with the MLB. So is it likely in the works or part of the discussions were if he is indeed suspended and if he were to appeal he would still be allowed to play say for instance in tomorrow's Yankees-White Sox game?

NIGHTENGALE: Yes. He'll still be allowed to play. He was trying to negotiate a settlement of being less games. He was thinking more like 100 games or 50 games and baseball said, no, we are sticking to this. And now they have stopped all talks whatsoever and tomorrow sometime in the afternoon they're going to announce these suspensions for Alex Rodriguez plus nine other players.

WHITFIELD: Do you have any idea who the other players might be?

NIGHTENGALE: Yes. And no, not as big of stars as Rodriguez, but Nelson Cruz from the Texas Rangers. Johnny Peralta from the Detroit Tigers. Those type of players. Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees. But nine or ten in all.

WHITFIELD: So A-Rod is the big fish here. So has he really been injured? He has been playing in the minor leagues or was this part of the plan so as to bring maybe an easy blow to the Yankees team or even to the fans? Could there be a real link here?

NIGHTENGALE: Well, he was upset. He thought they should send him back earlier that he was healthy enough to play. He had hip surgery in January and almost about to come back when on July fourth weekend when he had an injury and so now it's been delayed and he says I'm healthy. The Yankees say, OK, looks like you are. So all plans are that he'll be in Chicago tonight suiting up to be in the starting lineup tomorrow night against the White Sox.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Healthy enough to be suspended but then still be able to play because he's appealing. Bob Nightengale with "USA Today" sports thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it for bringing this breaking story to us.

NIGHTENGALE: Fred, pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: OK. Still talking about sports. In a way. Next week, how about the PGA? How about Walt Disney and the Obama family? What do all those things have in common? All part of our week ahead, that is straight ahead next.

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WHITFIELD: Crews make a disturbing discovery on board a North Korean ship seized in Panama. That starts our look at the week ahead. Inspectors from the U.S. and the United Nations are expected in Panama tomorrow to look at that ship recently live munitions, Soviet-era missile equipment and fighter jets were found hidden under tons of brown sugar.

On Tuesday, opening statements begin in the trial of suspected Ft. Hood gunman Major Nidal Hassan. Hassan is accused of opening fire on soldiers at the Ft. Hood Military Base in Texas in November of 2009. Thirteen people were killed. More than 30 others wounded.

On Thursday, the 95th PGA Championship gets started at the Oakhill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Phil Mickelson fresh off his British Open win will be there along with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. We'll have live updates throughout the championship so stay with us.

On Friday, it's the ultimate Disney fan event. The d 23 Expo is happening in Anaheim, California. Thousands of fans go there to meet Disney stars and get behind the scenes details of their favorite shows.

And on Saturday, President Obama and his family head to Martha's Vineyard. It's become the annual summer vacation spot except last year when he was on the campaign trail.

All right. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at the top stories and more straight ahead with my colleague Anna Coren in New York.