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Too Much Michael Jackson Media Coverage?; Sarah Palin Speaks Out; Chaos in Honduras; Cracking the Palin Puzzle; President Obama Meets With Russian President
Aired July 06, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Republican Congressman Peter King questions the expanded media coverage of this -- quote -- "pervert and pedophile." And he talks to CNN.
What you are saying about it.
REP. PETER KING (R-NY), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER: This has gone too far. This is enough.
SANCHEZ: Sarah Palin Twitters her defense against all who question her ethics, while Americans try and figure out why she's quitting her job as governor in the first place on your national conversation for Monday, July 6, 2009.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN with the next generation of news. This is a conversation. It's not a speech. And, certainly, it's your turn to get involved.
We are going to begin now with some breaking news developments. It's a possibility that a serial killer has finally been caught. These are pictures that we have coming in to us right now from the Carolinas.
Let me try and put this together for you. We have just learned of a shoot-out with police. Now, keep in mind, it's happened not far from the very place where people have been completely freaked out, thinking that there's a serial killer in their midst and on the loose, five people killed, random killings like in nine days.
People are now buying guns. And now there's a possibility -- you see that police car that says Gaston? That's Gaston, North Carolina, apparently about a half-hour from where all this was going on in South Carolina.
We have got -- do we have him? We have got David Mattingly standing by now. He's on the phone there in Gaston. He's going to let us -- what's going on, what's going on with this.
David, what are police saying?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, at the moment, all eyes from investigators in South Carolina and North Carolina are on this, what looks like a rundown house on a two-lane county road in Gaston County, North Carolina.
That was the scene of a shoot-out between police officers and a suspect inside the building, which happened about 3:00, 3:30 this morning. Police were originally called to the scene on a possible robbery call. When they got there, they encountered some people inside the building.
One man pulled out a gun and started shooting at the officers, wounded one officer in the leg. Police returned fire and killed him. They are now looking to see if this man might be serial killer...
SANCHEZ: I think we just lost David.
Let me bring Mike Brooks into this while we try and get David back on the line.
Does this sounds like it fits the M.O. of what this guy's been doing in the past?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it does. It does to a certain extent. And this is only 35 miles northeast of Gaffney, where the other ones occurred, because consider we have got five murders in the last nine days, and all within a 10-mile radius.
Now, I have spoken to my law enforcement source up close to the investigation in South Carolina. He's telling me that they were able to link those five murders to the ballistics, the same gun used during those five murders, so that's one thing they do have.
There's -- they were looking for other evidence, so they should be able to link this particular shooting, Rick, in short order after they come back and say, OK, is it the same kind of weapon that's been used in the other five?
SANCHEZ: This is magnificently frightening. I remember you and I both covered the situation in Washington, D.C.
BROOKS: Oh, yes.
SANCHEZ: ... where you had Muhammad, the so-called D.C. sniper, I guess not so-called. He was convicted and may be executed.
BROOKS: Right. Right.
SANCHEZ: Nothing can frighten a populace more than somebody going around taking shots at people and you never know where it's going to come from.
BROOKS: NO.
SANCHEZ: I was ducking. So were you.
BROOKS: And in a small -- and this is a small community. And they put the composite out there. We had that sketch. That came from two separate witnesses that put there -- that they interviewed both and say they came up with this.
And if it's someone who lived in this community because it's so small, Rick, someone would have recognized it and the general description of the car. Now, on the shooting in Gaston, there is some surveillance video apparently that shows this truck. And it fits almost to a tee the description of the truck that was given in the shootings in the five -- in the shootings Gaffney and Cherokee County, yes.
SANCHEZ: Really?
BROOKS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Apparently, a -- what was it, a Ford...
BROOKS: Ford explorer.
SANCHEZ: Early 1990s Explorer, right?
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Right.
SANCHEZ: And they say the guy's 6'2. They got a description of him. So, they kind of know who they're looking for.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: It shouldn't be hard to nail this down. Probably we will know within the next hour, you think?
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: I would say probably by the end of the day, we should know, because it shouldn't take too long to put a rush on this. And South Carolina law enforcement is in North Carolina now, in Gaston, because that is in North Carolina, but they had been working together before, before all this happened anyway, the North Carolina -- because it's so close to the North Carolina border.
SANCHEZ: What a story.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: If it's a spree or serial killer that has, in fact, been caught or apprehended there in North Carolina, what we will do is we will flip everything around and bring you that story right away.
As you heard, David Mattingly is there on the scene. We are going to try and hook up with him again before the end of this newscast. And if there's a confirmation on that, if nothing else, it's going to make a whole lot of folks, and I'm sure you would agree with this, in South Carolina breathe a sigh of relief. BROOKS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: All right, let's do this.
Here's another big story that we're following right now. I'm glad you're here, because I want to talk to you about this. Was a former NFL quarterback killed by his mistress while his wife and his four children had no clue about what was going on until the very end with their dad or their husband?
Police will not confirm it, but all indications do seem to point in the direction of Sahel Kazemi allegedly shooting and killing Steve McNair and then shooting and killing herself.
That's her -- or a picture of her before she died. So, why does it appear that that's how this happened? Well, consider this. Here's the information. Police say that he was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest.
She was shot once in the side of the head. And the semiautomatic handgun used in the crime was found under her body. Oh, and there's one more thing. Police now say they're not seeking any other suspects.
Now we're getting this as well, a possible gun purchase by the other woman just days before the deaths, this according to a relative, cited by the Associated Press.
What does this all tell you? By the way, here's what else we can tell you that we're learning today. She was a waitress who was busted for DUI the week before driving his SUV while officers gave him a break and let him leave in a taxi. His car, her driving. And, here, she's very young. Sounds like a story for Brooks and Banfield, doesn't it?
As a matter of fact, here now, host of "Open Court," Ashleigh Banfield and CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.
Ashleigh, let me begin with you.
It appears that he met this young lady at a Dave & Buster's. And according to the information that we're receiving, he had told her, look, my wife and I are either divorcing or on the brink of divorce, so let's start dating.
And it sounds like that was a lie.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, TRUTV ANCHOR: Well, what we know is that they may have had their house up on the market. Some said that the football player and his wife might not have been having the greatest relationship at this time.
But I think a lot of that's beside the point. I think the issues here are the forensics. And Mike will probably back me up on this. When you're talking about a murder-suicide, there are some very clear telltale signs, even if someone tries to stage it. Police are pretty good at finding things that will prove that... (CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, let's start with gunpowder residue. If she shot that weapon four times -- and it was probably something like a Glock, right, Mike?
BROOKS: That's what we're hearing.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Gunpowder residue would be all over her arm.
BROOKS: Oh, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: And you would know if she shot that weapon.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
And they will also take a look at the bodies, OK, and see exactly how far away the rounds came that shot Steve McNair, as well as the rounds, the one round that shot her in the head.
But, you know, my source -- we got on this early yesterday afternoon after we found out about this, and, early on, they were saying, the police at the scene were saying, yes, it is a double homicide, because, when you go into a crime scene, you get an overall view, you start taking your pictures, you start your investigation.
But when they moved her body, that's when they found the gun under her body. They did not even notice it until they went ahead to roll the body.
SANCHEZ: Doesn't that tell you, just as somebody who's investigated these kind of cases, that the possibility of this being a murder- suicide and that she killed him is very high?
BROOKS: It's very high. And, also, ESPN is reporting that the door was locked from the inside.
Now, there was one other person, the person who found him. It was a friend of his, a former bodyguard and best friend. They call him Big Daddy Daddy.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BROOKS: He had a key to the condo. And he was the one who came over, could not -- could not get in touch with him, came over and found them about 1:35 in the afternoon.
Now, law enforcement thinks -- the investigators told me they believe that it happened sometime overnight or in the early morning hours of that morning.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Just an incredibly sad story.
Ashleigh, what do you make of this report that, just last Thursday, they were stopped by the same police officer who apparently had given him -- listen to this -- the same police officer who gave him a DUI back in 2003, stopped them last Thursday and gave her a DUI, but let him skate, let him get -- because he wasn't driving the car, I should say -- but let him get into a taxi and drive away from the scene, apparently giving him some kind of break because she was still driving his car.
What do you make of that?
BANFIELD: Yes. Well, I hate to say I'm not surprised. That does happen a lot. Especially in a community if he's been visiting that area a lot and has had some interplay with these police before, I wouldn't be so surprised that would happen.
But I want to actually just piggyback on something Mike was talking about.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BANFIELD: I have covered a lot of cases, believe it or not, where the suicide has been in question because of the actual positioning or the trajectory of the bullet.
Think for a minute, if you will -- I'm going to do something really weird here, but I'm going to put my gun to my head. And if you're going to commit suicide, typically, it is straight to the temple, if that's where you're heading. And apparently she was shot in the side of the head.
But if you have to bend your arm a lot to the front, if the trajectory comes this way, that's a telltale sign that maybe this was not a suicide and it is positioned that way.
And then what -- is she right-handed or left-handed?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BANFIELD: Because if the gun was taken to the right side of the head, but she's left-handed, like a case I covered last week, it becomes a question.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: This shouldn't take long to figure out, right?
BROOKS: No.
But you know what, though? They said -- they have already said his is a homicide, but there's no rush to judgment. Why not make sure to make it's not? And I can tell you also, they brought in...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And we should add, she did have a boyfriend who apparently had been stiffed by the fact that she was now going out with -- which doesn't mean anything, other than what I just said. (CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: They apparently broke up about six months ago. And I'm also hearing, Rick, that the black Escalade that he gave her as a present for her birthday was registered to both of them. So, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: And there will be people of interest, I think, but whether they're announced that way or not. The former boyfriend and, believe it or not, McNair's wife will be investigated, because you always look to those who are closest in an affair.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Well, I will tell you this. In memory of the guy, I watched him play football. He was phenomenally talented.
BROOKS: Tremendous athlete, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Tremendous athlete. And to see it all end this way is really very, very sad, and sad, we should say, most of all, for those four children, those four boys who are left without a dad.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: My thanks to both of you.
Let us know if you learn anything new.
BROOKS: Will do.
BANFIELD: All right. Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I have determined it's best to transfer authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Sarah Palin defends herself against critics of her ethics in the wake of her stunning announcement that she's quitting as Alaska's governor, which, by the way, you saw the news broken right here last Friday.
And as the world prepares for Michael Jackson's memorial, a Republican congressman is calling him a pervert and a child molester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: This is crazy. This is insanity to be giving this type of coverage, this type of reverence, to this individual, who I think was guilty of such a deviant lifestyle which affected innocent young kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Is he saying what many Americans are thinking? Go to my Web site right now and let me know. It is CNN.com/ricksanchez, CNN.com/ricksanchez. Do you agree with Congressman King about too much coverage of a guy who had a questionable reputation? Let's leave it at that.
We will be right back.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Hi, Rick. Tim Hoak (ph) from Syracuse, New York.
Regarding Representative King's comments on Michael Jackson, I think it's just sad that, at the time of somebody's death, you can't keep your opinions to yourself. And, as politician, he might be able to put a little time into some of the problems facing our country and not making comments on other people.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Just as I was watching that commercial, Don Lemon got in my ear. He's out in L.A. following the very latest with Michael Jackson.
He's telling me there's a -- there's a new development. And this goes right to the thing he and I last were talking about, having to do with this -- this will that Michael Jackson supposedly left behind. There may be some questions going on here now.
Let's let Don Lemon explain this to us.
Don, what's the latest with this thing?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a whole lot going on, Rick. So, stick with me.
First of all, let's talk about what you and I were just discussing. Here's what it's boiling down to with the developments today. The judge in this case said that he is going to give John Branca, John McClain, that they can continue to be the special administrators to Michael Jackson's estate, the special administrators, which basically gives them power until this August 3 hearing to do what they want.
Katherine Jackson and the Jackson family had wanted that power to do that. Here's what it's going to boil down to. You have got the Jackson family and then you have got Branca and -- who are the administrators. They don't want to be seen, and I will tell you this, as guys going up against an 80-year-old woman in this and...
SANCHEZ: Right.
LEMON: Because it just looks bad. Now, I do have to tell you, though, John Branca has a very long and established relationship and friendship with Michael Jackson. As a matter of fact, this exclusive video that we have, John Branca and Norman Winter, who was on our show last night, they arranged this meeting at the White House where Michael Jackson -- and this is exclusive stuff, guys -- we should get an exclusive bug up here -- they arranged this meeting.
You see Michael Jackson there with the first lady. You see what's her name who ran for president back in 2000, Liddy Dole.
SANCHEZ: Wow. That's a young Liddy Dole.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes. Yes. Look at that.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: How old is this?
LEMON: Look at this. This is from 1980. I believe it's 1982, when he got a special commendation.
There's one part that's going to come up where John Branca, they're in the Roosevelt Room. So, I'm just going to be quiet, because I want you to hear what they say.
OK. There's a part on here where they're in the Roosevelt Room and Norman Winter, who was Michael Jackson's publicist at the time -- I know we have that video, guys, if we can find it -- and it says, hey, look, we're in the Roosevelt Room. There's J.B. over there. There's John Branca. And John Branca goes, hey, we're inside the Roosevelt Room.
So, just to give you an idea...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Yes. Let me bring you back to this Branca thing, because here's what I'm thinking, all right?
LEMON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: The way this will is structured right now, Branca and maybe a couple of these other attorneys, since they're the ones in charge of the will, could they literally freeze Katherine Jackson out of this thing?
Could they -- and just for the sake of reductio ad absurdum here, let me take this to a ridiculous end here, and say, do they have so much power over this will that they could literally take all the money in the estate and give it to whoever they wanted to, including their own children?
LEMON: Yes and no. And that -- a lot of that will be determined by the trust, because there are specific names in the trust that is attached to this will, this 2002 will. And I have got to talk to you about 1997 as well because there's another will that popped up. So, hold that thought for just a second.
But the very interesting point is, is that the Jackson family, especially Katherine Jackson, they want respect. They want to be kept in on the loop, because they're asking John Branca for papers to try to, you know, everything he does, if he decides to change some of the assets, if there are new businesses that are established.
Yes, he has the power to do that. Now, the judge did say today, communicate with Katherine Jackson. Let her know what you're doing. He didn't say that she had complete veto power. She doesn't have any.
But they -- the judge says, communicate, communicate, communicate. Also, interesting point, Rick, before you go, AEG, same thing. You know that video we have been showing of Michael Jackson, the rehearsals?
SANCHEZ: Right.
LEMON: They can take those, turn them into DVDs, do whatever they want with them. And the Jackson family wants to know what they are going to do with that as well and what they're going to do with that money. So, they have to keep Katherine Jackson informed as well.
She doesn't have veto power, but the judge says let her know. After all, she's the mom here.
SANCHEZ: All right. You have been all over it.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: In 1997, a will popped up, but, since 2002, it happened after, Rick, then I think that supersedes the 1997 will.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: It's been lodged with the court, but it hasn't been formally accepted...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Don Lemon has got all the widgets in this thing down. And we thank him for doing so.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: It's a fascinating case. Thanks so much, Don. Appreciate it, my friend.
LEMON: All righty. All righty. SANCHEZ: All right.
All right, speaking of Michael Jackson, did you hear what a New York lawmaker said about Michael Jackson? Congressman Peter King said he's sick of all the Jackson coverage and calls it like he sees it. But what are others saying about what he says?
Pervert? Pervert, Congressman?
We will be right back.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Has Representative King heard of the justice system? Mr. Jackson went through the justice system. He was acquitted of all charges. And that's it. Don't slander someone or defame someone's name after they have already been deceased. It's disrespectful.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: B.J. from Atlanta.
I think Representative King has committed libel. Why does he think he can condemn Michael now that he's dead? He was found innocent of molestation charges. I hope someone sues this ignorant, hateful man, because it sounds like he has anger issues.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There's a lot of people making comments like that one about what Congressman Peter King has said.
And, look, we have all muttered under our breath at one point or another whether the coverage of the Michael Jackson saga is just too much, just like we -- many of us did after the death of Princess Di.
But is it right to call a dead entertainer a pervert, a child molester and a pedophile who shouldn't be glorified? Those exact words spoken not by a fringe activist or an angry man on the street. This is Congressman Peter King of New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: When you put aside all the psychobabble, he was a pervert, and he was a pedophile, a child molester. None of us would let our children or grandchildren in the room with him, and yet he's getting all these front-page headlines and stories, television, radio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: All right, that was over the weekend, Congressman Peter King saying stop glorifying the man he calls a pedophile and a pervert. So, we asked him today, does he stand on the names that he's calling Michael Jackson? And he was fair enough to sit down with one of our correspondents to answer these tough questions. And what about the fact that Jackson -- first of all, the question that all of you have asked us to ask him, the guy was acquitted by a jury of his peers in a court over these molestation charges.
So, why, Congressman, are you still calling him a molester and a pervert? And, most specifically, what would he say to a mother he says of small children -- all right, let's just -- let's do this. Let's let him answer that charge. Why is he calling him that if, in fact, he was found not guilty?
Let's take it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I would say to that woman or to any of these people who are glorifying Michael Jackson, would any of them leave their child or their grandchild alone in the same room with Michael Jackson? And the answer is no.
QUESTION: He was acquitted in court, though.
KING: Yes, but there's more involved here just than the simple facts of that case.
By his own admission in interviews and documentaries, he admits to sleeping with young children. We know of elaborate alarm systems he had built in his house when he was sleeping with young children.
So, by his own admission, we're talking about someone who put young children at risk. Whether or not he was convicted of a precise crime, by his own admission, also by cases he settled, lawsuits that he settled against him, there's an admission that he acted very, very inappropriately with young kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is here with me now.
You know what's interesting about this, Candy? You and I could probably go to a cocktail party tonight, and we would hear people saying exactly what he just said. And you know that that's true.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: And you would also hear people saying, I'm sick of Michael Jackson, and you know what, the guy did this and he did that.
CROWLEY: Well...
SANCHEZ: That aside, this guy's a congressman. Does that make it a little different? CROWLEY: Well, as people who don't know this particular congressman at this point, they now know that he says what is on his mind. And that's clearly what's on his mind.
And you're right. He has a platform that ordinary people do not. Having said that, it seems to me there's two issues here. One is about the coverage, which you and I would hear a lot about.
SANCHEZ: Right.
CROWLEY: And the other is about his private life. And I think you saw a lot of public officials actually grappling with this and coming up with a far more diplomatic and correct, legally correct, things to say about Michael Jackson.
We saw the president saying he changed music. He was such a force, which he totally was. He did change the face of music. He crossed race barriers. And so the fact of the matter is, he was a moving force. He is going to be a legend in music, if not already.
So, there is that part of Michael Jackson. And then the president went on to say, and then, of course, he had quite a controversial, sad private life. I'm glad we're looking at his music.
So, I think that this has been something that public people have kind of struggled with a little bit, because you can't deny that there has been a lot of controversy.
Congressman King is perfectly right that Michael Jackson did say that he slept with young boys in innocent fashion. He did pay millions to have another case go away.
But you and I know that oftentimes people with the money to make a case go away can do that without being guilty, just to not have the hassle of it. So, yes, you're right. He's got a platform here that an ordinary person doesn't. So it takes on a microphone that other people don't have.
SANCHEZ: Could this be considered one of -- a lot of times, you and I in the past have talked about these so-called wedge issues that all these pundits talk about. And it's one of those things that you know, that to a particular type of person, demographically speaking, that argument will work. They will go, yes, man, you're talking for me.
Is that one of those issues, this Michael Jackson -- criticism of coverage and so forth?
CROWLEY: I don't think that it's an issue if you mean, will this play out in an election? I think it does show...
SANCHEZ: No, I mean, is it an easy Republican talking point is what I mean, that he -- and he knew that going in, and he said this is the way to motivate my folks here?
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: I don't know what was going on in the congressman's head.
But I can tell you he had a 62 percent election last time around. I don't think he needs to worry about his particular district. I think you saw a guy who's sitting in front of an American Legion hall on the Fourth of July saying, wait a minute, what about the heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about the teachers and the firemen and the -- you know, that kind of thing, and just popped off.
I don't get the sense that this was, well, I have an election next year, so let me say this.
SANCHEZ: Well, here's what people say on my poll. You ready? Let's watch this together, because neither one of you have seen the results. We have been tabulating them throughout the day.
We asked folks, do you agree with Representative King on what he has to say? And there is in fact our Web site. We invite you to go down and fill it in. And I suppose we don't have the results yet. But, when we do, we will turn them around for you and we will share them with you.
My thanks to you, Candy Crowley.
CROWLEY: Sure.
SANCHEZ: Look forward to having another conversation with you.
All right, take a look at this clash between Honduran soldiers and supporters of the Honduras' ousted president. Supporters want him back. Only problem, his Venezuelan plane is preventing him from landing.
And deadly riots and unrest in China. That's right, China. And the video to watch is just amazing.
Also, we are monitoring President Obama's trip to Russia. What will possibly come out of this? Successful trip? We will break it down with one of our international experts for you in just a bit.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Hi, Rick. This is Cheryl (ph) from Proctorville, Ohio.
I just wanted to say that I think more comments like Representative King's will come out just because we're all sick to death of hearing just the information that's given about Michael Jackson, not that we didn't love him, but it's time to move on to other things until there's more news.
Thanks a lot. Bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: This is our Conexion connection, where we connect you with the stories going on in our hemisphere.
Now, if you think back to the 1980s and the 1990s, and you think of all the turmoil that rocked Central America, wars in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, tensions in Honduras, and the United States in the middle of all of this, then for 15 years there seemed to be relative calm.
So, do we need to be worried about what's occurring right now in Honduras? We may need to be.
First of all, I want you to watch this remarkable report filed by CNN's Karl Penhaul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gunshots ring out. Honduran soldiers fire, the supporters of ousted leftist president, Manuel Zelaya, try to bust through the airport perimeter. Protesters lob rocks, the military responds with bullets and tear gas. It's unclear if they're firing into the air or directly at civilians.
A dying man is carried through the crowd. Video clearly shows him bleeding from a head wound.
The Red Cross confirms an initial death toll.
"We have one person dead, a man in his 20s from a gunshot in the head, and eight people wounded," he says.
Amid the violent clashes, protesters report more may have died. This man, soaked in blood, says a child died in his arms.
"I ran over and laid beside the boy to try and help him because I didn't want him to die, but he died," he tells me.
Word comes that Mr. Zelaya's arrival was imminent. He was sent into exile after the military coup a week ago and is trying to reclaim his presidency.
(on camera): We just had word that Mr. Zelaya's plane is already in the air and now dozens of soldiers are heading towards the airstrip to try and prevent the plane from landing or arrest him if it does.
(voice-over): A white executive jet carrying Mr. Zelaya buzzes the airport. The runways heavily guarded. A military fighter plane has scrambled to force Mr. Zelaya's jet out of the air space.
Thousands of Zelaya's working class supporters turned out Sunday, vowing to risk their own lives to protect their president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the fight!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to die!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the fight!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to die!
PENHAUL: The interim government put in place by the military coup threatened to arrest Zelaya and put him on trial for corruption and treason. Riot police attempted to block the highway to the airport, but later backed off.
"They're Hondurans like us. We don't want to fight our own people," he says.
There's no way on to the runway for Zelaya supporters. The airport is closed off. Zelaya headed off to neighboring El Salvador.
"We're calling on the people of Honduras to stage a peaceful insurrection. We will not give up. We want Manuel Zelaya back," he says.
The struggle to restore Zelaya to power seems far from over. The revolt against the coup has now turned bloody.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Joining me once again from Washington is Kevin Casas-Zamora. He's a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He's also a former vice president and minister of planning in the government of Costa Rica.
Thanks so much, sir, for being with us.
KEVIN CASAS-ZAMORA, SR. FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: My pleasure.
SANCHEZ: Americans are looking at this scratching their heads and trying to figure out what's going on there, but there's one part of this game that is probably most dangerous. And that's the fact that Hugo Chavez allowed one of his planes to be used for Zelaya to be flown back into a country.
He can get himself in some trouble doing things like this, can't he?
CASAS-ZAMORA: This is one of the several strange things going on here. If anything, Rick, I have to say, I mean, I don't know if the situation is going forward or backward, but I can tell you that it's going downwards.
This is fast descending into a farce. I mean, we're talking about a country that has, at this point, two presidents, two governments, two ministers of foreign affairs. It is just crazy.
SANCHEZ: Well, who has the ultimate authority? I mean, as I read it, and you can maybe instruct us, the supreme court of Honduras decided that the previous president, Zelaya, needed to be removed.
Aren't they the ultimate authority then? CASAS-ZAMORA: It's more complicated than that, in my view, because if this were only a law enforcement kind of thing, I mean, you probably wouldn't send in the military to pick up the president at 5:00 in the morning, take him out of the house, put him on a plane, and fly him all the way to Costa Rica. That's not normal law enforcement.
SANCHEZ: But hold on. Maybe that's the way they do it.
You know, we have an impeachment process in this country which we used or tried to use with Nixon, and did use with President Clinton, for example, but as I read their constitution a couple of days ago, I didn't see any impeachment provision in their constitution. So maybe this is the only way they have to do it.
CASAS-ZAMORA: I seriously doubt it, Rick. I mean, this is, by all accounts, and by what one can see, a throwback to a bygone era in Latin America. I mean, this is -- no matter how we want -- we may want to cloak it, it's a military coup.
SANCHEZ: What does the United States and what does President Obama do, or any different from what he's done so far?
CASAS-ZAMORA: I mean, that's the big question, Rick. And that's the interesting question here.
My impression is that the only way to stop this farce -- because the sad thing, Rick, is that this is a farce in which people are starting to die. It's a farce in which the fate of a very poor and vulnerable country is at stake. So the only way to stop this farce is really for the U.S. administration to use a much more aggressive diplomacy than they have been using so far. The only actor, the one and only actor that can stop this farce from descending further is the U.S. administration.
SANCHEZ: And this president has the credibility to step in there and try to be a mediator, you think? I know President Bush couldn't have done this. Not because he's not capable of it, because he just wasn't the right man and the right party for the time to get that credibility in Latin America.
Do you know what I'm saying?
CASAS-ZAMORA: Yes, absolutely. I mean, my impression is...
SANCHEZ: But Obama does, right? Because he is probably seen as a little more of a lefty by them.
CASAS-ZAMORA: Yes, he certainly does, and so does Secretary Clinton. And perhaps -- I mean, they could use some help from some of the more serious allies that the U.S. does have in Latin America, countries like Brazil, even Mexico. But, I mean, one of the things...
SANCHEZ: I've got to let you go. You're going to have to hold that thought. I'm being told we've got some other stuff coming up real quick.
Kevin Casas-Zamora.
CASAS-ZAMORA: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: It's always enjoyable talking to you. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us.
Coming up, why is Sarah Palin quitting, and what is she saying about it on Twitter. Her Twitter page, we found it. We'll share.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: The discussion about why Sarah Palin quit continues. Much can be learned, though, from Sarah Palin herself in her Twitter page and profile.
As a matter of fact, there it is. I put it up so you could see it. We have been kind of perusing it ourselves today. This is the last entry.
"Grateful Todd left fishing grounds to join me this weekend, but now he's back slaying salmon and working the kids at the site. Anxious to join them."
Hear who she's following. First, CNN. She's also following Fox News. You see the little icon right there.
Which persons does she follow? Well, there's Bill O'Reilly. There is Sean Hannity down there.
And what else did we learn from her? Well, we learned that she's making a pretty strict defense against her critics who have been criticizing her ethics. They're looking into stuff for reasons why she quit.
We'll have that for you when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez in the world headquarters of CNN.
Governor Sarah Palin is using her Twitter page to defend herself. She's linking manuscripts from her lawyers and telling her supporters to prepare for spin with false information about her. Prepare for spin with bad information, false information about her.
This, as most of us still try and figure out exactly why she quit in the first place last Friday, to the surprise of most of us, a story you saw right here. And by the way, does she even need to give a reason? It's her life, right?
Matt Cooper's a contributor for "The Atlantic." He thinks there may be at least three reasons out there. The problem is, you know, being definitive and finding one of them. Matt, good to see you again.
MATT COOPER, CONTRIBUTOR, "THE ATLANTIC": Good to see you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: She's running from something. Maybe there's some bad news out there. That's one of your working theories, right?
COOPER: Well, that's -- you know, it's conjecture. And she fired off a tweet the other night linked to a letter from her lawyer saying don't imply she's in any legal trouble, or you might get a cease and desist order, or some kind of defamation suit from us.
SANCHEZ: But everybody is up there. We've sent our own correspondents to look around Wasilla. And I've got to tell you -- I mean, I'm not saying it's over. They have only been there for a couple of days. But from all reports that we've received, they're not finding anything.
COOPER: No, I agree. And, you know, I think part of it, Rick, is owing to her timing. You know, her choice of doing this on the Friday before the July 4th holiday weekend, traditionally a time when you dump bad news, news you want to bury.
It led a lot of people to speculate about maybe there was something coming in a legal sense. You know, so far, not.
SANCHEZ: This woman, you and I both know, could make a lot of money outside of government; right? I mean, she's got all the tools to be able to do so. She's very visible and very popular, and people want to hear her speak.
COOPER: Right. Well, that is another reason I speculate, just, you know, sheer cash. I mean, it's very hard to turn down the bucks for so long, and you think maybe your moment in the sun's going to pass. And, you know, maybe she just wanted the money.
She certainly, in her statement on Friday, cited the fact that she wracked up a fair number of legal bills because of state investigations about her. So money is not a bad guess here.
SANCHEZ: Well, no. And listen, I've got four kids. I understand that. And one of them is going to college this next year. It is about money in many of our cases.
What about the fact that she just wants to quit? Doesn't a person just have a right to quit? I heard Bill Bennett on his show criticizing her and saying that quitting is not a good thing, that this won't serve her well. So, I've heard the criticisms as much from Republicans as Democrats, but a person does have a right to do whatever they want to do, right?
COOPER: Well, you certainly have the right to quit, Rick. The question is whether, you know, you have a right to -- whether you have an obligation to explain why you quit, especially if you sought the votes of tens of thousands of Alaskans to elect you to a four-year term, and then you went to the entire country and you said look at all the great things I'm doing as governor, elect me vice president. And then you say, you know, but I've got 18 months to go, forget it.
So, I think she certainly has the right to quit, but I think the explanation has been less than satisfying.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I think she may hurt herself with something like this. Who knows? You know? It may be coming at a different way, a way that maybe you and I don't get.
COOPER: Well, that's the thing.
SANCHEZ: A lot of people are saying this can't be good in the end, because a lot of people are going to look back and say why did you leave the job?
Matt, we've got to let you go. We've got a lot of other stuff going on.
Always good to talk to you. Thanks for joining us.
COOPER: Thanks, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right.
Rioting in China leaving dozens dead. China? What could be going on in China the police, you'd think, couldn't control? It's a totalitarian system. Why all the unrest?
That report, stay with us. Jim Clancy's here when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
Incredible images of rioting have been coming out of China, similar to the ones that we saw just a little while ago that were taking place in Honduras -- vehicles overturned, burned. State-run media reports at least 140 people killed -- 140 people killed in China. Most businesses remains closed.
China blames the violence on the Uighurs. This is a mainly Sunni- Muslim group there in China.
Uighurs accuse security forces of firing on a peaceful protest. They wanted an investigation into a fight last month between Uighur and Han Chinese. That's the country's dominate ethnic group. Both groups have a long history of ethnic tensions, by the way.
We're going to be all over that with Jim Clancy in just a little bit, but first of all, President Obama travels to Russia to improve relations and strengthen ties. Did he get an arms control deal? And what about help for Afghanistan?
There he is, our international guru and specialist.
Put the camera on this man. He deserves to be -- there he is.
Jim Clancy joining me to break this one down.
Did you just realize you were on TV?
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Just now. It's a new experience for me, Rick.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We'll do it just a little bit, all about what's going on with China and the U.S. --= wait, Russia -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: The president of the United States goes to Russia to talk to Medvedev, who is the president of Russia, although some would argue whether he really is the most powerful man in Russia.
There is the president today. The more diminutive looking figure is the new president of Russia, there with him.
Jim Clancy is our international specialist. He's sitting here on the set with us now to go through this.
What did the president need to do? Did he accomplish it?
CLANCY: I think he did accomplish it. You know, he talked about, I'm going to reset the relationship. They got a start, they got a framework agreement.
We're talking about not outstanding missile cuts. Some of this stuff has already been announced by Bush and Putin, at least as a target. But if you look at it in the most optimistic terms, it would amount to reducing your number of warheads to around 1,500, reducing the number of launch vehicles to around 500. Now, there's multiple launch vehicles, so, in other words, one missile, long-range missile, could be carrying three warheads.
SANCHEZ: Is this something as Americans we should -- this is something we should be pressing our leaders to get done, right? It makes it a safer world for our kids.
CLANCY: Well, it does, as a matter of fact. And both leaders know they've got to reduce these arsenals anyway. This is costing a lot of money.
A lot of this weaponry is completely outdated. They need to update their systems. So this is all part -- this is the easy part. Resetting that relationship is bigger.
SANCHEZ: But the real threat -- it looks to me like the real threat to the United States now isn't going to come in a missile like we used to think it did and Rumsfeld thought it was. It's a guy walking across the border.
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: Well, Medvedev said that today.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
CLANCY: Medvedev came out and he said we're in an era now of new threats, threats that could face us...
SANCHEZ: That's the technology we need to figure out.
CLANCY: He said the new guys that have never joined the nuclear club suddenly acquiring nuclear weapons. And North Korea and Iran are right in there. We need Russia's help with both of those.
Standing in the way of it all is this missile defense shield with radar stations and launch vehicles in both Poland and the Czech Republic. The Russians absolutely hate it. They say if you want it...
SANCHEZ: Can that work?
CLANCY: Well, that's what Obama is saying. Look, he says -- he didn't directly say he was going to give it up, but he said, look, we're going to reassess it. We're going to find out, does it really work, Rick, or not?
And then he gives him some room to back off a little bit and maybe come up with a new deal that really does provide a missile shield against North Korea and a country like Iran for all of your -- and for Russia. Get the Russians involved.
SANCHEZ: By the way, let me ask you -- I mentioned this just a little while ago, that he's meeting with Medvedev -- or...
CLANCY: With Putin tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: He's meeting with Putin, but the real guy calling the shots there is still really Putin, right?
CLANCY: Yes, OK. A lot of people say about 90 percent of the power is still in Putin's hands. You know, he handpicked Medvedev.
At the same time, it's a government. You know, it's a government. The U.S. president holds some of the power, but you still have to have congressional approval.
You are still dealing with the Russian government. That's the bottom line. And they are the Russian government.
SANCHEZ: Is the Russian government still on shaky soil economically, or have they kind of pulled themselves out...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANCY: Well, I mean, as long as energy prices hold up, they're in good shape. If there's an energy crash -- you saw their stock market retreated 70 percent at one point. Now, they've recovered about 50 percent of that. SANCHEZ: That's incredible.
CLANCY: Hey, ours didn't do that much better, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes. You and I talked about it right here.
Thanks again. Always good to see you, Jim.
Here's what we're going to do. We're going to bring you the very latest now with "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Wolf Blitzer is standing around. He's going to bring you the latest from Washington, D.C.
Here now, back from vacation, fresh as a daisy, Wolf Blitzer.
