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Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison; Obama Outlines Energy Reform Bill; Billy Mays' Autopsy Shows Heart Disease Likely Caused Death; US Soldiers Shifting Focus From Iraq to Afghanistan

Aired June 29, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: T.J., thanks so much.

Madoff maxes out. Pushing forward on what Bernie Madoff can look forward to. The judge's sentence drawing applause and cheers from victims of the Ponzi scheme swindler, who's going to die in prison.

Some answers in the death of pitchman Billy Mays. The medical examiner pointing to May's heart, not his head. More tests still to come.

Same goes in the Michael Jackson investigation. We've got the latest from the doc with him at the end. And new today, his mom moves in to gain custody of those three little kids.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'll tell you what. We've got a lot going on at the top of the hour. And right now we're awaiting the start of a news conference by victorious Connecticut firefighters. In a split decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that white firefighters in New Haven were unfairly denied promotions because of their race.

It's a ruling we've been waiting for, since it involved a discrimination case ruled on by high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Now, the court's five conservatives reversed that decision that Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge last year. One of the four dissenting justices, David Souter. He's retiring, and today was his last day on the job. Now, he's going to be replaced by Sotomayor, if she's confirmed by the Senate.

All right. Judge Sotomayor did rule one way, and the Supreme Court majority disagreed. We want to know where you stand. Head over to CNN.com/Newsroom. Click "Kyra" to leave a comment, and of course, you can always tweet us at KyraCNN.

All right. The maximum -- maximum sentence, that's what Bernard Madoff got today for bilking investors in a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. A New York judge sentenced the 71-year-old financier to 150 years in prison. The courtroom actually broke out in applause. Madoff's victims say he got what he deserves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURT ROSS, MADOFF VICTIM: I am relieved. That's my overriding emotion. I am pleased and not surprised by the judge's ruling. I think that 150 years under the circumstances was warranted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is standing by in New York with more on today's sentencing -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, indeed, the judge in the court, right after the sentencing, said that he believed that this fraud was off the charts. He compared it to other white-collar crimes and essentially said, "Look, this was unprecedented." So he wanted to send that message of 150 years, the maximum.

Now I have some breaking news. We do have a statement from Ruth Madoff, Bernard Madoff's wife, who has remained silent until now. And remember, years ago she worked at the firm, working with Bernard Madoff.

She says, quote, "I'm embarrassed and ashamed like everyone else. I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years."

And indeed, in court Bernard Madoff, as part of his apology, said, "How can you lie to a wife who has stood by you for 50 years?"

Well, some of the victims are a little skeptical of all that. We have one of the victims with us. She is Norma Human.

And Norma, you've been an investor. You were an investor with Bernard Madoff for ten years. When you hear that statement from his wife, your reaction?

NORMA HUMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: I'm skeptical still. I mean, you know, I'm skeptical that -- that his family worked so closely with this man. And the fraud was so gargantuan. How could he do it alone, and how could he keep it from the people that are working closely with him?

CHERNOFF: When you heard that sentence, 150 years, did that bring you at least some satisfaction?

HUMAN: Not really. Because he -- I expected the judge to actually give him a very harsh sentence to make an example.

But I don't have satisfaction, because the victims have no reparation yet. And the broken system that allowed this to happen, I don't see any movement there in terms of finding out what happened, who helped him, how did this go on for so long, where was the SEC?

CHERNOFF: Exactly. Norma, we have heard those sentiments from victim after victim after victim.

Yes, there was applause in the courtroom, hugging among the victims right after that 150 years came from the judge's mouth. But otherwise, the victims say they feel very little satisfaction. They are angry, partly with the government, the SEC, for not having caught this, and for the Securities Protection Investment Corporation for not having delivered much of any insurance yet to the vast majority of the victims here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Those are all points well made. Allan Chernoff, appreciate it.

And just listening to the victim there, Ali Velshi, I mean, there are so many points to be made here.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

PHILLIPS: The system definitely didn't just fail the victims; it failed all of us.

VELSHI: Failed everybody. Right.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

VELSHI: The system didn't catch this.

PHILLIPS: And it's, you know -- and by the applause in the courtroom, there's a lot of people that want this guy to rot in prison.

VELSHI: Yes. But it didn't hasn't -- isn't getting their money back.

PHILLIPS: No, they're not getting it.

VELSHI: So on one level, for all the investors out here, they're feel good about the fact that once this was uncovered, the justice system moved fairly quickly. And this judge said, "I'm doing this as a deterrent." The probation board had suggested 50 years. The defense was asking for 12 years. Bernard Madoff got 150 years. No. 1

No. 2, Norma just said to Allan, "The system is still broken. Nothing's been fixed." The SEC didn't catch this. Remember Harry Markopoulos, the guy who basically handed Bernie Madoff the SEC on a platter? They didn't...

PHILLIPS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

VELSHI: Exactly. That system has not been fixed. This administration has pledged to fix the system.

PHILLIPS: And this -- but this is one guy.

VELSHI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: One pretty terrible guy. And I don't think anybody is feeling a lot of sympathy for him.

VELSHI: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Especially all those that lost their entire life's savings. But the question is, you know, there's -- there are many more Bernie Madoffs out there.

VELSHI: Yes, and we've seen a lot of them.

PHILLIPS: So are they all going to rot in prison for 150 years? I mean...

VELSHI: You know, I think this is -- there is Alan Stanford, who has been charged. There are others that have been uncovered. So there's a lot of this going on. It comes out in a market like this, because people need their money, so they go and try and redeem what they've got. And they find out that, in fact, it wasn't all there.

So I think what this is is this judge sending the message out that if you're getting caught, because frankly, Kyra, if you lose $30,000, let's say, your life investment, you don't really care whether it's Madoff or somebody else. It's your life, and you want to know the government will come down hard on these people. But more importantly, you want to know that they'll catch them.

So the justice system did its job here. We just didn't see it on front end. Will they catch all of these people who are out there doing this right now?

PHILLIPS: And we should make the point, too. It's not just rich people that lost their money.

VELSHI: Absolutely not.

PHILLIPS: And I don't think that's been hammered home enough.

VELSHI: That's a huge point.

PHILLIPS: A lot of people are: "Who cares?"

VELSHI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: "Rich people. They can afford to move on."

VELSHI: Thirteen hundred victims. Of the amount of money that was handed over to Bernard Madoff, we've accounted for about $13 billion. They've recovered about 1.3 billion, 10 percent. And these were people, these were widows.

Allan Chernoff spoke to -- listened to the judge, who spoke about a woman who had just lost her husband, went to Bernie Madoff about a week later. He put his arm around her and said, "Don't worry. Your money is safe with me."

This is, please, a lesson to everybody out there. Just please check where your money is. Make sure you get the statements. If you don't understand them, make sure you ask all the questions necessary. Because he bilked smart people. He bilked people who didn't know anything about money.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ali.

VELSHI: All right.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a far cry from the high-flying days of a Texas billionaire. Allen Stanford, as you've heard Ali just mention, he's in shackles, too, expecting to find out today if he'll be freed on bail or remain locked up until his trial.

You'll recall that Stanford was indicted on charges that he swindled investors out of $7 billion. Federal prosecutors opposed bail, because they believe he might skip the country. Sanford's lawyers say it won't happen, because he's broke and wants to fight the charges.

Michael Jackson's family moving quickly to sort out his affairs now. Children among them, his three children, ages 12, 11 and 7. About 90 minutes ago, a petition for guardianship was filed on behalf of Katherine Jackson, Michael's mother. A hearing has been scheduling for August 3rd.

Meantime, we've heard new details about the day Michael Jackson died from the lawyer for his personal doctor.

Correspondent Drew Griffin here with more.

Drew, what did you find out?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the lawyer was in on the three-hour investigation -- three-hour interview that Doctor Conrad Murray gave to the Los Angeles Police Department. I want to re- emphasize, this doctor not a suspect, and this is a death investigation, not a criminal investigation.

What the doctor told police is this. He has been staying with Michael Jackson, at times overnight at Mr. Jackson's request. And the night this happened the doctor, the doctor, Conrad Murray, was staying at the mansion. The next morning he found Michael Jackson in bed. Michael Jackson was not breathing but had a slight pulse, was still warm. And that's when the doctor administered CPR.

Strangely enough, the phones weren't working in that bedroom, so it was a security guard that had to be summoned to make that 911 call that we all heard.

As for the rumors all weekend long on tabloids that the doctor somehow injected Demerol into Michael Jackson or gave him OxyContin, two narcotic pain relievers, this is what Ed Chernoff, the attorney for the doctor, had to say, flatly denying that.

Apparently, we don't have interview. But he told CNN that absolutely no Demerol was prescribed or administered by Dr. Conrad Murray. No OxyContin was prescribed or administered by Dr. Conrad Murray.

He did say that Michael Jackson was getting some prescription drugs, as needed, for medical reasons, but he denies that the doctor had anything to do with this death. Says the doctor was just distraught over the incident, talked with the Jackson family about it, and has been fully cooperative and continues to be fully cooperative with the LAPD.

PHILLIPS: Well, in addition to that doctor -- and Drew, I have a feeling you're going to be busy for quite some time. I think there are a lot of different angles to this story that will probably surface with regard to Michael Jackson's health. GRIFFIN: Absolutely. And it's all going to come down to toxicology reports. That's either going to rule in or rule out drugs. And there are two sets of those reports that we'll probably be seeing over time. One, the official from the coroner, the other one a second autopsy performed by the Jackson family. That is usually done in high-profile cases like this, so the family has somebody representing them, working for them, giving them an independent answer as to what caused Michael Jackson's death.

PHILLIPS: Drew Griffin, thanks.

You may not have known his name, but chances are you recognize his voice and trademark beard. This TV pitchman sold crazy gadgets and cleaners, and now we may know what have caused his sudden death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: What -- what's he -- All right. Let's get straight to the president of the United States, talking about his energy reform bill. Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... foundation for sustained and lasting economic growth. We know this won't be easy, but this is the moment where we've been called upon to cast off the old ways of doing business and act boldly to reclaim America's future.

Nowhere is this more important than in building a new clean-energy economy: ending our dependence on foreign oil, and limiting the dangerous pollutants that threaten our health and the health of our planet. And that's precisely what we've begun to do.

Thanks to broad coalitions, ranging from business to labor, investors to entrepreneurs, Democrats and Republicans from Gulf states and coastal states, and all who are willing to take on this challenge, we've come together to achieve more in the past few months to create a new clean-energy economy than we have in decades.

We began with historic investments in the recovery act and the federal budget that will help create hundreds of thousands of jobs doing the work of doubling our country's supply of renewable energy. Talking about jobs building wind turbines and solar panels; jobs developing next-generation solutions for next-generation cars jobs upgrading our outdated power grid so it can carry clean, renewable energy from the far-flung areas that harvest it to the big cities that use it.

Thanks to a remarkable partnership between auto makers, auto workers, environmental advocates and states, we created incentives for companies to develop cleaner, more efficient vehicles and for Americans to drive them.

We set in motion a new national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. And as a result, we'll save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years, the projected equivalent of taking 58 million cars off the road for an entire year. We know that, even as we seek solutions to our energy problems at home, the solution to global climate change requires American leadership abroad. That's why I have appointed a global climate envoy to help lead our reengagement with the international community as we find sustainable ways to transition to a global, low-carbon economy.

And now, just last Friday, the House of Representatives came together to pass an extraordinary piece of legislation that will finally open the door to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and preventing the worst consequences of climate change and making clean energy the profitable kind of energy.

Thanks to members of Congress who are willing to place America's progress before the usual Washington politics, this bill will create new businesses, new industries and millions of new jobs, all without imposing untenable new burdens on the American people or American businesses. In the months to come the Senate will pick up its version of the energy bill. And I'm confident that they, too, will choose to move this country forward.

So we've gotten a lot done on the energy front over the last six months. But even as we're changing the ways we're producing energy, we're also changing the ways we use energy. In fact, one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to make our economy stronger and cleaner is to make our economy more energy efficient. That's something that Secretary Chu is working every single day to work through.

We know the benefits. In the late 1970s, the state of California enacted tougher energy efficiency policies. Over the next three decades, those policies helped create almost 1.5 million jobs. And today, Californians consume 40 percent less energy per person than the national average, which over time has prevented the need to build at least 24 new power plants.

Think about that. California producing jobs, their economy keeping pace with the rest of the country. And yet, they've been able to maintain their energy usage at a much lower level than the rest of the country.

So that's why we took significant steps in the recovery act to invest in energy-efficiency measures, from modernizing federal buildings to helping American families make upgrades to their homes. Steps that create jobs and save taxpayers and consumers money.

And that's why I've asked Secretary Chu to lead a new effort at the Department of Energy, focusing on implementing more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances like refrigerators and ovens, which will spark innovation and save consumers money and reduce energy demand.

So today we're announcing additional actions to create energy efficiency across America. Actions that will create jobs in the short run and save money and reduce dangerous emissions in the long run.

The first step we're taking sets new efficiency standards on fluorescent and incandescent lighting. I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simply action holds enormous promise, because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses.

Between 2012 and 2042, these new standards will save consumers up to $4 billion a year. Conserve enough electricity to power every home in mark for ten months and reduce emissions equal to the amount produced by 166 million cars each year. And eliminate the need for as many as 14 coal-fired power plants.

And by the way, we're going to start here at the White House. Secretary Chu has already started to take a look at our light bulbs, and we're going to see what -- we need to replace them with energy- efficient light bulbs.

And if we want to make our economy run more efficiently, we've also got to make our homes and businesses run more efficiently. That's why we're also speeding up a $346 million investment under the recovery act to expand and accelerate the development, deployment and use of energy-efficient technologies in residential and commercial buildings, which consume almost 40 percent of the energy we use and contribute to almost 40 percent of the carbon pollution we produce.

We're talking about technologies that are available right now or will soon be available: from lighting to windows, heating to cooling, smart sensors and controls. By adopting these technologies in our homes and businesses, we can make our buildings up to 80 percent more energy- efficient. Or, with additions like solar panels on the roof, or geothermal power from underground, even transform them into zero- energy buildings that actually produce as much energy as they consume.

Now, progress like this might seem far-fetched. But the fact is, we're not lacking for ideas and innovation. All we lack are the smart policies and the political will to help us put our ingenuity to work.

And when we've put aside the posturing and the politics, when we put aside attacks that are based less on evidence than on ideology, then a simple choice emerges. We can remain the world's leading importing of oil, or we can become the world's leading exporter of clean energy. We can allow climate change to wreck unnatural havoc, or we can create jobs utilizing low-carbon technologies to prevent its worse effects.

We can cede the race for the 21st century, or we can embrace the reality that our competitors already have: he nation that leads the world in creating a new clean-energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.

That's our choice: between a slow decline and renewed prosperity; between the past and the future. The American people have made their choice. They expect us to move forward right now at this moment of great challenge and stake our claim on the future. A stronger, cleaner and more prosperous future where we meet obligations to our citizens, our children and to God's creation, and where the United States of America leads once again.

That's the future we're aiming for. I've got a great secretary of energy who's helping us achieve it. I want to thank, again, the House of Representatives for doing the right thing on Friday. And we are absolutely confident that we're going to be able to make more progress in the weeks and months to come.

Thanks, guys.

PHILLIPS: All right. The president of the United States, side by side there with his energy secretary, Stephen Chu.

Bottom line, the president says light bulbs -- energy-efficient light bulbs aren't sexy, but he promises that we will save millions and millions of dollars in the long run, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and also making all our homes, even the White House, he says, more energy efficient. Steven Chu already, he says, looking into the light bulb situation there at the White House.

And we'll continue to follow that. He says we'll start new businesses, new industries, jobs, and we'll track it and see. It passed the House on Friday. Now it goes to the Senate.

Now, breaking news, a development in the Iran elections. We're just now seeing the Associated Press is reporting that Iran's elections oversight body has declared the presidential vote valid after a limited recount.

Reza Sayah on our Iran desk with the breaking news.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this just coming into the Iran desk within the past half hour. And this is really no surprise. Iran's Guardian Council, the top legislative body in the country, finalizing, certifying the final vote after a partial vote count on Monday.

Remember, the opposition leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, had repeatedly said he doesn't want a partial recount, the Guardian Council saying on Monday, we're going to do a partial recount anyway.

They recounted about 10 percent of the vote. And within the past hour we're getting word that they have certified the final vote results, essentially making Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the reelected president right now.

Based on Iranian law, it appears as though the opposition leader, Mir- Hossein Mousavi no longer has any legal recourse. So it's going to be very interesting in the coming days and weeks what decision he makes. Because it doesn't like he has many options left at this point -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it. Reza, thanks.

And are you thinking about firing up the grill this Fourth of July? An expanding beef recall could have you checking the contents of your freezer. It's important news that you need to know for your health. Elizabeth Cohen is here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, it's a good day to keep the umbrella handy. Some nasty weather on tap for several areas, not to mention more heat. Right, Chad Myers?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Chad.

Best known as the man with the booming voice, selling OxyClean. We've got new information about the cause of TV pitchman's Billy Mays' death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILIPS: New details on the death of a TV commercial icon, Billy Mays. Last hour, a preliminary autopsy report revealed that he suffered from heart disease, the likely cause of his death. CNN's John Zarrella explains Mays died just hours after he was hit on the head during a rough landing on a U.S. Airways flight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 50 years old, Billy Mays' career was at his height. He was the king of the pitchman. You know the face and the booming voice from commercials for products like Orange Glo and Oxiclean.

BILLY MAYS, "PITCHMEN": That's the power of Oxyclean.

ZARRELLA: Mays was on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia that blew a nose gear tire during a hard landing in Tampa Saturday. Afterwards, a Tampa television station talked with him briefly.

MAYS: All of a sudden, as we hit, you know, it was just the hardest hit. All of the top -- things from the ceiling started dropping and it hit me on the head. But I got a hard head.

ZARRELLA: Airports officials say there were no reports of serious injuries from the landing or falling bags. According to Tampa Police and a friend, radio personality Todd Schmidt, Mays was feeling out of sorts when he went to bed.

TODD SCHMIDT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I called him to give him a hard time, hey Billy, how was the flight? He spoke to me for about six and a half, seven minutes, said he was groggy, said he wasn't feeling that great. he wanted to get some sleep.

ZARRELLA: Mays' wife Debra found him unresponsive Sunday morning.

LAURA MCELROY, SPOKESWOMAN, TAMPA POLICE DEPT: His wife woke up this morning, discovered that he wasn't breathing and immediately called 911.

ZARRELLA: He was pronounced dead by paramedics a short time later. Mays had become a pop culture celebrity, appearing on "The Tonight Show." CONAN O'BRIEN, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": I hear your voice when I try to go to sleep at night.

ZARRELLA: He also co-hosted a Discovery Channel series appropriately titled "Pitchmen."

MAYS: What an entrance.

ZARRELLA: People with big dreams would bring them products, and Mays and his co-host would decide whether the items were worthy of a pitch from the best pitchman in the business.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: And John Zarrella joining us live now to talk more about this. John, we start thinking about Natasha Richardson, Liam Nielson's wife, that was killed when she hit her head while skiing. We wondering, wow, could this be another case just like that. But it turns it it doesn't look like that was the cause of his death.

ZARRELLA: No, that's exactly right. That certainly was the speculation going into the results of the autopsy today, that a piece of luggage falling out of the over-head may have contributed to his death. But the medical examiner, Bernard Adams, ruled that out right away, saying pretty quickly that there was no evidence from the autopsy of any internal or external trauma to his head, and that this heart disease, from what they saw in the autopsy, appeared to be a thickening of the wall of a left ventricle, as well as an artery, all consistent, Adams said, with sudden heart disease.

And apparently, Mays had no idea that he even had this heart disease. Kyra?

PHILIPS: Wow. John Zarrella, thanks so much. Well, an outpouring of grief today for slain Iowa football coach Ed Thomas. Thousands of mourners filled a church in the nearby community center for his funeral today in his home town of Parkersburg. Thomas was shot and killed last week during a team workout at Adlington (ph) Parkersburg High School. One of his former football players has been charged with the murder.

The line of people waiting to pay their respects to the popular coach stretched around the block this weekend. Thomas coached at the school for more than 30 years.

Michael Jackson's parents vowing that they will gain custody of the singer's three kids. His 79-year-old mother Katherine has just filed a petition seeking guardianship of the children and reportedly their estate. Still no definite word on whether Michael left a will.

Meantime, new details from Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray. His lawyer appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" today. He said the doctor saw no medical read flag ahead of Jackson's death, and didn't inject him with pain killers, as some reports have claimed.

(SINGING) PHILIPS: The tributes keep coming, from Motown to the Middle East. Fans in Detroit celebrating Michael Jackson's life with song and dance. Same idea thousands of miles away.

(SINGING)

PHILIPS: And singing we are the world in the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel. People have come out every day since Jackson's death to mourn and share their memories.

For a lot of Iraqis, it's been a long time coming; U.S. combat troops pulling out of Iraqi cities and towns. And by tomorrow, security will be in the hands of Iraqi forces. Celebrations already under way, but some Iraqis fear that the move will trigger a spike in violence. As for American forces, all are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2011. Many could end up in Afghanistan.

CNN's Atia Abawi looks at what's in store for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(INAUDIBLE)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military on patrol in Parwan (ph) Province, meeting with villagers, and scoping the territory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See all those buildings with the little slats? Keep your eyes open.

ABAWI: Part of this unit has been here for only 40 days, at least in this deployment. Many of these soldiers have been in both Iraq and Afghanistan. More are expected to come with President Obama's shift in focus to where the war on terror began.

Specialist William Couch spent two tours in Iraq. This is his first tour in Afghanistan. He welcomes the change.

SPECIALIST WILLIAM COUCH, US ARMY: I think it was over time and everything. I think we should have really been shifting our focus on Afghanistan, but orders by the president dictates everything. I'm actually happy that we did deal with Iraq. I think we should have split the forces 50-50.

ABAWI: Right now, U.S. forces maybe 50,000 of the 94,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan. Approximately 30,000 are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF. And the remaining 27,000 American troops are part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

CPL. JEFFREY DESROSIERS, US ARMY: I support it because Afghanistan has been going on for a lot longer. It's time to focus on this a little more, because Iraq was like the, you know -- the Hollywood type of thing going on. Everybody was going over there. All of the news was focused there. ABAWI: But the shift won't be easy. As the bumpy drive along primitive dirt roads shows, the country's torturous terrain will be difficult to deal with.

(on camera): This is the third time that our MRAP vehicles have been either stuck in the mud or in a creek, proving the challenging terrain that these soldiers face. Afghanistan's infrastructure is nowhere near what it was in Iraq.

(voice-over): The culture is very different too. Villagers in this part of the country are not scared to come out and talk to the U.S. military. Those soldiers coming from Iraq are getting used to the changes.

CPL. MATTHEW SKAPIWSKY, US ARMY: Difference between the desert and the mountains, totally different for us. It's a lot harder for us to do our job here, just due to the terrain.

ABAWI: Bearing the weight of the tasks ahead, these men and women prepare for the next stage in a long forgotten war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: Atia now joining us live from Bagram. Atia, you mentioned the terrain, or at least the men and women mentioned the terrain, and also the culture. But there's also a huge problem with drugs in Afghanistan. A lot of them are going to have to turn their missions and focus into something they haven't dealt with yet.

ABAWI: That's absolutely right. When President Obama had his speech about shifting the focus of the war back to Afghanistan, he also mentioned the civilian efforts. And right now, they are also relying on military personnel in fighting these missions, including the drugs, including infrastructure, including helping with the irrigation system.

All of this is going to be put on the soldiers coming in as well, before they can find these civilians that can actually help the Afghans build Afghanistan into a society that can fit in today's world.

PHILIPS: Atia Abawi, thanks so much. Air France Flight 447 disappeared over the Atlantic without warning. Now a possible connection to two other incidents involving Airbus planes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILIPS: Just getting in word into CNN, Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson, has been granted temporary guardianship of Jackson's three children, ages seven, 11 and 12. Not permanent guardianship, but temporary guardianship. We'll continue, obviously, to follow developments of that.

More beef products are being recalled. And consumers may really feel frustrated this time. That's because it is going to be pretty difficult to determine if the tainted meet is actually in your freezer.

Joining us to explain more, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. We were saying, it's a bit outrageous. They are telling us there's a problem. There's e. coli out there. Yet, they're not telling us where it is and if we need to toss what we have.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There's really very little guidance here for consumers. What's going on is that there's more than 300 pounds of meat being recalled because it might be possibly be contaminated with e. coli 0157-H7, which is a really nasty bacteria. And we're talking about 18 people who are sick in various states.

I called the USDA, and I said, OK, well, I'm going to go into my freezer tonight. What do I throw out? They said, don't know. I don't know. We don't know what you should throw out. Call the company that originally made the product.

So we called JBS, which is the company that made the product, JBS Beef Company. And they said we don't know, because we sell it to basically a middle man, a distributor or a meat packer, if you will. We don't know what they sold it as. We don't know what to tell you.

So you should call your grocery store. Kyra, we called a couple grocery stores to say, hey, we got meat from you, should we throw it out? What should we do. They didn't even know what we were talking about.

PHILIPS: Really?

COHEN: They had no idea.

PHILIPS: OK, so basically everybody is uninformed and we're scared to death about eating what's in our freezer?

COHEN: Right, exactly, because you don't know.

PHILIPS: So, what does the company have to say about all this?

COHEN: The company put out a statement. And they said, look, we're calling all of our customers. We're telling them that they need to look into the situation. And I'll read a little part of their statement. "We continue to work closely with the USDA to ensure that product is removed from the marketplace." That is from JBS Swift Beef Company, the company in question here. We're crossing our fingers for more clarification in the days to come. July 4th is coming up.

PHILIPS: It's pretty unfair. Thanks, Elizabeth.

President Obama promised tax breaks for the middle class in his campaign. How's that working out? Well, we'll try to break it down for you.

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PHILIPS: Live pictures from our CNN affiliate WSB right now. This is actually Georgia Tech campus. Apparently, there has been a collapse in the parking structure there. No reports of anybody that's missing. No reports of any injuries thus far. Fifty fire fighters on the scene though, trying to investigate what caused this and if, indeed, there is anybody trapped inside that parking structure there on Georgia Tech campus. We'll follow it for you.

Welcome news for Chrysler workers; the assembly lines are rolling again. Chrysler plants were idled when the automaker declared bankruptcy. And production actually resumed earlier this month at a small plant in Detroit that makes the Dodge Viper specialty sports car. This week, work is resuming at seven bigger Chrysler plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, plus in Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately, workers at one of the plants that resumed production today have no cause for celebration. The Missouri plant reopened to fill remaining orders, but it will close for good on July 10th.

Keeping taxes down for the middle class, it was a huge campaign promise from President Obama. At least when it comes to income tax, it's so far, so good. But as our Carol Costello reports, there are a lot of other ways for the government to get your money.

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gerry Bringmann puts in a long day as a construction superintendent, and he's worried about the economy.

GERRY BRINGMANN, CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENT: Absolutely brutal. Everyone is tightening their belts and nothing happening. It's the worst I've seen it my whole career.

COSTELLO: So it's a given he really doesn't want to pay more taxes. That's why President Obama's campaign promise sounded so appealing.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No family making less than 250,000 dollars a year will see any form of tax increase.

COSTELLO: And the president has followed through. He wants to give guys like Bringmann a break by making the bush tax cuts permanent for him, and by giving middle class Americans millions in tax credit. It sounds good, but just saying, why do middle class Americans feel so over-taxed?

RYAN ELLIS, AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM: President Obama, I think -- and this isn't an unfair criticism -- is trying to have it both ways.

COSTELLO: Because, he, says there's more than one way to tax a tax payer. Keep in mind, Ellis' organization opposes all tax increases. But as he points out, just one month into the president's term, Mr. Obama signed a bill nearly tripling the tax on cigarettes. And the White House hasn't exactly rejected the idea of taxing employee health plans to pay for health care reform.

BRINGMANN: It's nickel and dimes. It's the stuff you don't see that gets you. That's how they do it. They make it so you don't notice it. COSTELLO: State governments are playing that game, too. The New York Transit Authority is raising fares to make up for huge deficits. Hence Bringmann is paying more for his ride to work.

ELLIS: Well, on the state and local level, there's been a large push for tax increases, because, of course, states have to balance their budgets, whereas the federal government does not.

COSTELLO: So at least 23 states have raised taxes and fees this year, some in creative ways. Wisconsin, for example, is proposing a 75 cent monthly fee for any device that can make 911 calls. In Maine, there's an additional five percent tax on most candy. Kentucky has doubled the state's cigarette tax and now taxes alcohol. Massachusetts has proposed a 25 percent increase in its sales tax.

No wonder the middle class feels over-taxed, and is more cynical than ever.

BRINGMANN: It's the nature of the beast. They are going to try to find ways to sneak things past you. Again, it's just part of the nickel and diming you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And these new taxes and fees, no one outside of government thinks they will be temporary. Oh no, they think they will be permanent.

Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

PHILIPS: He holds a pretty high ranking position at Duke University. Now he's been caught in a high profile child sex sting. We're pushing forward next hour on this disgusting case. He allegedly offered up his adopted son online.

Plus, two soldiers, one IED, countless wounds, inside and out. Back home and back together, they have built their own support system. Their story from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

There she goes, Miss Georgia. We do mean there she goes. Christina Higgins, who was crowned on Saturday, stepped down on Sunday. She issued a statement declaring she didn't have time to be Miss Georgia because of her job as a middle school teacher, which raises the question: what was she thinking when she entered the pageant in the first place?

A word of warning to would-be beauty queens: don't put on the tiara if you can't put in the time.

Was there a connection between the crash of Air France flight 447 and two other incidents involving Airbus A-330s? Our Jeanne Meserve has the latest.

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PHILIPS: Did problems with external speed sensors caused the crash of Air France flight 447 in the middle of the Atlantic? That's one theory being investigated. Now the NTSB is looking at other such incidents involving the same type of aircraft. Our Jeanne Meserve has been investigating.

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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators do not yet know why Air France flight 447 went down in the middle of the Atlantic. But automated messages sent before the crash indicate there may have been problems with external speed sensors. Now, the National Transportation Safety Board has turned up two other incidents with the same type of aircraft which may provide additional clues.

On May 21st, just days before the Air France crash, an Airbus A-330, operated by Brazil's TAM Airline, was flying from Miami to Sao Paulo when an abrupt drop in outside air temperature was followed by the loss of air speed and altitude information. The flight crew used back-up instruments. The data was restored. The flight landed safely.

A second possibly similar incident took place June 23rd on a Northwest flight between Hong Kong and Tokyo. Again, the aircraft landed safely.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB OFFICIAL: We have no idea yet whether these two incidents are in any way related to the Air France accident. But investigators are going to leave no stone unturned. And they are going to search out any incident that occurs.

The Pido (ph) tubes would be located on either side of the nose, usually right in this area.

MESERVE: Goelz says the possible culprit in all these incidents, a malfunction of either the Pido tubes, small exterior speed sensors, or the computer software on the aircraft.

The Airbus A-330 is so widely used, one takes off every minute somewhere in the world. Air France flight 447 was the first to crash in the 16 years the aircraft has been in service. Experts say at this point, there is no reason to believe it is unsafe to fly.

(on camera): The Federal Aviation Administration is monitoring the Air France investigation and says it will take safety action if it's needed. But at this point, investigators just don't know if these two incidents are related to the crash, or if they're indicative of a wider problem.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPS: Now pushing forward, a key ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today. At issue, a discrimination case ruled on by high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. In a five-four decision, the court ruled white fire fighters in New Haven, Connecticut were unfairly denied promotions because of their race. The decision reversed one that Sotomayor endorsed as an Appeals Court judge last year.

One of the four dissenting justices was David Souter. He's retiring, and today was his last day on the job. He will be replaced by Sotomayor, if she's confirmed by the Senate.

Again, the heart of the issue decided today was this: were the white fire fighters denied a promotion simply because of their race. Just moments ago, some of those fire fighters in New Haven spoke out. CNN's Mary Snow was there. Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, they're known as the New Haven 20; 19 white fire fighters, one Hispanic, who initially filed the suit. They stood on the steps of the federal courthouse where there was a decision against them in 2006. And they say they feel vindicated by today's Supreme Court ruling.

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FRANK RICCI, NEW HAVEN 20: I think that this is just proof positive that people should be treated as individuals and not statistics. And that won out at the Supreme Court today.

LT. MATTHEW MARCARELLI, NEW HAVEN 20: If you think you're down and out, look at the New Haven 20. We took a lot of kicks in the stomach over this case and we finally got our vindication.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Kyra, we're waiting to hear from New Haven's mayor and the legal counsel about their next step. What happens now is that the case goes back to a federal district judge, who now will decide what to do next. And of course, the key question is what happens to those promotions. And the attorney for the fire fighters says she expects those promotions to go through. It's unclear just when. But we are expecting to hear shortly from the city side and what their next step will be.

PHILIPS: Mary Snow, thanks so much. Judge Sotomayor ruled one way. A Supreme Court majority disagreed. We want to know where you stand. Head to CNN.com/Newsroom, click Kyra to leave a comment. And, of course, you can always Tweet us at KyraCNN

So how will today's ruling affect how race is treated in workplaces across America? And will it fire up critics of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor? CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who actually wrote the book "the Nine, Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court," joins me now.