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Graduation Speech Controversy Obama Contemplates Supreme Court Nominee; Fleeing Swat Valley; Dealership Cuts
Aired May 16, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, well, we're going to talk about something, it's not about "Angels and Demons" that's ruffled the feathers of many, but instead something else. A priest has actually been arrested, a former presidential candidate has been hauled off and passions are flaring over President's Obama's planned graduation speech tomorrow at the University of Notre dame.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is live in South Bend, Indiana, where the controversy has been bubbling up all week long, but it looks pretty placid and quiet behind you right now.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Finally, finally, the rain has stopped. Now, I don't want to jinx anything, Fredricka. But on a serious note, here, of course, a groups of student protestors who planned to boycott their own graduation instead, plan, they say, to attend a prayer vigil, but outside campus, outside the campus here of Notre Dame University, a group of anti-abortion activists say, in their words, they plan to ruin tomorrow's graduation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After he has pronounced that love, so shedeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Outside Notre dame, anti-abortion groups have been staging almost daily peaceful protests that end in trespassing arrests, despite warnings from police.
Overhead, banners display bloody fetuses. On campus, few signs of the outside furor over whether President Obama should get an honorary law degree from one of the top Catholic universities in the land.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...abortions, ever since that man came into office.
CANDIOTTI: Make no mistake about it, a small group of seniors say they plan to boycott their own graduation, outraged that Notre dame is extending a hand to a president whose abortion policies go against the Catholic religion's view on when life begins and stem-cell research.
Michelle Sagala and Andrew Connister (ph) getting married this summer will be no-shows at their own graduation.
(on camera): Graduation day is such a big event in every student's life. How can you miss it? MICHELLE SAGALA, BOYCOTTING GRADUATION: The thing that consoles me in all of this is that I'm taking a stand for those who are often forgotten.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): But history and peace studies, Major Michael Angullo, says most students stand behind the Notre dame invitation, even if they don't agree with the policies.
MICHAEL ANGULLO, NOTRE DAME STUDENT: Don't think less of the University of Notre dame or don't think the mission is being corrupted by a president who might have thought on this issue that's different than Catholic thought. Be willing to engage in that.
CANDIOTTI: But other protestors here today, say they are going to the ceremony, as they put it, to bear witness.
CHRIS LABADIE, NOTRE DAME SENIOR: This is not just a day in my college career, it's the end, it's the celebration of the past four years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, student protestors say they hope those outside activists won't distract from what they call the, "intellectual debate" going here on campus Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow and at the same time, though, it's interesting, Susan, while you heard from some of the students in your piece, the campus newspaper did an informal poll and they say that 70 percent of the kids on campus, the students on campus, actually like the idea of the president coming.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. And they say that even though a few of them also disagree with the president's views on abortion, it doesn't mean that by coming here that the student body or the university, as a whole, endorses all of the president's views, but in the main, students claim they are in the majority that they want the president to speak here.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much in South Bend, Indiana, there on the campus of Notre Dame.
And, of course, CNN will bring you the president's commencement address in Notre Dame, tomorrow, Sunday, live, 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 Pacific. And we'd like you to join us at 4:00 Eastern Time, today, because we're going to delve deeper into why there is a divide particularly, particularly among Catholics over the president's scheduled commencement address, tomorrow. Watch our special report today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Pacific.
And of course, we want to hear from you and we want to know what you think, so send us your e-mails at weekends@cnn.com or, I'm actually on FaceBook, Fredricka Whitfield CNN. Send your thoughts and we'll get them on the air and perhaps you'll see part of a very interesting conversation, 4:00 Eastern Time, today. All right, John Huntsman just won re-election as Utah's governor. Well, now President Obama wants him to take on a new role, ambassador to China. The president introduced his nominee this morning. Huntsman is a Republican who campaigned for John McCain, but the president says Huntsman is, "The kind of leader who puts country ahead of party."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV JOHN HUNTSMAN (R), UTAH: I grew up understanding that the most basic responsibility one has is service to country. When the president of the United States asks you to step up and serve in a capacity like this, that to me, is the end of the conversation and the beginning of the obligation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Huntsman has served as ambassador to Singapore and U.S. trade representative. He is expected to easily win Senate confirmation.
All right, President Obama is spending part of this weekend contemplating who will be his first Supreme Court nominee. Many Hispanics would like it to be one of their own, so to speak. Well, here's CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: Si, se puede. Yes, we can.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Hispanic vote played a key role in Barack Obama's presidential victory, and Hispanics are looking for recognition of that support. Seeing a golden opportunity in the Supreme Court vacancy, they're not holding back.
ESTUARDO RODRIGUEZ, HISPANICS FOR A FAIR JUDICIARY: It's beyond symbolism. For us, it's sitting on that bench and hearing a case that may deal with voting rights or employment, labor concerns.
BOLDUAN: Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group, nearly one in six U.S. residents. And advocacy groups are now pressuring President Obama to name the first Latino or Latina justice.
CNN contributor and syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette says their time is overdue.
RUBEN NAVARRETTE, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I've heard this debate for a long, long time on both sides, and Latinos are running out of patience.
BOLDUAN: Leading Hispanic candidates include Federal Appeals Court judges Sonia Sotomayor and Kim Wardlaw; California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno; and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, all come with well respected judicial resumes, but not without controversy.
Sotomayor has faced stinging criticism from the left and right over perceived concerns about her temperament and intellect. She was even parodied on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": (SPEAKING SPANISH).
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Wow.
BOLDUAN: But fighting stereotypes isn't the only hurdle facing a Hispanic nominee. Political timing is another.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: The only factor that's really essential for this nominee is that she be a woman, beyond that, ethnic diversity, racial diversity, that the candidate would be Hispanic, is certainly a plus, but it's not going to be determinative.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Kate joins me now from Washington. So, is it reasonable to think, Kate, a lot of back and forth whether the president will soon be announcing a nominee?
BOLDUAN: It is always something that everyone is trying to gauge and it is the big, big question. When is it going to happen? When is it going to happen? The best guidance that we are receiving from sources is that by months' end, we should know who the president's nominee is and then moving ahead because this person does face a tough confirmation process and as well as a vote from the Senate. The president and his spokesperson have said they hope to have that done by the month-long August recess that Congress goes on.
WHITFIELD: Any leaders of the pack?
BOLDUAN: Leaders of the -- oh, gosh, there are a few. I mean, the White House, many have said...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Or that the public will learn about, that they'll reveal.
BOLDUAN: Yea, exactly. The full reveal. At the White House, many people are saying, they're playing this very close to the chest on who these nominees are and who the top list is. They said they whittled it down to probably about a half a dozen really top, top candidate, but the president, you know, his background is in constitutional law and Robert Gibbs, his spokesperson has said, this is the president's decision alone, as president in the past, but this president, we are told, is taking particular interest and is very serious about this because of his background as a constitutional law professor.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much from Washington, appreciate it.
WHITFIELD: Of course.
All right, the U.S. military has got comment on an air strike in Pakistan that has killed at least 20 people. According to Pakistani intelligence sources, a school and a cafe in town in the town of Mir Ali were hit by missiles, today. The missiles are believed to have been fired by an unmanned U.S. aircraft. The air strike coincides with Pakistan's renewed effort to fight the Taliban. Pakistan's military announcing the arrest of five suspected extremists while claiming to have killed 47 suspected Taliban in the past 24 hours.
Well, the battles with the Taliban have forced at least 1.5 million people from their homes. Many are huddled in refugee camps, others seek out relatives. CNN's Reza Sayah has the story of one woman who turns no one away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amana Abebi (ph) says there's nothing she won't do for her relatives fleeing the Swat Valley and where Pakistani troops are taking on the Taliban. When the Malet (ph) family asked Amana for a place to stay, she said welcome. When the Mia (ph) family came to Amana, she opened her door again, soon after it was the Maret (ph) family who came calling for help. Then came the Awan (ph) family, who also needed a place to stay, followed by the Mia (ph) family from Wasahala (ph).
By the time they stopped knocking on Amana's door, in the slums of Rawalpindi where she sells scrap metal for a living, she'd taken in one, two, three, four, five, 10, 25, 50 people.
(on camera): And her home is literally these two rooms, this one room here and then another room over there. Five families, totaling 50 people, have packed in here. "They have no place to go to," says Amana, "where would they go? That's why I'm offering them my house."
Amana's guests are among nearly one million residents who fled the battle zone in Swat. Many here say they've walked for two days and slept on the road to escape the fighting.
"That's what the gun fire sound like," says 10-year-old Janaid (ph), who says he misses his pet chicken.
"There were Taliban there, and it was scary says," 9-year-old Nadia (ph), "They used to beat people."
Aid group, World Vision estimates 85 percent of those who fled the Swat Valley are staying with relatives who are already destitute and cannot possibly provide basic services like sanitation, healthcare and education for large groups of people.
"As long as my 50 relatives need help," says Amana, "I'll never abandon them."
But aid groups say with displaced citizens increasing by the thousands, host families like Amana are nearing a breaking point.
Reza Sayah, Rawalpindi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Chrysler's decision to chop a quarter of the dealerships is reverberating throughout the country. We'll talk about the economic implications.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, live pictures, right now. They're actually moving pretty fast way above earth, two astronauts. They only have two hours to go outside the shuttle Atlantis as they do repair work there, as you see in these live images. Pretty remarkable, right?
What's the toughest repair job yet on the Hubble telescope, astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel are trying to fix the Hubble's survey camera using new tools plus they're trying to make sure dozens of other pieces don't actually fly away and actually damage anything. Two more space walks are planned on this mission to the Hubble. Pretty extraordinary stuff.
Karen Maginnis in our weather center
Everyone marvels at this that the pictures can be so incredibly clear, so far away and it kind of looks like clear skies there, if you will, we know that's not the case down here.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, well, this is an incredible picture, Fred. This comes from NASA. This looks like a big grapefruit and it in fact, is the sun and four plus days ago when the shuttle was going to the rescue for the space -- for the Hubble this, is what it looks like, little teeny, tiny space shuttle sitting right there as it passes in front of the sun. So a very impressive image there. All of the information coming out of NASA and the repairs that are being made, very tricky work, those big, fat gloves that they have and they have that one screw that was stuck and they managed to maneuver that.
Now a little closer to earth, we've got our planetary boundary layer that's very warm and moist, meaning close to the atmosphere, lots of moisture in place.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Oh boy, but that's rotten, trying to get somewhere today. All right, thanks a lot, Karen. We appreciate it.
All right, well, new and very disturbing video now from a Colgan Airlines passenger plane. Check out these images on the "Toronto Sun's" Web site, right here. The wheel of Colgan Flight 3268 actually falls off and rolls away. The video was shot by a passenger on the Q- 400 Bombardier airplane as it landed safely in Buffalo, New York.
Colgan Airlines was involved in a fatal plane crash three months ago near Buffalo. The airline says the wheel incident is under investigation. In fact, we're going to be talking about that case of three months ago with our legal guys coming up. Unrelated, but we will be talking about it.
All right, 100,000 jobs could be wiped out by the combined GM and Chrysler dealership cuts. That's what the National Automobile Dealers Association is saying. On Friday, Chrysler announced that it plans to drop a quarter of its dealerships. GM plans to eliminate 20 percent of its dealers. The closures are expected to have a snowball effect impacting jobs and tax revenues.
Jeffrey Pohanka was the director of the National Automobile Dealers Association from 2001 until early this year and he has actually 18 dealerships in the Washington, D.C. area.
We talked to you a couple of weeks ago and now you got that phone call and you just learned on Thursday that you will be losing your Chrysler dealership. When we talked a couple of weeks ago, you hadn't received the call yet, fingers were crossed that you were hoping everything would be okay. How did that phone call come?
JEFFREY POHANKA, POHANKA AUTOMOTIVE GROUP: Well, we got the letter and phone call on Thursday along with 800 other dealers around the nation and it's a very bitter pill because under bankruptcy we're given very little notice and we have 26 days to basically close our doors and dispose of several million dollars with of new car inventory. So, it's a shock, it's a surprise and a difficult position for us.
WHITFIELD: So, it is a surprise to you because the -- I guess, Chrysler was saying that they were looking at dealerships that weren't moving merchandise quickly.
POHANKA: Well, a lot of dealers aren't moving merchandise quickly among all franchises right now because the market's down so much. Certainly we hoped our store would have been one of the beens that had continued on.
WHITFIELD: So, what do you do with that $7 million in merchandise you are talking about -- cars, new cars? Where do you put them and is there any way to get some moneys in return?
POHANKA: Well, normally, the franchise agreement with the manufacturer calls for them to buy back unsold cars and unsold parts. In this case, with the bankruptcy they're not doing that, the dealer has to deal with it.
WHITFIELD: But, how are you going to deal with it? What do you do?
POHANKA: Well, we're going to have one big, giant sale.
WHITFIELD: Under ordinary circumstance -- OK. So, tell me about this sale, then? Is this going to be one of those that customers seize and says I simply can't believe it, they're giving their vehicles away?
POHANKA: Well, the best time for a customer to buy a car is when the dealer needs to sell a car and there are about 800 Chrysler dealers that need to sell cars, today. So, the white house has guaranteed the warranty repairs on those cars, so the customer can buy Chrysler without fear of getting service in the future. We're going to have a gigantic sale and we're going to make a lot of deals. Now, our store may continue on in another form, it may sell used cars there, or service other makes of cars, so some of our employees may continue on, but it's a very difficult position for us. WHITFIELD: Well, that is difficult, too, from a customer's standpoint, because, I guess, it sounds great, there may be some incredible incentives, you all will have rock bottom sales, I'm putting words in your mouth, having great sales that will lure me in as a customer and then I have to wonder if Chrysler is, you know, closing 800 dealerships across the country and I buy this brand new Chrysler, what's going to happen a year from now when I need to get my car repaired and what's going to happen to that warranty? Are other dealerships going to be gone? Is Chrysler soon to be obsolete?
POHANKA: Well, a lot reductions in dealer accounts are in urban areas where there are lots of dealers. So, there still will be coverage for customers to get their cars repaired, that shouldn't be a difficulty.
WHITFIELD: What about your employees? You've got a staff that really has become your family. Pohanka dealerships really is a staple in the Washington, D.C., area, I mentioned you've got 18 of them, but for some of your employees who have been with you for a very long time, maybe even decades, what are they going to do?
POHANKA: Well, we're very concerned about our team members. We have great people who have been with our company for a long time and we're going to do the best for them that we can. We hope to offer them jobs in that facility in a new business or somewhere else where we can. A lot of dealers around the country will be faced with bankruptcy and liquidation. So, clearly, Chrysler dealers that are closing down in most cases will just shut their doors and will terminate their employees. We hope not to do that.
WHITFIELD: Am I rembering this properly? Are you, third-generation Pohanka of this family conglomeration?
POHANKA: I'm the third generation. We have a fourth working in the dealerships, right now.
WHITFIELD: OK, so you know, was there every a point, whether it's a family discussion or, you know, this business being handed from one generation to the next, that there would ever be a day like this where possibly the automotive industry, particularly the American automotive industry, would not be doing well and what would we do as a safety net if this day were to come? Is this a conversation that you as a family ever had?
POHANKA: Well, our business is cyclical up and do gown. We've been in business 90 years now, my grandfather started the business, and he survived the depression and World War II, they didn't make cars during World War II, so there have been some cataclysmic events in the car industry where dealers did not survive and certainly this is one of them.
Clearly, every car dealer in the nation is suffering. Toyota sales are down 42 percent last month, I believe. So, everybody's down, the question is the manufacturers and dealers are in a weakened position and they -- a lot just can't hold on.
WHITFIELD: All right, and I know you have foreign -- you sell foreign cars, as well, among them Toyota, as you mentioned, Lexus, Mazda.
Well, our hearts are going out to you and your staff, as well. I was hoping that when we'd talk to you again you would give us good news that you all would be OK, but sadly, yours one of the 800 or so Chrysler dealerships across the country that's getting the axe. So, all of the best to you and we'll try and keep touch with you and see how things continue to progress.
POHANKA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jeffrey Pohanka there in the Washington, D.C. Area.
All right, a u-turn, doing a 180 reversal, whatever you call it. This week President Obama changed his stance on releasing detainee abuse photos. Our legal guys, they're right here and they're ready to talk about this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, you think as a parent that you have complete authority over what kind of medical attention your child should get? Well, think again. It is part of a legal case that our legal guys will delve into right now. Avery Friedman is civil rights attorney and law professor, good to see you. And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you, as well.
OK, gentle men, well, let's talk about -- Oh, did I get this order mixed up. Let's talk about this, because I've already opened up my mouth on it. So, sorry about that. I kind of mixed up the order, here.
All right, well, let's talk about this young kid. Daniel Hauser, his family says, you know what? We don't want him to have chemo. It is the complete antithesis of what your family beliefs are and now a judge has weighed in on this and now what - Avery.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: Well, this was a wonderful opinion, it gives you great hope that the Constitution works. It was a balance, Fredricka, of a parent's religious rights argument. She claimed that her son Danny Hauser was a medicine man. She apparently got him apparently mixed up with Doogie Howser.
On the other side of the coin, the state has an obligation to protect children. In a beautiful opinion, 58 pages, the Judge John Rodenberg concluded that the state is obligate to make sure he gets treatment. Bottom line, on Tuesday, the parents will report back to court to tell the judge what oncologists are going use to get him treatment.
WHITFIELD: OK and so, Richard, you know, this really is a prickly situation because a lot of parents think that they know best and that's as far as it has to go, but is this an issue of the medical community banding together or is this the state and is this just Minnesota or is this applicable everywhere? RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: Well, this is going to be applicable everywhere. This decision itself will not bind other jurisdictions, but the rationale behind it is something that will be used. Avery is right. This is the decision Fred, 60 pages, it's well reasoned, it's broken down. But here, you know, parents have a right to raise their children the way they want, except when there's a situation where 95 percent this child's going to die if he doesn't get the medical treatment and he has a 90 percent plus chance of serving if he does. I took the chemo this morning. I'm here. This young man's going to have his life saved because of this judge. This judge should be applauded.
WHITFIELD: OK, all right, let's move on to the next topic and we're talking about the Buffalo, New York, plane crash of three months ago. A lot more now being brought out about the pilot in particular, and I wonder now if this unleashes things for the family members of the many victims, Richard, who are going to say, wait a minute, I would think that the airline would grant some assurances to all passengers that all of the pilots have had and passed all of the tests necessary to be able to handle any kind of weather.
HERMAN: Yeah, you read the cockpit recordings here, Fred, and it is just devastating. I mean, this lead captain looks like he was flirting with the co-pilot at whole time. He clearly did not know what he was doing, he wasn't in control of that plane, in no way was he prepared to handle the icing situation, could not control the plane. There's going to be a floodgate of lawsuits, here. These poor passengers and their families deserve so much more on this little short commuter flight.
FRIEDMAN: And there's another...
WHITFIELD: Go ahead.
FRIEDMAN: There's another part of this, and that is the FAA issued what are called alerts, Fredricka. And you know what, it's amazing, here they dealt with lack of training, lack of sleep, a record of deficiency and yet what did the FAA do? I think the FAA is no less responsible than Colgan Air.
WHITFIELD: Well, that was actually going to be my question. You know, what about the FAA, what would be their role, you know, the culpability from the FAA versus and/or the airline?
FRIEDMAN: Well, they have a certain immunity, but you know, look, if this is the same airline in a lead story today is, you know, tire flew off. I mean, what the heck is going on with these airlines and what is FAA doing about it?
WHITFIELD: OK, and what the heck is going with this Galveston, Texas judge, Samuel Kent who says, you know what, I want to retire early, I want to collect my disability, but now we're talking about impeachment proceedings that have taken place. Richard, what's at the heart of this?
HERMAN: Well, this judge was brought up on an investigation for sexual harassment and during the course of the investigation, it turns out, he obstructed justice by lying. He got convicted of the obstruction of justice, not the underlying charge, and as a result of the conviction of obstruction of justice, he's going to have to go to prison, but while in prison, he's still going to collect his $174,000 salary and people are going crazy over that.
FRIEDMAN: Here's the other side of it. Everybody says Congress says we want to take the money away, but you know what, Fredricka? Under the Constitution they may not be able to, they may be able to impeach him, but under separation of powers they may not take the money away.
HERMAN: And the impeachment's going to take a long time, so he's probably going to get it.
FRIEDMAN: It'll take months.
WHITFIELD: And he'll be kicking back and enjoying the beach by that time, right?
HERMAN: I don't know about that.
FRIEDMAN: He's in prison for 33 years, or 33 months, I'm sorry.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Avery and Richard, we're going to talk to you again in a moment because we have some other cases that we're supposed to talk about here, but I kind of mixed up the order.
HERMAN: Any order Fred, no problem.
FRIEDMAN: Anything you want to talk about.
WHITFIELD: All right, cool. We'll see you in a few minutes again.
Meantime, police in Baltimore are waging a war for hearts and minds. A look at the new message they're trying to get out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Happening right now, the third of five scheduled space walks for the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis under way today. The astronauts are trying to fix a burned out camera on the Hubble telescope. And the death toll has risen to 20 in a suspected U.S. missile air strike in northwest Pakistan today. Meanwhile, the United Nations commission on refugees says more than a million Pakistanis have been displaced by the 2 week old military push against the Taliban.
Witnesses who come forward and tell police about a crime are doing the right thing, right? Well, that's not the sentiment, apparently in Baltimore. Not only do police have to combat gang violence. They also have to deal with a no-stitching mentality. Our Joe Johns explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baltimore is known for witnesses wiped out before they can testify in court. Carl Lackle's story shows why.
MARGIE SHIPLEY, MURDER VICTIM'S MOTHER: He said, mom, you're never going to guess what I saw and I said what he said there was a guy murdered, and I called the police, and I said oh, Carl, what did you do because I knew that was not a good thing. Ok, being up in the city, I just knew and he said mom, I'll be all right.
JOHNS: Lackle happened to walk into this alley when a gunman came running up from a murder scene. Later police picked up a suspect who was identified by Lackle. More than a year later when sitting outside his home with his baby girl and 11-year-old niece, a teenager in a car opened fire on Lackle in front of the kids.
SHIPLEY: I wanted to go back and hold him, I wanted to hold him so bad and they told me it was a crime scene, and I would contaminate the crime scene, and a mom needs to hold her child when a horrible thing happens to them like that. He died the worst death you can imagine.
JOHNS: Authorities said Lackle's murder was ordered from jail by the man he was going to testify against. Patrick Byers had ordered the hit, using, believe it or not, a cell phone he had behind bars. He was recently convicted and now faces four life sentences.
JOHNS (on camera): Carl Lackle's death was gruesome and just the threat of a similar fate has been enough to intimidate witnesses in Baltimore from testifying against alleged criminals. Gang members have been known to show up in court and stare down people testifying against them.
(Voice-over): Ok, staring is not illegal, but prosecutors viewed suspected intimidation so seriously that they put the families of 200 witnesses into a special program last year, some of whom were relocated to different parts of town. And it's not just witnesses who are scared. It's juries, too. In this note from a trial last month one jury foreman asked, what steps we jurors need to take to ensure our safety. Why is witness intimidation so bad here and in a lot of big cities people who talk to authorities say they are demonized as snitches, rats. Stop snitching is a big refrain on the street, captured in this local film nearly five years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To all you rats and snitches lucky enough to cop one of these DVDs, I hope you catch AIDS in your mouth and your lip's the first thing to die.
JOHNS: But the larger problem is that cities like Baltimore simply don't have the kind of money and personnel that the federal government gets for witness protection.
SHIPLEY: They should be passing laws and doing the right thing. My son did the right thing but you can't count on too many of them to do the right thing.
JOHNS: Some say that needs to change. Joe Johns, CNN, Baltimore.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Former first lady Laura Bush is giving the commencement speech at her alma mater this morning at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bush earned her bachelor's in elementary education from FMU back in 1968 and later this afternoon the current first lady, Michelle Obama will give the graduation speech at the University of California at Merced. We'll cover it live beginning at 4:00 p.m. eastern.
President Obama giving the graduation address at the University of Notre Dame tomorrow. It's an address that is surrounded by controversy. Some Catholic groups have been protesting all week because of Mr. Obama's pro-choice and pro-stem-cell research views. On Friday White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters the president will mention the debate.
And CNN will bring you the president's commencement address at Notre Dame live Sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern and 11:00 pacific.
Much of the battle over the president's Notre Dame speech has been taking place online. Our Josh Levs is following that angle for us as well.
JOSH LEVS: Hey there Fred. I'll tell you something, right behind me you can see the school's newspaper here "The Observer" and they wrote about this, the internet plays a vital role in generating discussion and debate. The internet has been a major, major force in this battle and they point to one website that has videos from ndresponse.com. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bestowing an honor on him is equal to bestowing an honor to his policies which are in direct contradiction to Catholic teaching.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: You can see there what that video is like. Now I wanted to balance this out for you Fred, by showing you a video from a student group website that supports this. The school reports that that's actually the only student-run website, however, there are a lot of websites out there on both sides including this one that's very much in support of the president coming. We support Notre Dame, this is wesupportnotredame.org. I pulled a quote from this, let's take a look at this graphic, I want you to see what they're saying. There are lots of members of the student and other communities weighing in, "For decades, presidents of both political parties have been invited to Notre Dame for this occasion to engage in rigorous discourse about the most pressing issues of our day. Through this invitation, Father Jenkins is honoring the best of our nation's democratic and religious values." So Fred, a couple of examples there from the series of websites that are battling it out online.
WHITFIELD: It really is a very interesting situation because while the majority of the students on campus according to the campus newspaper are in support of it, there have been a lot of outside groups that have come to the campus and have made some statements. But some of those in opposition of the president's address are certainly finding people on campus that agree with them as well.
LEVS: And broadly. There's a couple here that have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of signatures from around the country and all over the world. So this debate has really spread online, you know the whole world --
WHITFIELD: Of course, you and I are going to talk about it some more in the 4:00 eastern hour and we're also going to be joined by a representative from the campus, Father John Jenkins says he's done talking about it publicly, but instead there will be a representative with Notre Dame that will be joining us. We're already hearing from people on Facebook as well, Josh. This from Juan who says, "Don't dampen someone's special day because they do not understand the importance or have chosen to decide against your opinion on views and your life choices. God wants us all to love each other and respect each other."
And this from Andre also on Facebook saying, "I think the president should speak and tell them that all religions need to come to the table and understand it's time for progression, creative and new ways of leading people." So we want to hear what you think as well. Join us at cnnweekends@cnn.com. Also post your comments on Facebook, Fredrickawhitfieldcnn, also on Josh Levs' Facebook at CNN. Or you can even iReport, send us your iReports as well. We want to make sure that you're joining us on the conversation at 4:00 eastern time today as we delve deeper into why there is a divide particularly among Catholics over the president's scheduled commencement address tomorrow. Our special report today at 4:00 eastern time right here on CNN, 1:00 p.m. pacific.
All right, much more straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: All right, an about-face that is now a legal case that our legal guys want to delve into. The White House said nope, we're not releasing those torture images even though at first we said we were going to, Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor and Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. All right gentlemen, so Richard you first, now it's an issue of national security, the White House says we're rethinking this, but apparently the ACLU is saying, wait a minute, we may take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Why?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Because the president has rejected their freedom of information act request for these photographs. He's going to classify them. It's going to go to the Supreme Court. It's going to take years for this to resolve itself. You know Bobby Brown had the hit song "My Prerogative." The president has his prerogative to change his mind if it's well reasoned and based on a rational thing. It's a good thing to change your mind, this is a good decision by the president.
WHITFIELD: Oh Avery you're shaking your head no. AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Never happened. Look, two courts have already ruled in light of the administration's national security issue that they have to release the evidence. The Obama administration informed the court, all right, we're going to release them and then the president, this is a former constitutional law professor, Fredricka he knows that the court is not going to take it. The U.S. Supreme Court is not going to take it. He's basically, I think, making a political decision. It will be filed on June 9th. The Supreme Court is going to deny review.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. Why would the ACLU want to hold fast on this? What really is the benefit if the White House says well you know here's our explanation, we don't want any of our other troops to be treated in this fashion. We don't want there to be payback on them if these images are released. Why would the ACLU say but it is a matter of principle, freedom of information act. Why would you want to go forward on this and jeopardize these people?
FRIEDMAN: The argument has already been made by the administration, the court rejected it. It was appealed. The three-judge panel rejected it also. It's a very emotional issue, but it's not founded in fact and so the administration lost. Obama's going to give it one last shot.
WHITFIELD: Ok, well let's talk about something else the White House is talking about, military commissions. They want it to be in line with the rule of law, why now, Richard?
HERMAN: Well, you know, Fred, the president said I'm going to give 120-day moratorium on these trials and take a look at it. 120 days have come and gone. He's looked at it, he's made some modification in the hearsay rule and the ability for witnesses to choose an attorney and to the exclusion of certain evidence if it was obtained during harsh treatments. So in an event, I don't see this as an about-face, I think it's a good thing. He's trying to level the playing field and they're never going to level it, it's not leveled. Federal district court in criminal cases either, but trials are going to begin and they're going to begin in Guantanamo. So we'll see what happens.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about something else that got you all pretty fired up. We're talking about the firing of federal prosecutors and now this case has bubbled up one more time. Former White House aide, Karl Rove being questioned by a special prosecutor. Where might this case go now, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah, this was 24 hours ago, Fredricka. The designated U.S. attorney from Connecticut was appointed by the Justice Department to ask Karl Rove questions. It wasn't under oath, but it's a crime if you lie to the FBI or the Justice Department. For the first time since the controversy started on --
WHITFIELD: Right, because now you don't have executive privilege, you don't have that kind of protection.
FRIEDMAN: Gone. And I think we're going to find out the answer --
WHITFIELD: Plain old civilian.
FRIEDMAN: Although this is a very smart guy. He's appeared before grand juries in the Valerie Plame case but I think we're actually going to get to something that has never occurred up to this point under the previous administration, we're going to get to the truth.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
HERMAN: Don't count on that, Avery, please.
FRIEDMAN: I'm counting on it. I believe in the system, man.
HERMAN: That deaf session took less than four hours yesterday. He's going to go before congress with Harriet Myers behind closed doors, let's see what happens with that.
WHITFIELD: It ain't over until it's over.
FRIEDMAN: I'm optimistic.
WHITFIELD: Ok, Richard, Avery, thanks so much, good to see you both. Appreciate it. Thanks for again rolling with it. Appreciate it.
FRIEDMAN: So long.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, achieving your dream getaway with the economy in the tank. We'll have some tips that can help you add to your passport that coveted stamp. Usually people like to get that stamp on their passport. Maybe it will happen to you.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Happening right now, the death toll has risen to at least 20 in a suspected U.S. air strike in northwest Pakistan. As the Pakistani military ramps up its fight against the Taliban.
President Obama nominates Utah Governor John Huntsman, Jr., as ambassador to China. Huntsman is a republican. Political insiders consider him a potential candidate for president in 2012.
And mixed emotions today for the Preakness, the second jewel in the horse racing's triple crown. A Philly named Rachel Alexander is generating excitement and hopes to give the guys a run for their money. No female horse has won the race since 1924, but Pimlico, the Baltimore track where the race will be held is not in great shape. As Larry Smith explains, its future is uncertain.
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LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These seats will be filled at Pimlico race course Saturday, but these stables won't.
And they're off!
SMITH: And the cheers for the 134th running of the Preakness will be heard by precious few on the near-abandoned back stretch of the famed track.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any day now somebody can come and say ok, we're done or they can say, ok, you have to move. I mean, that's what these last couple of years have been like.
SMITH: Willie Kee has lived his life in the horse business and loves nearly every minute of it.
WILLIE KEE, MARYLAND THOROUGHBRED TRAINER: I'm 50 now. I was 15 years old, and my father, he said, come on. Come to the races, I'm going to teach you the game, and it's been a lot of fun up until recently.
SMITH: Pimlico is home for Kee, a home in desperate need of repairs. In September the track closed its barn area for the winter for the first time since 1985, hundreds of old hands like Ellsworth Williams have been allowed to live for free above the stables to be closer to the nearly 1,000 horses they tended to throughout a meet. It's a necessary perk to bolster meager pay.
ELLSWORTH WILLIAMS, PIMLICO GROOM: They provided rooms and a place to live plus employment, you know? But since then, it just started whittling down to what we've got now which is nothing, which is what it really comes out to.
SMITH: In March the track's owner, Magna Entertainment filed for bankruptcy and will try to sell Pimlico at auction in August. In the meantime, live racing has been cut to a mere 21 days, making a tough living even tougher to make.
WILLIAMS: A lot of people just decided not to move back because by the time you get in here, it's time to leave. The meet has already been shortened a little bit by a little bit every year and then this year, it's a joke. I mean, it's -- the Preakness and that's it.
SMITH: Pimlico's future has been debated in Maryland for years as horse racing's popularity has waned. But there seems to be one sure bet, without the Preakness, odds are Pimlico would have been closed already.
KEE: The Preakness is this track. Without the Preakness, Maryland racing wouldn't exist.
WILLIAMS: This is the second oldest track in the country. Why should they let go away?
TOM CHUCKAS, PRESIDENT, PIMLICO RACE COURSE: We feel the same way. We don't have any disagreement with that it's just right now we're trying to do what we have to do to make sure come a year from now, two years from now or five years from now, we're still here.
SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Race time later on this afternoon. Meantime it's tomorrow a lot of people are buzzing about. The president will be addressing the commencement address at Notre Dame. We want to hear from you because in the 4:00 Eastern hour we're going to be focusing on it and trying to figure out what is at the center of this divide, dividing a lot of Catholics about whether it is appropriate for the president to be speaking at a mostly Catholic university, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. So join us in the conversation, send us your thoughts to weekends@cnn.com or Fredrickawhtitfieldcnn on Facebook, Josh Levs on Facebook as well. We'll share some of your responses in that report, 4 o'clock Eastern Time.
Meantime, right now, time for "Your Money."
