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Jackson Estate Showdown; Homegrown Terror?; Iraqi Police Storm Iranian Refugee Camp, Riots Ensue; Reportedly Seven Dead, Hundreds Injured

Aired July 29, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: She called 911, the single act that prompted a national conversation on race. Now she shares her side of the story, the day Professor Gates was arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

GRIFFIN: Dr. Gupta demonstrates the power of propofol in the operating room. So, why would a doctor allegedly give it to Michael Jackson in a bedroom?

The portrait of a family starts to take shape.

SABRINA BOYD, WIFE OF DANIEL PATRICK BOYD: I am very proud to be Muslim and I'm very proud to be married to Daniel Boyd.

GRIFFIN: Who are the Boyds? And what led Homeland Security to suspect them of terror plots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.

GRIFFIN: Um, are people really concerned that a new health care bill will let old people die? We will drill down on the facts, the fiction and possible misrepresentations swirling around the debate.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want our children and our grandchildren to look back and say, this is when we decided to take the politics out of it and start doing something for the future of this country.

GRIFFIN: Your national conversation for this Wednesday, July 29, starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: So much for a slow news summer, huh? I'm Drew Griffin, in for Rick Sanchez. He's going to be back tomorrow. Glad you can join us for the daily national conversation. E-mail us, blog us, tweet us, call us, do whatever you want, even send a snail mail. We will read it.

We want you to know what's on your mind. And there are lots of bases to cover today, the president stumping for health care. You saw him in North Carolina. He's on his way to Virginia, where the feds bust an alleged homegrown terror cell.

Cell phones, BlackBerrys, and the inherent dangers of using either -- personal communication when you are behind the wheel.

And we're going to have a story and a lot more including the latest twists in the Michael Jackson's saga. His mother, Katherine, want details on the handling of her late son's estate.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

GRIFFIN: This just in, too, speaking of -- the white supremacist accused of killing a security officer at the Holocaust Museum in Washington -- Remember that story? -- well, he has been indicted. A federal grand jury has handed up seven charges against this man, James Wennecke Von Brunn, 89 years old and was, himself, shot by other guards in last month's attack.

Von Brunn is charged with hate crimes, gun and civil rights violations and the murder of officer Tyrone Johns. Four of those counts could be punishable by death -- that just coming in this afternoon.

Now today's new developments in the Michael Jackson case, as his mother, Katherine, wants details of the handling of her late son's estate.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is live in Los Angeles with the latest on the court filings. And CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom is here to tell us what it all means.

Ted, you were in Vegas yesterday. Let's start with you.

Any developments on the actual criminal aspect of this or the potential criminal aspect of this since yesterday, when police actually served search warrants on Conrad Murray's house and office?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No.

And the thing is here, Drew, obviously, what we are looking at is with these two searches at the house and the office, one was three hours, the other was eight hours, they are sifting through. It is going to take some time to go through what they found.

And there is a good possibility -- a search warrant at someone's house is very dramatic, but there is a good possibility it could work to Murray's advantage. He has talked to police on numerous times, two long interviews. So, they went in to make sure that what he was saying was truthful. And they may go in and find nothing incriminating at all.

On the other hand, after they analyze the computer hard drives, it may go the other way. So, I'm sure, right now, it is that process of moving this investigation forward.

The other linchpin in all of this, the toxicology reports, the L.A. Coroner's Office now telling us it's not going to be this week at all. It will be some time next week at the earlier. They have pushed that back as well. So, I'm sure they are analyzing all they have brought out of Murray's clinic and home and will move forward from there.

GRIFFIN: All right, Ted, let's get to the next bombshell. This is money, this is the estate of Michael Jackson and this is his mother. Just briefly tell us what happened today. It was kind of a bit of a bombshell.

ROWLANDS: Yes. Well, basically, Katherine Jackson wants to be involved in as an executor in the will. And so, there seems to be a real rift here now. And the judge is going to iron this out. Next Monday there's a hearing. She wants to have a seat at the table here.

Specifically, she wants information on that AEG contract, because that is the mother lode in terms of forward earnings. You are talking about a substantial amount of potential revenue. And she is claiming that she is not being given information that she deserves.

They are haggling it out. They wanted her to sign a confidentiality agreement. She said it was too restrictive. Bottom line here is that all is not well in this camp compared to -- with the other executors. And the judge is going to have to figure this out. There is an open spot there.

You remember there was a third executor that recused himself. What they are saying is, put Katherine Jackson in there. She is the only real advocate for Michael, because she was him his entire life -- within his life over the past four years, where the other executors were not.

GRIFFIN: Ted, thanks a lot.

Let's bring in Lisa Bloom, attorney, looking at all this.

Lisa, this seems to be all about money. And is Katherine Jackson now setting up the case that maybe Michael Jackson wasn't in his right mind when he drafted that 2002 will? I am reading this statement from her lawyer that says, in an effort to gain more facts concerning a suspicious circle of relationships, unnotarized will and an undisclosed trust, both drafted in 2002, which grand the executors and trustees thereunder very broad powers, Mrs. Jackson has sought formal discovery of the temporary special administrators of her son's estate.

Is she saying, in legalese, my son may have been crazy?

LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: She might be.

Her attorney is an outstanding attorney. He is very careful the way he parses his words. And he hasn't gone that far yet. But, look, Michael Jackson, if he was in his right mind, established two people to be the executors of his will. And he didn't pick his mother. He chose her to be the guardian of his children.

And so far, she is at least the temporary custodian of the children. But she wants to be an executor as well, because, as you say, she calls them through her attorney suspicious, that they're a suspicious group of characters. And she is concerned because, already, there is a dispute in discovery where she wants certain documents and she hasn't been given them.

Look, I practiced civil litigation for almost 15 years. In my opinion, this is a routine, almost tedious discovery dispute. One side says, I want documents. The other side says the request is too onerous, it's too burdensome and we will only give it you if you agree to confidentiality.

The requesting party then says, well, this is very suspicions. I want transparency. You should give me everything.

The question is, will all this get resolved on Monday, when there is a hearing? Katherine wanted a special hearing. That was denied. But there's a hearing on Monday where the judge may say, look, you have to give everything to Katherine. Katherine, you have to agree to confidentiality, and then it will be resolved. Or will this blow up into a huge dispute between Katherine and the executors?

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: Lisa, they're counting me down. I have just got to ask you, is this all aimed at money, future earnings and what that estate is going to bring in?

BLOOM: Not necessarily. Katherine says she is concerned about Michael's legacy. And so that may be a part of it. But of course, yes, she is a beneficiary under the will. She wants all the money accounted for.

GRIFFIN: OK. Lisa Bloom, thanks a lot. We thank Ted, who is already gone. Appreciate that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is this it right over here?

DR. RAPHAEL GERSHON, CHIEF OF ANESTHESIOLOGY, GRADY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Yes.

GUPTA: It looks like -- milk of amnesia, they call it.

GERSHON: Milk of amnesia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And that's the drug that we are talking about with Michael Jackson, a close look at that drug that might have killed him. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us inside an operating room and shows us just how quickly it works and where it should be used and where it shouldn't be used.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCIA WHALEN, MADE 911 CALL: Obviously, what I have experienced has been hurtful towards me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: That's the woman everybody has been waiting to hear from. We heard from her today. Her call to 911 it ultimately led to the arrest of Professor Gates.

And chaos and several deaths -- this is at a refugee camp in Iraq. It's a tangled affair. We're going to untangle it for you. It's an area once under control of the U.S. forces there -- and how the departure of those forces has changed life for Iraqis and others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We have been reporting that Michael Jackson had terrible problems trying to get to sleep, that he was asking for a drug, Diprivan, and that sources are telling CNN that he was actually using this drug, Diprivan, or milk of magnesia.

I want you to keep that in mind when you take a look at this story. Dr. Sanjay Gupta goes into his own operating room to show us how this drug is administered in a hospital setting. Think of this taking place in Michael Jackson's bedroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: Well, as you know, there's been a lot of discussion regarding propofol. How is it used? What does it do exactly to the body, and could it ever be safe outside a hospital setting?

So, I decided to bring you into my operating room to show you firsthand what exactly happens. Let's take a look.

So, we are here inside the operating room with Dr. Gershon. He is the chief of anesthesiology here. Propofol is a medication he uses all the time.

So, is this it right over here?

GERSHON: Yes.

GUPTA: It looks like -- milk of amnesia, they call it.

GERSHON: Milk of amnesia.

Vincent (ph), you OK?

We have to monitor his EKG. We have to monitor his (INAUDIBLE) CO2. We have to make sure that he is breathing. We have to see his saturation. We have to make sure he is ventilated.

GUPTA: So, these are all -- that's all typical stuff any time you use these medications?

GERSHON: That's standard of care, yes.

GUPTA: OK.

So, the propofol...

GERSHON: We're going to start infusing this.

You are going to get a little sleepy, Vincent, OK? Give me some good deep breaths.

GUPTA: Watch this go in. Take a look at his eyes, how quickly he's...

GERSHON: Deep breath, Vincent. Doing great. You may feel a little burning. OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

GERSHON: There's a reason for his heart rate increasing.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.

GUPTA: So, what's...

GERSHON: See, his eyes have closed.

GUPTA: His eyes closed. And what else are you looking for?

GERSHON: Now, we look up here. He -- he stopped breathing. So, this is -- watch him get (INAUDIBLE) CO2, and he is not breathing anymore. And my wonderful (INAUDIBLE) is going to help him breathe.

GUPTA: So, take a look over here. All the breathing right now is taking place with this bag and this mask. On that medication, he wouldn't be able to breathe on his own without those things.

Well, there, you can see of the problem. Just with that much propofol there, he stopped breathing, and he's going to need a breathing tube.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Easy.

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: What -- what is so attractive about this medication?

GERSHON: Well (INAUDIBLE) has been in the advent in the last 10 years or so, even more, 15 years. And it's just basically a quick on, quick off.

And that people answer why people may think that this is something they could do at home, because, if it gets out of hand, it goes away quickly. The problem is, it gets out of hand, and there's nobody there to resuscitate you, then nobody could bring you back.

GUPTA: So, that was -- that was pretty quick. You just made some of the medication, and you're going to...

(CROSSTALK)

GERSHON: Five, 10 minutes.

GUPTA: Five, 10 minutes, he has gone from being completely awake to being completely asleep.

GERSHON: He's not breathing. I'm breathing for him.

GUPTA: Now, it's worth pointing out that this obviously is an operating room. Doctors here use it thousands of times a year to do exactly what you just saw. But it is not always used in hospitals. It can also be used in outpatient medical settings. What Dr. Gershon will say, other doctors here, they have never heard of it being used in a home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Yes, can you imagine that being part of your regular sleep routine?

By the way, the patient you saw doing just fine, no complications.

Well, her 911 call ultimately led to the arrest of Professor Gates. Now she is speaking publicly for the first time, why she says she is the one who has been hurt. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: A lot of people already weighing in about this story. We haven't even talked about it yet. It's the story of that woman in Cambridge who made the 911 call. People Twittering on what Lucia Whalen said today. They're tweeting on our Twitter board. Let me get that right.

Here's Mom vs. Wild says: "Lucia Whalen was being a good American citizen when she called 911 for possible break-in. What if it was a robbery? Gates," Professor Gates, I guess, "you should be thankful."

Mike in San Diego: "Thank you, Lucia Whalen. You are a model citizen."

Well, here is what Lucia Whalen said. Two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic. That was the quote, words from that woman, Lucia Whalen, in a 911 call about an incident at a Cambridge home on July 16. You know the rest, the police, the arrest of Professor Gates, President Obama's involvement, and the renewed racial conversation in this country.

A couple of hours ago, Lucia Whalen stood before reporters in Cambridge and described the tidal wave of scrutiny she has been under. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHALEN: It never occurred to me that the way I reported what I saw be analyzed by an entire nation.

But so many people have responded with words of support. I now -- I hope that the truth of the tapes will help heal the Cambridge community, as much as it has helped to restore my reputation and integrity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Imagine that. She was just thinking she was doing a good thing. A lot of break-ins in the area. She was going to call the cops, let them know about it.

One thing she did clear up, if you remember, a police radio recording, a dispatcher told officers the 911 caller said both suspects were African-American. Whalen says she never said that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHALEN: The only words I exchanged were, I was the 911 caller. And he pointed to me and said, stay right there.

QUESTION: Nothing more?

WHALEN: Nothing more than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: So, tomorrow, Professor Gates, President Obama and that police officer are all going to share a beer. Our question is, why isn't this woman being invited to that beer fest? I mean, come on, let's go.

Elaine Quijano at the White House has reached out. We are waiting for an answer. Want to find out why this woman, who did nothing wrong, isn't invited to have a beer at the White House with the other three to discuss this?

And when asked if she would place that 911 call again, this is interesting, given what she knew at the time, Lucia Whalen says, yes, she would.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOYD: We do own guns in our home, as our constitutional right allows us. And I don't think there is a crime in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: That is the wife of an accused terror suspect. She is defending her husband and sons. Who are the boys? And why does the government accuse them of plotting a jihad? And take a look at this deadly chaos and clash in Iraq. It's at a Campbell. home to Iranian militant exiles. U.S. forces no longer protect that camp. Some wonder what action the Iraqi government will take. We will have a live report from Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: OK. We have got a lot of people commenting about Michael Jackson, about the Cambridge incident. Let's go right to the Twitter board.

This is from Gady Mayen. "Maybe we should give Diprivan to the Cambridge police case to ease the pain and suffering."

Here is another one. "Whalen isn't invited because these two men aren't in the habit of admitting they have made a mistake. The president didn't offend her."

OK.

We are getting a couple more also -- let's see -- over on the Facebook: "I don't think she is a racist. She didn't mention two black males, but Crowley said she did."

Yes, that is something very interesting. I don't know if we are getting caught up in too much minutia on this tape. That's on MySpace.

And back to the Twitter: "It angers me that Professor Gates has portrayed himself as the only person who was hurt by this unfortunate incident."

Keep writing in. We are waiting for Elaine Quijano, if she has it, to find out if this woman will or will not be invited to the White House. This is something we're totally making up, I might add.

We will be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: So much of this story doesn't make sense so far. Those seven terror suspects in North Carolina will appear in federal court tomorrow. So, we may hear more about what the government has on them then.

It's a curious case, for sure. The alleged ringleader, Daniel Boyd, is a drywall worker, the son of a U.S. Marine, and a convert to Islam. Among those held are two of his own sons, also Muslims.

I want you to watch this. CNN has talked to the wife of Daniel Boyd and heard a different version of what the family was up to, different than what the feds are saying.

Here is Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Drew, prosecutors say that Daniel Boyd, a U.S. citizen, the son of a Marine, conspired to wage jihad overseas. They claim that, among other things, he recruited among other things two of his own sons. Now the mother of those boys, Daniel Boyd's wife, Sabrina, is offering explanations for the accusations being made by the government.

(voice-over): Daniel Boyd fought in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, but had settled in bucolic Willow Spring, North Carolina. He and his two sons were among seven people arrested Monday on terrorism charges. His wife, Sabrina, tells CNN, they are innocent.

BOYD: I know that my husband and my sons are free of guilt. And I am hopeful that that -- the truth will come to light.

MESERVE: In court documents, the government says the group stockpiled a cache of high-powered weapons. Boyd's wife says they were only responding to news reports that guns and ammunition were becoming scarce.

BOYD: We will say that we do have -- we do own guns in our home, as our constitutional right allows us. And I don't think there is a crime in that.

MESERVE: The government says the group trained for jihad in rural North Carolina. But Sabrina Boyd says her husband was just helping his Boy Scout sons with marksmanship.

BOYD: It's one of the merit badges they use for -- to become an Eagle Scout. And, so, it wouldn't be beyond the pale for him to take them out and do target practice. This is not unusual.

MESERVE: The government alleges Boyd and one of the sons traveled to Israel to wage holy war. But Boyd's wife says they just wanted to pray in Jerusalem for another son who had died in a car crash.

Since their arrest, she has not able to talk to her husband or older son, and the strain is showing.

BOYD: And I just want to say that I am very proud to be Muslim, and I am very proud to be married to Daniel Boyd, and I'm very proud of my children.

MESERVE: Sabrina Boyd alleges that the FBI played what she is calling a dirty trick. She says on Monday, a family acquaintance showed up on her doorstep in a bloody shirt with a state policeman. That they told her there had been another bad car accident, this one involving her husband and boys. She said she, her daughter, daughter- in-law, rushed to the hospital where she was put in handcuffs, interrogated, and treated rudely. She says this was a ruse so authorities could search their house unimpeded. The FBI said it could not comment on this or anything else related to this investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: By the way, an eighth alleged co-conspirator is still being sought in Pakistan. He's being identified today by the Associated Press as Jude Kenan Mohammed, 20 years old.

A lot of people Twittering on that story about Lucia Whalen.

This is from SmokeyC4: "I think the 911 caller should be invited to the White House, even for a glass of wine."

On Doctor Gupta: "Great segment with Dr. Gupta on the drug that MJ's doc used. Every segment by Sanjay Gupta is great."

"Lucia Whelan did the right thing, the right way, but the police were still wrong to arrest a man in his own house."

They'll have beers on it tomorrow. We want to know why Lucia Whelan isn't going as well.

If you haven't seen this next piece of video, you need to, and you may want to show it to you your kids. Texting may be even more dangerous than a lot of other bad driving habits. We will show you just how dangerous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Texting while driving, cell phone, I have to tell you, I am so guilty of this. I have resorted to actually taking that Blackberry and putting it in the trunk. I am addicted. I can't - that's what I have to do to force myself not to text or telephone while I'm driving.

Well, Tom Foreman is going to show you exactly why that may be a very good thing to do. Take a look at this demonstration when he actually tried to do it in a controlled circumstance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Up to six seconds before an accident is a critical time in which you might be able to avoid it. Texting requires so much thought and action, it takes up almost all of that time. That's why this is a problem.

Researchers say people who are texting routinely take their eyes off of the road for nearly five seconds. That's not to complete it. That's just at a time. So watch what happens. Once again, here we go; 25 miles an hour right here. I start texting. I do it for 4.6 seconds. By the time I get on the brake, look where I wind up.

I effectively drove this entire way blind, Anderson. Look at this. There is the mark from where I was talking on the cell phone, trying to dial the cell phone. Back here is where I passed the one, this is where we started, and this is where I passed the one for loading the CD. You get a sense of just how terribly far you can go with this and that is traveling at 25 miles an hour. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, ANDERSON 360: That's the interesting thing. You are only driving 25 miles an hour. Obviously, on the highway, you would be going much faster.

FOREMAN: Oh, yes. At highway speeds, in five seconds, if you take your eyes off the road - I want you to take a look at this because it is just mind blowing. If you take your eyes off of the road at highway speeds because you are texting. Look, here I'm waiving down at the end, down here, and you keep going, in the five seconds you are not looking at the road, you could drive the entire length of a football field and both end zones. Again, you are essentially driving blind the entire time. Think of how much can happen in that space.

COOPER: Five seconds, that's incredible.

FOREMAN: Yes, it is unbelievable. And that's why these researchers here at Virginia Tech, have been making some very strong recommendations. We have it right in the window of our truck, here. They think that there should be a ban on all texting at all times, for all drivers. More than a dozen states have already started to do this.

And they believe cell phone use should be banned for all newly licensed teens. I'll tell you this, Anderson, this was a simple test, but it really made a believer out of me. Because I have thought before I could get away with flicking my eyes up. They said, everyone believes that, but the statistics prove that we all think we are better than we really are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: You heard earlier on CNN Senator Charles Schumer talking about a bill he is introducing to make this a national ban on texting while driving. Or basically for states to pass their own laws within a couple of years, or face the loss of transportation funding. They have done that for a lot of things when they tried to reduce the driving speed on the highways.

Tweets coming in. First time for texting. Bobby's girl says "A $1,000 fine and 90 days suspension of license, with three points on the second offense, one year suspension."

She is tough.

How about this one? "Suspend license for a month. Increasing penalties and time, if they do it again." So there are some very strong reactions from people who really want people to stop this. It is a dangerous practice.

When we come back, all hell breaks loose at a camp for Iranian exiles in Iraq. People are hurt, people are dead. We are live from the Iraqi capitol, in just one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: I am going to shift gears to Iraq. You have got to see what's happening in Iraq. Specifically at a place that until very recently was kept secure by American forces. It's a scene of violence and death in Baghdad. And there are two explanations for what's going on and what you are about to see. There is a secured camp for people exiled from Iran. Yesterday, Iraqi police descended on that camp with a pretty big show of force. This was that scene. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MOB SCREAMING, SHOUTING, MEN FIGHTING RIOT POLICE WITH WATER CANNONS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: So we are trying to figure out what's going on here. Those are Iraqi police officers with the high pressure water hose, sticks, and shear numbers getting physical with residents of an Iranian exile camp. It was rough. At least seven people from that camp are reported dead; 400 reportedly hurt. Police have one account of what happened. Iranians have quite another. CNN's Arwa Damon.

Try to make head or tails of this, Arwa. And we really have to explain what these two sides are about.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Drew. It most certainly is very complex. It seems very disturbing as well. As you just mentioned, one of the many concerns here as U.S. forces begin to draw down, that we will be seeing even more chaos.

To explain exactly what is going on and try to make sense of it: You have the Iraqi police trying to storm, enter the camp where these Iranian exiles lived. As you were saying, the camp was under the control protected by the U.S. military. That is no longer the case.

The Iraqis are saying that they wanted to impose Iraqi rule of law. They have peaceful intentions, and just wanted to go in and set up a police station. The residents of the camp, however, are saying this was a raid and that it was intended purely to destroy the organization.

So, why would Iraq even be intent on destroying this organization? As you were saying, these are Iranian exiles. They have been in Iraq for decades. They are, in fact, a militant group that actually fought with Saddam Hussein against Iran, in the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s. They have also historically launched cross-border attacks. In fact, the United States, even though they were protecting them, actually considered them a terrorist organization.

But the group has very strong allies in D.C. that say that it has been critical in passing on intelligence as to what is going on in Iran. So, even though the U.S. labels them a terrorist organization, we still saw U.S. soldiers protecting them. Now American protection is gone. And the Iranian government wants the Iraqi government to hand these exiles over. The Iraqi government is saying that it doesn't want them in Iraq, but it won't force them to go back to Iran.

But the concern -and this is why residents say they were so adamant in trying to keep the Iraqi forces out. The concern is this is just a first step in forcing these exiles back to Iran where, at best, their fate would be imprisonment, Drew.

GRIFFIN: So these people have no home. They haven't had a home for a couple of decades now. But do you know, and I am asking you a question that we hadn't prepared for, why the Iraqis needed to go in here and establish their law in the first place? Have there been incidents, or something spilling out of this camp, into the general Iraqi population?

DAMON: Actually, no. There hasn't been any sort of direct violence related to this camp at all except for accusations of occasional attacks on Iran. This is where politics comes into play. As we know very well, the government in Baghdad has very close ties to Tehran. In fact, the prime minister, himself, was exiled in Iran for quite some time until the U.S.-led invasion, in fact. The Iranians have been putting pressure on the Iraqis for quite sometime.

Frankly, the Iraqis have been waiting for the opportunity to go in and to try to figure out exactly what is going on in this camp. Now, remember, this group is actually a very highly trained male and female fighting force. The Americans are said to have disarmed them. They had a very impressive weapons arsenal. The Americans are said to have disarmed them back in 2003. Obviously, the Iraqis wanted to know what was going on there for themselves.

But when you talk to the residents of this camp, they are very fearful. Because now they feel as if they have no one to defend them because the U.S. troops are gone. And they are at the mercy of these Iraqi forces.

GRIFFIN: Boy, that is a wild story, Arwa. Thanks for doing this live hit for us, trying to explain this very complex issue, as the American troops pull out. So many problems need to be worked out, yet, in Iraq. Arwa Damon, live from Baghdad. Thank you so much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. VIRGINIA FOXX, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: It will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Did she just say that? Put to death by their government? Is that really a concern for some people listening to this health care debate? We are going to separate fact from fiction on HR 3200.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: A Republican in Congress seems to be suggesting Democrats plan to use health care reform as away to exterminate the elderly. You think I'm kidding. But how else to interpret the words of North Carolina's Virginia Foxx on the floor of the House yesterday. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. VIRGINIA FOXX, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: Republicans have a better solution that won't put the government in charge of people's health care, that will make sure we bring down the cost of healthcare for all Americans, and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life, because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Now, she, Virginia Foxx, is frequently a target of the left-wing media, and often gets attacked on their blogs. But when she says "put to death by their government," what does she actually mean? That's the charge being made by the party in power by an elected member of Congress. Again, she is a Republican, and Foxx represents the Fifth District of North Carolina. She was elected in 2004.

And as you just heard, she took to the House floor to charge that seniors face the threat of death at the hands of the U.S. government under health care reform legislation. Believe it or not, it's gaining credence in certain back alleys of the blogosphere.

It's a calculated distortion on this Section of 1233, of the House Resolution. I have it right here in my hot little hands. And it talks all about end-of-life care and planning consultation, Section 1233. It's five pages long. It proposes a new benefit for seniors' coverage, for medical counseling concerning their end-of-life planning: writing a living will, you can seek the advice of a health care pro, once every five years, and that visit is covered, if you want it. And that's pretty much it.

But we suggest you read it because, like Senator Conyers said, this 1,000-page bill is hard to get through unless you have two lawyers to help. But you should really read this. We have it up on our blog. And it talks all about what will be covered in end-of-life coverage, and what the government's involvement would be in making sure that your wishes are granted for end-of-life coverage and various other specifics relating to the level of treatment. And that has a lot of people scared about the government being involved in this kind of stuff.

By the way, the bill has the backing of the AARP and the Consumers' Union, among others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I keep on saying to people, I've got health care. This is not for me.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Here in North Carolina, you know this isn't about politics. This is about people's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And speaking of health care, he is speaking about it everywhere he can. The president sounding more like he's in a stump speech than a town hall on health care reform. That's in North Carolina. We're going to have more on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: The president out campaigning today for the far- reaching reform of health care, now dominating action on Capitol Hill. Campaigning, his pitched this afternoon in North Carolina. Here to bring out the president's fighting side. Here he is aiming his pitch at the folks out there who already have health insurance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. I'm tired of hearing that. I have been as clear as I can be under the reform I've proposed. If you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you keep your health care plan. These folks need to stop scaring everybody.

(APPLAUSE, CHEERING)

Nobody, nobody is talking about you forcing to have to change your plan. Many of you have been denied insurance or heard someone who was denied insurance because they got -- had a pre-existing condition. That will no longer be allowed.

(APPLAUSE)

With reform, we won't allow that.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, we won't allow that.

(APPLAUSE)

We won't allow that.

With reform, insurance companies will have to abide by a yearly cap on how much you can be charged for your out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because of an illness. We will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms, colonoscopies, eye and foot exams for diabetics, so we can avoid chronic illnesses that cost not only lives, but money.

No longer will insurance companies will allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who's become seriously ill. That's not right. It's not fair.

(APPLAUSE)

We will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the coverage you can receive in a given year, or in a lifetime. So, my point is, whether or not you have health insurance right now, the reforms we seek will bring stability and security that you don't have today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Now, by the way, we were hoping to get a Republican view. We had Congressman Eric Cantor mic-ed up early this afternoon, but he had to run off for a vote.

One other quick note. Health care reform got a big boost today with key lawmakers saying they've got the cost down by $100 billion over 10 years.

We know you have a lot of questions for lawmakers working on health care reform, in Washington. Tomorrow, Rick is back, of course. And he's going to help you ask those questions. Tune in tomorrow, right here, at 3:00 Eastern. Rick is going to talk with three people -- a small business owner, a student, and a woman with a pre-existing medical condition. They will get face time with two U.S. senators during Rick's "National Conversation".

And don't forget, Rick always gets your comments and questions from Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and more. That's tomorrow at 3:00 o'clock.

By now you've heard that President Obama will host Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant Crowley from the Cambridge police, at the White House tomorrow night. The incident involving those two men has sparked national conversation about racial profiling.

CNN wants to hear from you. A little project going on, both sides. If you've been a victim of racial profiling, tell us about your experience. And if you've worked in law enforcement, what challenges do you face policing diverse communities? Here's what some iReporters are already saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WILLIS, SACRAMENTO, CA.: We had fit the description of four black males in a green vehicle when there were six of us in a red vehicle and we knew right away that it had nothing to do with that. It was just that we were being profiled. And once he saw we were high school kids and not thugs that stole a Cadillac, he let us go. So, it was very upsetting to all of us.

MARK COOLEY, LOS ANGELES, CA: I actually was getting stopped because I drove a Porsche. I was in my 20s. It wasn't because I was selling drugs or anything, but because I was young and I had -- the wrong type of car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Those are iReporters sending them in. You can keep sending them in. Share your stories and see what others are saying at iReport.com. Part of a continuing national conversation that goes on here 24/7, quite frankly.

And speaking of, we asked the question: What should the punishment be if you are caught texting while driving? Let's go to the Twitter board.

"It should be the same as a drunk driver. Both actions dangerous to the public", says Clancy.

Joboy: "It should be a $150 fine and the person should have a ticket, just like driving without a seat belt, which is equally dangerous."

DRayburn: "They should charge people who text while driving with reckless driving, as that is exactly what it is."

We appreciate you watching, responding and joining our conversation. We're going to turn this all over to Wolf Blitzer, who is in Washington, for the start of "The Situation Room."

Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Drew, thanks very much.