Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bomb Squad Frees Australian Teen; Dow Could Equal 33-Year Record; Hosni Mubarak Caged at Trial; Attorney General Eric Holder Press Conference: "We Will Find You, We Will Stop You"; Keeping Your Debt Under Control; Philadelphia Eagles Player Collapses; New Details on Bin Laden Raid Continue to Emerge

Aired August 03, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Live from Studio 7, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.

Let's get you up to speed for this Wednesday, August 3rd.

We have just gotten confirmation that bomb squad officers in Australia have secured the safety of an 18-year-old girl who was in a house with a suspicious device attached to her. The operation to free her lasted several hours. They say her life was potentially at risk.

Nearby houses have been evacuated and neighboring streets closed off. I'll talk to our reporter there in just a few minutes.

And stocks across the board are lower today. Investors are worried about the weak economy and the debt deal that has done very little to reassure the markets. The Dow has been down for eight sessions in a row now and has fallen more than six percent over the last eight trading days. Right now you're seeing the Dow at 11,796, down 69 -- oh, now down 70 points.

So far, U.S. rating agencies have not downgraded the country's credit rating. Moody's and Fitch both confirm the country's AAA status for now. But Standard & Poor's has not announced its decision as yet. A Chinese rating agency has downgraded the U.S. from A-plus to A.

The trial of Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak adjourned just a few hours ago. The ailing 83-year-old was wheeled into court on a gurney, then put in a cage for the first day of proceedings. Mubarak faces the death penalty if convicted of corruption and conspiring to kill protesters. His two sons and former interior minister are also on trial. All have pleaded not guilty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What do you say?

HOSNI MUBARAK, FMR. EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I deny all these charges completely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And to the crisis in Syria. It is worsening there.

A resident who fled the besieged city of Hama says corpses remain on the ground after tanks rolled in to crush going unrest. We're told people are running out of food and being cut off from communications.

U.N. Security Council members plan to meet for a third day to discuss the crisis. A human rights group says almost 2,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March.

And parts of the northern Caribbean are bracing for possible floods and mudslides from Tropical Storm Emily. Right now, Emily is heading toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It's expected to dump up to 10 inches of rain on both countries and Puerto Rico as well.

This, by tomorrow. Forecasters expect Emily to be hitting the Bahamas. By the weekend, it could be skirting Florida's east coast.

Texas could use some of the rain from Tropical Storm Emily. It is so hot and dry, the town of Robert Lee is running out of water. Right now it is down to less than one percent of its normal supply. The town gets its water from a lake, and it's almost dry after months of drought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOHN JACOBS, ROBERT LEE, TEXAS: Surprise. This is west Texas. It quits raining at times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If no rain comes through, where are you guys going to get it from?

JACOBS: I have no idea, to be honest. I don't know where you would go to find somebody that had excess water.

SANDIE ROE, ROBERT LEE RESIDENT: All of us have wasted so much in our time and in our life, that if we wouldn't have, none of us would be going through this right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A homeless man ordered by the courts to keep away from the White House jumped the fence and triggered a lockdown last night. He is being charged with unlawful entry and contempt. It all unfolded live during CNN's "JOHN KING USA" program. Here's how it went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING USA": The Secret Service has just rushed out of the White House moments ago. Guns drawn is the part that is interesting.

I covered this building for eight years. You see right there someone has jumped the fence. You saw on the video here, crawling on the fence. Sometimes this happens, unfortunately, as a stunt. It has happened in the past, something more serious. You see the person has been told by the Secret Service to lie on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. And let's now get back to the developing story out of Australia, where police say an 18-year-old girl is safe now after having a suspicious device strapped to her.

CNN's Hugh Williams is there and joins us by phone.

So, Hugh, is the bomb squad still inside the house?

HUGH WILLIAMS, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, currently, the situation is that quite a lot of the fire department and detectives that were here at the scene have now left. The police came out and told us that the woman has been released from this incredibly delicate and dangerous situation inside her house, in this very rich neighborhood of Sydney, a very an affluent neighborhood.

Essentially, what has happened is this woman has now been released after almost 10 hours and is safely back with her family. The deputy police commissioner said that she had been sitting in a very uncomfortable situation all afternoon. And because of that, she had been taken to hospital for a checkup by the doctors.

So it's still unclear whether this device, which the police refuse to call an actual bomb, was in fact attached to her, or she was sitting on it. They only were able to say that it was in her vicinity.

But needless to say, it was an extremely difficult and dangerous situation. All precautions were taken. It was extremely distressing for the girl. She was with negotiators all of the day while detectives worked on the crime aspect and the bomb squad worked on diffusing this device.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Hugh, you said the crime aspect, so that means someone allegedly put this bomb on her. Can you kind of take us back into how this even happened? Where did this device -- I guess the police are not calling it a bomb -- where did this device come from, and why her?

WILLIAMS: There are reports that say that this girl was in the house alone this afternoon, called the police at about 2:30 saying that a man had contact with her. And she was left alone with this device, which other rumors spread was also attached to a note in what some are saying is an extortion attempt.

Now, this is just sort of hearsay about the situation that explains what the police aren't telling. So it's been kind of difficult to figure out exactly what has been going on behind the scenes, as this neighborhood has essentially been in a complete lockdown with roadblocks. They declared a no-fly zone over the area for news helicopters. Neighbors were told to stay in their homes, also kept away from their homes. And essentially, this all happening in an extremely sort of affluent neighborhood in Sydney, a very bizarre scene, really.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned she's of an affluent family, or the neighborhood is affluent. Does her identity or her family's identity bring some real significance to most people knowing who they are?

WILLIAMS: Well, there's been a bit of a difficult question. People here in the neighborhood have been very tight-lipped.

There has been a group near the barricades where the media have been set up that appear to have known her, but they did not -- no one has confirmed the identity of the girl, nor the family. It's only known that he was a businessman, perhaps, but what the motive is for this to happen has certainly not been released by the police. I believe it's sort of part of their investigation, they don't want to jeopardize that by giving out too much information.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Hugh Williams, for that update out of Sydney. Appreciate that. A bizarre situation.

All right. Here now is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question: Do we expect too much of our political leaders?

Carol Costello joins us now from New York with more on this -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I feel things being thrown at my right now, but we're going to stick with that question. I know. OK. So let's get going.

Well, the pundits argue over who won debtzilla. One thing is clear. If President Obama wants a second term, he has his work cut out for him.

His approval rating is at 45 percent in the latest CNN/ORC poll. And in the swing state of Pennsylvania, things have sure changed since 2008, when President Obama got 55 percent of the vote.

According to a Quinnipiac poll, 52 percent of Pennsylvanians say the president does not deserve to be re-elected. Independents, they're not happy with the president either.

Joan Walsh writes on Salon.com, "Obama's best hope for re- election is the fact that Generic Republican won't win the nomination. He'll be running against either a Tea Party extremist or Mitt Romney. And in most polls he beats both of them."

None of this is so unusual. Past presidents had great swings in the polls and they managed a second term. And in fairness, Mr. Obama knew the road would be rocky on election night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be step. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But are we willing to keep on climbing? With high unemployment and a stalled economy, Americans are impatient. And that sentiment seems bipartisan.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says the atmosphere is toxic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Many people in my party, the Republican Party, are unrealistic. And what they want is something that no one can deliver, and that's a candidate that is going to solve every problem in an election cycle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, the "Talk Back" question today: Do we expect too much of our political leaders?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read some of your comments later this hour.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you're really asking for it, you know.

COSTELLO: Especially after "debtzilla," right?

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right, Carol. We look forward to the comments.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. So the U.S. avoids defaulting on its bills, but the debt deal that averted a default didn't really fix the long-term problems. And there's concern about how the deal will affect the already struggling economy.

Over the next two hours, we're going to take an in-depth look at what the debt deal could mean for the stock market, your personal finances, unemployment, small businesses, and hospitals.

We begin with Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange with a check on the markets.

So, Alison, it looks like another tough day is shaping up, even though the dip is a lot lower than we have seen. But the day is young. ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, stocks are off their lows, but they're still in the red. You know what? We're watching the Dow, and if it closes in the red, it's going to be the ninth straight day in a row that the blue chips have lost ground.

And get this -- it's been more than three decades since we have seen this kind of losing streak. So this is really kind of incredible here.

Investors and every day Americans are worried that this economic recovery is stalling out. This is after we have been getting a series of reports showing just how weak the economy is.

We got weak reports on spending, manufacturing, and economic growth. Now we're hearing the r-word being tossed around. Economists and traders that I'm talking to are saying, you know what? The odds are increasing for another recession.

Plus, Moody's has stamped the credit rating with a negative outlook. But we did get a bit of good news I want to tell you about, some upbeat jobs data from ADP, reporting that private employers added 114,000 jobs in July. But remember this, ADP was way off the mark in June, so investors, they're not putting too much stock in this reading.

They really are waiting for the official jobs report. That's coming in on Friday. They're waiting for that report before they make any big moves maybe in a different direction -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. And let's talk about the U.S. credit rating. Is there still a possibility of a downgrade? And what would that mean for consumers?

KOSIK: Yes. You know what? The possibility is still there.

And Moody's came out yesterday saying, you know what, U.S.? You can keep your AAA rating, but we're going to give you a negative outlook. And what that pretty much is, is it's putting the U.S. on probation. It means that the U.S. credit rating still can be downgraded in the next couple of years.

Now, of course a big thing many people worry about is, if there's a downgrade, what all of that would mean for their credit card rates. And if the U.S. is eventually downgraded by one of the three big rating agencies, they could see a rise in rates on their cards.

But remember, credit card interest rates, they're tied to what's called the prime rate. And it's widely used by banks and tied to the fed funds rate that's set by the Federal Reserve.

So you're really not going to see these rates violently change unless the Fed makes a move first. And we all know that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, he's not known for making these rash decisions.

So, either way, you won't get socked with a rate hike overnight, thanks to those new credit card rules that went into effect last year. But your credit card provider first has to give you a 45-day heads up before they change your terms.

So, you're not going to be looking at your bill next week, Fredricka, and be facing a huge interest rate hike. Plus, any rate increase only applies to future purchases, not your existing balances.

And the same thing goes for mortgage rates, Fredricka. So, if you have a fixed-rate loan, that's not going to change. But if you are looking to take out a new mortgage, those rates could go up -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot of comforting words there for a lot of folks, I know.

Thanks so much, Alison Kosik. Appreciate that.

KOSIK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, from the stock market to your personal finances, we're going to talk with a money expert about the debt deal and what it means for your money. That's coming up in less than 15 minutes from now.

Time to go "X Country" for stories CNN affiliates are covering right now.

First stop, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to kill me! No, they're trying to kill me! No!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A man being sentenced for pointing a gun at a police officer was so disruptive, that court officials tied him to a chair and then put this motorcycle helmet on him to muffle his screaming. They say it was for his own safety.

And on to Pennsylvania now. A massive fire destroyed a recycling plant in Plainfield Township. The blaze raged for hours. It took about 200 firefighters from five different counties to put the fire out. No one was hurt.

And in New York, it's a nice change from having a pigeon on your window sill. Take a look at that. Yes, a peacock, well it went AWOL Tuesday from a zoo in Central Park. It camped out for a while on a Fifth Avenue building and then flew home this morning. Twitter users set up two accounts for this bird.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISTAIR REID, TOURIST: I was on my way to the park, and I just stopped by and I saw it. I saw the crowd first, and so I was wondering what was going on. And everyone was looking up, and sure enough, there was a peacock up there. It's just one of those things you don't see very often.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But only in New York.

Meantime, warnings are up in the northern Caribbean as Tropical Storm Emily churns toward that area.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. From president to prisoner to caged defendant, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's humiliating first day on trial. I'll talk to our reporter who was inside that courtroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It was quite the spectacle. Egypt's deposed president, Hosni Mubarak, was wheeled into court on a gurney, then put in a cage to be tried on charges of corruption and conspiring to kill protesters. His sons, now co-defendants, accompanied their father inside the metal cage. They were all wearing white prison uniforms.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen was inside the courtroom, and he joins us now, live from Cairo.

So, Fred, tell us what you saw.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly was a shocking sight to see Hosni Mubarak come into that courtroom, Fredricka, being wheeled, as you said, on that gurney. And there was just -- the whole air about it was just absolutely shocking, the way that he looked, how weak he seemed.

He only spoke once during the entire trial when he was asked how he responded to the charges against him. And he said -- he denied all the charges, but in such a weak voice.

And the interesting thing is, Fredricka, I spoke to some of the lawyers who were also present, and these are people who are with the prosecution, who are demanding a death sentence for Hosni Mubarak. And even they said they felt sorry for him.

They said that he looked absolutely frail. They said they didn't believe that he was going to be in as bad a state as he is actually is.

And this, of course -- we always have to keep in mind how people here in Egypt and around the world know this man. I mean, this was one of the most important powerbrokers in the Middle East. This was a man who met with American presidents and spoke to them, whose word counted for American presidents. And now he's in this state in a courtroom.

There certainly are a lot of people here in Egypt who are absolutely shocked by what they saw no matter which side of the equation they are on, because this is a very divisive trial here in Egypt where many people believe that Hosni Mubarak shouldn't be put on trial, but a lot of people also feel that he should be brought to justice, especially for what happened during the revolution here in January of this year, when, of course, a lot of protesters were shot by police officers -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, Fred, just looking at him and looking at how frail he is, do people believe that his frailty will allow him to actually survive this trial?

PLEITGEN: Well, that's a very good question, and certainly one that a lot of people are asking within the courtroom. And it really isn't clear whether or not that's going to be the case. And a lot of it, of course, will depend on how long this trial goes on.

Now, what happened today is that the proceedings began, there was some petitions filed by both sides, the prosecution, as well as the defense. And then the court was adjourned, at least for the Hosni Mubarak trial itself. There are other people who are on trial as well. But for Hosni Mubarak and his sons, the court was adjourned until August 15th.

And at that stage it's going to continue. It will probably be adjourned after that again.

So this could actually drag on for months, and no one's really sure whether or not Hosni Mubarak is indeed going to survive that period of time. His health has always been something of a state secret here in Egypt, and so it's very unclear in what bad a state he actually is in. There's talk of cancer, there's talk of him going into comas. It really isn't clear how long this man is going to be able to stay alive -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much in Cairo. Appreciate that.

All right. Three great stories, but only one can air. We're giving you a chance to "Choose the News." So here are your choices.

First, the anti-hackers, computer geeks at UC Santa Barbara are trying to find the holes in online security systems before the hackers do.

Second, the global economy isn't without irony. Meet the man who's making chopsticks in the United States and selling them to China.

Or third, 10 young survivors of the Haiti earthquake get a VIP tour of Yankee Stadium.

You can vote by texting "223360." Text "1" for the Anti-Hackers; "2" for the Ironic Chopstick Importer; or "3" for Quake Victims Touring Yankee Stadium.

The winning story airs next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on next.

How the debt deal affect your finances and what to do about it.

Then, a fascinating new account of what went down the day U.S. SEALs shot Osama bin Laden.

And then later, a mayor rolled the tank to get tough on illegal parking.

All right. The 11th hour agreement to avoid a government default is a done deal but figuring out what it means is quite another story. Today we're taking an in-depth look about how the debt deal could affect the stock market, your personal finances, unemployment, small businesses and hospitals. Right now the focus is on your money.

Joining us right now is money expert and author Clyde Anderson.

All right. Give us your first take on this debt deal in a nutshell.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCE EXPERT: It's bought some time. It's bought us a little bit of time to kind of get through so we don't lose our AAA rating right now so we can get through that point. But we kind of started paying on it. We talked about how it's like paying the minimum on a credit card. You know, it's going to take some time over -- but we've got to come up with something different so that's going to really make a dent. But we don't have the money, so that's the issue.

WHITFIELD: So in your view, this debt deal really was to make sure that we didn't go into default as a nation but not necessarily fix all the other problems --

ANDERSON: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Or how we spend --

ANDERSON: Exactly. You can't fix all the problems immediately so we've got big problems that we have to address but it is something that fixes it for right now. It's a temporary solution.

WHITFIELD: All right. So let's talk about what we should be doing, just regular folks, what do we do and how do we start thinking and planning? Do we need to focus primarily on kind of those long- term investments?

ANDERSON: You have to.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- about the here and now.

ANDERSON: You have to. You have to look at long-term investments and we've got to go back, you know. We've really got to look at where we were before and where we've come from. We haven't been in this kind of situation in a long time. When you look at the staples, the things that last, so if I'm talking about, I want to look at companies that still have the AAA rating, like Microsoft has this AAA rating. It's interesting when you read that Apple has more money or more cash reserves right now than the U.S. government.

WHITFIELD: They're doing a lot right.

ANDERSON: They're doing a lot right and so we can learn from them. But those are some of the things. You want to look at companies like that. You want to look at companies like your Johnson & Johnson, the companies that have been there. I always tell people, invest in what you use. So if you're using these products, you might want to invest in them, as well. These are staples that have been around. They've stood the test of time and so you want to look at those things.

WHITFIELD: If you like them, you use them, that may be your investment.

ANDERSON: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: So what about gold? Hot and cold. Where are we now? Is it hot or is it cold?

ANDERSON: Well, you know, gold always does well when there's uncertainty in the market. And right now we've had a lot of uncertainty in the market and a lot of people saying well, we're fixed. This is -- again this is a temporary solution. So I still think gold is great. We're still at $1,600 an ounce for gold. So I think for the next five years, the outlook on gold is great and it's definitely something you want to talk to your broker about and consider investing in some gold.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Real estate. Sometimes people look at that as an investment. Things are -- I mean, prices are so low. Is this one of those things?

ANDERSON: It's a great time to buy real estate. Interest rates are still low and with this debt deal I think they're going to stay low for a little bit longer. So this is a great time -- if you're considering purchasing even a car or a home. This is the time to do it. So if you're looking at houses, houses are on sale. America is on sale. Land is at a great price.

WHITFIELD: Except might there be a little spike in the interest rates on those things if you're talking about new mortgage, new car loans?

ANDERSON: Well not right now. Right now, rates are still great. We're at an all-time low. So we're going to do higher. We've got to go. We have nowhere else to go but higher. So they're going to go higher. But if you're talking right now to be able to go in and invest in some real estate, this is the time to do it and lock in.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Clyde Anderson, good to see you.

ANDERSON: Good to see you, as well.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

ANDERSON: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Love the free money advice.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: All right.

WHITFIELD: We always like that.

And, of course we'll have more on our in-depth look at the debt deal and its impact the next hour. A look at how it could affect unemployment and the job market.

And they got a debt deal through, but Congress went on summer break without taking care of another very important order of business. Extending funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. Like the debt debate, the holdup comes down to a bitter stalemate between Democrats and Tea Party Republicans. So, how does this affect you?

Tens of thousands of jobs are already at stake. Already 4,000 FAA workers are on furlough. And according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, around 70,000 airport construction workers are also being sidelined. It's also hitting the federal government which is expected to lose $1.2 billion in revenues if the issue remains unresolved until Congress comes back from break.

So yesterday we spoke with FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt who said the situation is appalling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY BABBITT, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: This can't go on a day longer, much less six weeks longer. We're going to suffer a lot of long-term damage. We have billions of dollars in construction money that should be going out the door that's not. This is money that's available, it's simply we can't spend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Ted Rowlands is live at O'Hare airport in Chicago.

So Ted, what does this stalemate mean for people where you are?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these construction jobs, Fredericka, there's 200 projects across the country, a couple of them here at O'Hare that have been completely stopped while this impasse continues and while Congress is out on their August break.

So you're talking about not only hundreds of millions of dollars that aren't being spent and being put into local economies around the country, but you're talking about real problems from people who have lost their jobs, not only the FAA workers but all of the 70,000-plus construction workers that right now, during this time period, are not going to work and they're not getting paid.

One thing we should point out for people that are planning to travel, you see the security line behind me here at O'Hare Airport. This is not affected and safety is not affected, according to the FAA. The people in the air traffic control towers are paid from a different pot of money and the TSA folks also are not affected by this. So if you're traveling, you don't have to worry about delays or anything else.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot of people watching, you know, Ted, want to know if this situation could affect the safety on their flights, as well.

What are you hearing?

ROWLANDS: Well, like I said, there's no problem right now with the FAA. They say that don't worry about it. If you're traveling and if you're planning a trip right now, don't be concerned because the FAA has been destabilized through this funding nightmare, that you're going to be unsafe somehow.

They have -- in fact, some of their essential employees, folks that go out and look at airports and look at the runways and the control towers, those folks are working without getting paid in the interim here because they are considered essential. The nonessential employees are staying home, though.

But the bottom line is, don't be fearful if you're traveling, it's absolutely safe.

WHITFIELD: Ted Rowlands, thanks so much from O'Hare in Chicago. Appreciate that.

Meantime we want to show you this live shot out of Washington, D.C., where the Department of Justice, it will be holding a press conference momentarily to make an announcement about a big dent being made in a global child pornography ring. Apparently some 72 people have been charged and 52 of those persons have actually been arrested in connection with this child pornography ring bust. Of course when this press conference happens, when we get more information, we'll bring that to you right away.

Right now we're going to take a short break and then back in the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Straight to Washington now, Attorney General Eric Holder on that child pornography ring bust.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: -- customs enforcement my good friend John Morton.

We are here to announce the results to date, and I emphasize to date, of Operation Delego, a critical and ongoing investigation that was launched in December 2009. This operation targeted hundreds of individuals in countries around the world for their alleged participation in Dream Board, a private members only, online bulletin board that was created and operated to promote pedophilia and to encourage the sexual abuse of very young children.

Utilizing sophisticated techniques to avoid law enforcement detection, the Dream Board members allegedly traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting young children, often violently, and created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse.

The rules of Dream Board were clear, and they encouraged and incentivized the creation of child pornography. According to our indictments, in order to become part of the Dream Board community, prospective members were required to upload pornography portraying children under 12 years of age or younger. Once given access, participants had to continually upload pictures of child sexual abuse in order to maintain membership. The more content they provided the more they were allowed access. And members who created and shared images and videos of themselves molesting children received elevated status and greater access.

Some of the children featured in these images and videos were just infants. And in many cases, the children being victimized were in obvious and also intentional pain, even in distress and crying, just as the rules for one area of the bulletin board mandated. They had to be in distress and crying.

Dream Board's creators and members lived all over the world but they allegedly were united by a disturbing belief that the sexual abuse of children was proper conduct that should not be criminalized and some even referred to their own creation, dissemination and collection of child pornography as a hobby.

To put it simply, we have charged that these individuals shared a dream to create the preeminent online community for the promotion of child sexual exploitation. But for the children they victimized, this was nothing short of a nightmare.

Needless to say in the Justice Department's work to combat child exploitation and abuse, the conduct alleged in the indictments unsealed today is unconscionable. But as a result of Operation Delego, I am pleased to announce that 72 defendants have been charged. As of this morning, 52 of them have been arrested and we are working with our partners and international counterparts to identify and apprehend the defendant who is remain at large.

Operation Delego represents the largest prosecution in history of individuals who participated in an online child exploitation enterprise conceived and operated for the sole purpose of promoting child sexual abuse, disseminating child pornography and evading law enforcement. Already 13 of those charged have pled not guilty and four individuals have received sentences of 20 to 30 years in prison.

This successful operation marks another step forward in our work to protect children across and beyond our country. Not only does it build on the process that has been made through the department's Project Safe Childhood Initiative and the results that we achieved through Operation Nest Egg and Operation Joint Hammer in disrupting child pornography trafficking, it also reflects the fact that exactly one year after the department unveiled a national strategy for child exploitation prevention and interdiction, our commitment to safeguarding our children and to bringing criminals who exploit our kids is even stronger. And our efforts in this area have never been more aggressive, more collaborative or more effective.

With this latest operation we are calling on the public to be vigilant in protecting our children and in reporting criminal activity. And because Dream Board members have been arrested on five continents, in 14 different countries, I believe we're also sending a strong message to those who are willing to harm and to exploit children and who attempt to hide their activities from law enforcement.

We will find you. We will stop you and we will bring you to justice.

Our nation's fight to protect the rights, interests and the safety of our children goes on and it will continue to be a top priority.

I want to thank everyone involved in this operation for the great work, as well as for their continuing efforts.

(END COVERAGE)

WHITFIELD: Attorney General Eric Holder there in Washington, D.C. calling these acts nothing short of a nightmare, talking about the bust of a pornography ring including by recruiting people who were interested in pedophilia. And in the end of this operation, they charged 72 people and they have arrested 52 as of this morning.

***30

With this later -- latest operation, we are calling on the public to be vigilant in protecting our children and in reporting criminal activity.

And because Dream board members have been arrested on five continents, in 14 different countries, I believe we're also sending a strong message to those who are willing to harm and to exploit children and who attempt to hide their activities from law enforcement.

We will find you, we will stop you and we will bring you to justice. Our nation's fight to protect the rights, interests and the safety of our children goes on and it will continue to be a top priority.

I want to thank everyone involved in this operation for the great work as well as for their continuing efforts.

WHITFIELD: Attorney General Eric Holder there in Washington, D.C. calling these acts nothing short of a nightmare, talking about the bust of a pornography ring be recruiting people who are interested in pedophilia. And in the end of this operation, they charged 72 people and they have arrested 52 as of this morning.

We will continue to monitor this situation and this operation now that they are concluding out of Washington.

More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, remember, we're giving you a chance to "Choose the News," you can vote by texting "22630."

Vote "1" for the anti-hackers, computer geeks trying to beat hackers to the punch to protect your private information.

Text "2" for the made in America chop sticks. The Chinese use 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year and one businessman here in the U.S. is getting in on the action.

Or text "3" for 10 young survivors of the Haiti quake getting a surprise tour of Yankee Stadium.

The winning story airs next hour.

OK, so while the country tries to figure out how to pay its bills, you may be having the same problem. If your debt turns into a crisis and you stop paying, your wages could be garnished.

So Alison Kosik joins us with some tips on keeping your debt under control -- Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

And many people may not realize it, but if you've got unpaid debt like credit cards, car loans, home loans or medical bills and you have let them go for an extended period, creditors may actually be able to take part of your paycheck.

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, she's a personal finance author and founder of AsktheMoneyCoach.com, says, first, creditors can only garnish your wages if they have gotten a court order to do so in most cases. Now it's usually a last resort by creditors, so if you have been ignoring your calls or their mail for a long time, they could pursue garnishment -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: OK, so it's a very serious matter, and you also say garnishment can impact your job, obviously your spouse as well. Give me details on that.

KOSIK: Exactly, but keep in mind, you know, a garnishment doesn't happen overnight and Cox says you'll have enough notice that it's going to be happening.

But if your wages are garnished, your employer will become aware of your situation, which Cox says could make you appear irresponsible or untrustworthy at your job.

But if you don't have a job, Cox says, in most circumstances, unemployment benefits are exempt from garnishment, but severance from an earlier job may not be.

Also, if you have a joint bank account with your spouse where you both deposit your incomes to, creditors, they could be able to take from that account as well.

Keep in mind, though, every situation is different, so the advice is contact an attorney or get legal advice for your situation -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alison Kosik, thank you so much, appreciate that.

We'll have much more in the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You have been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question: Do we expect too much of our political leaders? Carol Costello has your responses.

Something tells me you got an ear full.

COSTELLO: Actually, very measured responses. I should have known better, yes.

This from Jay, "I am voting for President Obama," he says. "Why not? I want to give President Obama the same amount of years to fix the problems that President Bush was given to create it."

This from Keith, "He should not have been able to even think about a second term. The president doesn't respect this country or anyone that is a true citizen. He has got to go while we still have something left to rebuild upon."

This from Nick, "People definitely expect too much of the president economic-wise. We have Capitalism, which means there isn't much the president can do to control the market. If he doesn't do something, they say he is letting the country fail. If he does try to do something, they say it's Socialism."

And this from Kim, "We expect far too little from them, and we get exactly that. When you've got polls showing a solid majority of the American people want the closing of tax loopholes, want tax increases on the rich, want increased revenue -- and it's not even on the table as a negotiating point because a vocal extremist minority faction of the GOP won't support it? Oh, yes, I feel so warm and fuzzy over that one..."

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Keep them coming, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll be back with you, Fredricka, in about 15 minutes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Carol, fair enough. Thanks so much.

All right, so it's been months since the high-profile raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Now we're learning fascinating details about the mission. Why were bin Laden's wives held in a bear hug? That and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, something we're just now learning about. Philadelphia Eagles player Mike Patterson has collapsed from a seizure during morning practice.

It's unclear whether this was heat related. We do understand the temperatures were about 80 degrees this morning on the practice field there outside of Philadelphia. But he has been taken to a hospital.

So again, Philadelphia Eagles player Mike Patterson collapsing from a seizure and has been taken to a nearby hospital, this according to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, we will continue to follow this story and update you as the information becomes available.

All right, meantime, three months after Osama bin Laden was killed, "The New Yorker" magazine has reported riveting new details about the U.S. raid that finally brought down the world's most wanted terrorist.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Less than 18 minutes into the 38-minute raid came the crucial moment. Navy SEALs had fought their way through Osama bin Laden's compound, killed his courier, the courier's brother and bin Laden's son. They blasted through cage-like metal gates on the stairways.

As a small team of SEALs reached the third floor, one of them turned to his right.

NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE, WRITER, "THE NEW YORKER": He sees this tall individual poking his head out of the door with fist-length beard.

TODD: The SEAL, says Nicholas Schmidle, instantly sensed that was bin Laden.

Schmidle's article in "The New Yorker" magazine presents nuanced, riveting new details of the bin Laden raid. He bases his reporting on sourced conversations with Special Operations officers who had intimate knowledge of the raid.

Schmidle says he did not speak directly with SEALs who carried out the mission. The SEALs' identities are classified.

Some of this detail had already been reported by CNN. Schmidle writes that when the SEALs rushed down the hall and into that room, two of bin Laden's wives had placed themselves between the SEALs and bin Laden.

Newly reported by Schmidle, on account of how the first SEAL into the room had to act in a split second when he encountered bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal.

SCHMIDLE: Amal is yelling hysterically and begins to approach the first SEAL, and the concern is that they're wearing suicide explosive vests. And so he shoots Amal once in the calf to disable her, and then proceeds to grab Amal and the other woman, wrap them in a bear hug and turned his back to the SEALs and sort of push them off to the side.

TODD (on camera): And he holds them there. Why does he do that?

SCHMIDLE: He holds them so that if they explode and they blow up, that he'll soak up the impact of that blast and sort of the mission can then go on behind him.

TODD: He knows he'll die in the process?

SCHMIDLE: Pretty much.

TODD (voice-over): There were no suicide vests on the women.

Then, a second SEAL moved into the room, according to Schmidle, raised his M-4 rifle, trained an infrared laser on Osama bin Laden's chest.

(on camera): Is there anything said at that moment?

SCHMIDLE: There's nothing said. I asked and asked and asked. I kind of wonder whether there was some sort of "Dirty Harry" moment, and there just simply wasn't. It was all split second.

Shoots bin Laden once in the chest and then bin Laden begins falling back, and shoots him once above the left eye and bin Laden falls down, and he steps up and he says on the radio, you know, "For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."

TODD: Geronimo, the code word for the fact that bin Laden had been sighted. Schmidle writes that that SEAL then said, "Geronimo EKIA," enemy killed in action.

(on camera): At that moment, back at the White House, President Obama said to no one in particular, "We got him."

Schmidle says a few days later, when the president met with the team at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he spoke with the team and thanked them. But he writes that President Obama never asked exactly which SEAL actually fired the kill shot, and the SEALs never volunteered that information.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington

(END VIDEOTAPE)