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Finally Found After 18 Years in Captivity; Paying Final Respects to Senator Edward Kennedy; Big Government Foes on Tour

Aired August 28, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Finally found after 18 years in captivity, Jaycee Dugard is now reunited with her family. Her suspected kidnappers, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are due for arraignment in California four hours from now.

Dugard was just an 11-year-old when she was snatched. Her stepfather witnessed the abduction but couldn't stop it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you want to say to those people? To her abductors?

CARL PROBYN, JAYCEE DUGARD'S STEPFATHER: Hopefully, just kiss your -- kiss your ass goodbye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow.

Our Dan Simon is outside the place where the horror happened in Antioch, California.

And Dan, today's court hearing will be nothing knew for Phillip Garrido. He has been here before.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He has been here before. He served time in the '80s and the '90s in Nevada for a crime he committed a long time ago, a sexual offense against a woman there in Nevada. It was a gruesome crime. He was able to get out of jail early.

We should tell you that the victim in this present case, Jaycee Dugard, is now in a local motel in the area. She has been reunited with her mother. She is there with her two children.

Tony, we should tell you, a lot has been made about this back yard of the house. I just had a chance a moment ago to go sort of in the driveway over here. If we can kind of pan the camera behind there, there is a fence. And when you -- you can't really see anything from this vantage point, but when you walk back there, you can see how authorities made that claim that you would not have been able to discover the hidden back yard.

It looks like a junkyard, and there is a fence, a wooden fence. And so, if you were to go back there, you would think it looks just like somebody's junkyard. But when you go behind that fence, apparently, is where those blue tents and those sheds were found. And yesterday, during a news conference, authorities described what that area looked like.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIP GARRIDO, KIDNAPPING SUSPECT: Wait until you read that document. My life has been straightened out. Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house. And you're going be absolutely impressed.

It's a disgusting thing that took place with me in the beginning. But I turned my life completely around to be able to understand that you have to start there.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, we apologize. That was the wrong piece of sound.

What you listened to right there was a jailhouse interview that the suspect in this case, 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, did with KCRA television, the NBC affiliate in Sacramento.

In that interview, Garrido talked about the relationship he had with the victim in that case, Tony. We talked about it before. He used the word "victim," but in that interview, he said basically that if you were to talk to Jaycee Dugard, she would tell you that the two actually had a positive relationship.

It is clear that the suspect has some mental issues. We talked to neighbors who say that Garrido made claims that he invented a device that allowed him to do some kind of mind control. So obviously, some huge issues there.

One neighbor also told us he was suspicious about what was happening behind the house. He said he actually thought a couple of children were living in the back yard. He thought that was strange. He called a local sheriff's department a couple of years ago, said they came out, had a brief conversation with the Garridos, but the authorities left, really didn't do much of a search.

I believe now we have that sound from the sheriff of El Dorado County talking about the back yard.

Take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gate bothered me -- ting, cling, cling, cling. In and out through the back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weirdoes, definitely. They weren't average people. You could just tell by looking at them. And the way that they walked around and stuff, you kind of got the creeps from them. You know? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He let me know he had a past. He said that he was in prison a while back. He was in prison for 11 years for a crime against a woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: All right, Tony. Obviously having some issues with rolling the proper sound right there. You're hearing from some neighbors, but bottom line, as you alluded to earlier, the Garridos going to be arraigned today at 1:00 in El Dorado County, all the list of charges they'll be confronted with.

Back to you.

HARRIS: I got to tell you, even when you hear that sound, it's not going to suffice. I mean, look, law enforcement has got to come up with a better explanation for this situation. You're getting calls from neighbors saying, look, we've got kids who appear to be living in the back yard. And it sounds like you have a conversation, do something of a cursory search.

And that said, clearly, it seems to me that law enforcement is going to have to come up with a better explanation.

One more quick one before I lose you here, Dan. When did authorities become suspicious of Garrido?

SIMON: It was actually on Tuesday, when Garrido showed up at Cal Berkley with a couple of children, presumably the children he fathered with the victim in this case. He was apparently trying to hand out some religious material to some students on campus. In order to do that, you have to have a permit and you also need to undergo a background check by the university.

A police officer there at the university was suspicious basically of what he saw, ran a background check on Garrido. Garrido apparently handed his driver's license. And did the check, determined he was a sex offender.

Eventually, Garrido's patrol officer got involved. And this is where it gets really strange. Garrido shows up for that meeting with the parole officer with the victim and the two children, and basically, according to authorities, confessed to the whole thing.

HARRIS: Boy.

Dan Simon for us.

Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Want to take you back a little bit.

This case actually goes back almost two decades, as we've been mentioning. We take you back in time now to the scene of the kidnapping and coverage of Jaycee's disappearance on affiliate station KCRA.

Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been 13 hours, and that's too long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mother, a father terrified. Their daughter, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard, was kidnapped this morning as she walked to a corner bus stop. A car pulled up alongside her, a man grabbed her. She screamed, and then the car sped away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's 11 years old, she's a pretty little blond. And some psycho came down the hill, saw her, and saw she wasn't walking with anybody, and just snatched her up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just wonder what goes through an 11- year-old's mind. She's got to be scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since the kidnapping, a massive search has been under way in south Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, and on both sides of the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're canvassing the neighborhood. We had a young lady that was kidnapped up here early this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deputies have been going door to door asking residents if they have seen any suspicious characters or the vehicle used in the kidnapping, a gray sedan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the immediate area, California Highway Patrol, the city of Lake Tahoe, and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department actively doing follow-up leads on calls and canvassing neighbors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jaycee Lee's parents agreed to talk with reporters tonight in hope that the kidnapper and their daughter might somehow see the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop her off. Let her go back home. Don't hurt her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need her home. I need her to come home tonight.

Jaycee, if you hear Mommy, I love you and I want you to come home tonight safe and sound.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Jaycee is now 29 years old. She was kidnapped 18 years ago.

We are told California authorities are right now putting together formal charges against the suspected kidnappers, 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, who is a convicted sex offender, and his 54-year-old wife, Nancy. As we mentioned, they are set to be arraigned about four hours from now, and CNN of course is staying on this story throughout the day.

Firefighters are moving in while residents head the other way in some southern California communities south of Los Angeles. As many as 1,500 people were forced out of the seaside community of Rancho Palos Verdes overnight. Four fires are burning, and the hot temperatures and low humidity are not helping. Residents in some areas northeast and east of the city also are being urged to evacuate or closely monitor developments.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Now to the economy and your wallet. New numbers out today on how much we're spending and earning.

The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose .2 of a percent in July, boosted by the Cash for Clunkers program. Consumer spending is the big question mark in the economic recovery. The increase was in line with what economists predicted, but personal incomes were flat last month. That's a weaker than expected showing.

Paying final respects to Senator Ted Kennedy and honoring his nearly five decades of public service, mourners continue to file past the senator's flag-draped casket. They started lining up before the doors opened this morning at the JFK Library in Boston.

Deborah Feyerick is there, and she joins us live.

And Deb, I've got to tell you something. We saw Congressman John Lewis a short time ago, but nothing has been more moving than to see the senator's widow, Vicki Kennedy, on line, greeting those on line, queuing up, as we've been mentioning for hours, to pay their respects.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. And that's what's so amazing about this particular event here, and that is that the Kennedy family very much involved.

You saw Vicki Reggie Kennedy, the senator's widow, also his daughter. Nephews and nieces have also been on line.

We're standing here in the parking lot at the end, and what you see here are condolence books, people signing these condolence books. Some of them have brought prepared things to write in the book. Others are just sort of making it up as they sit and write to pay their last respects.

Buses behind me, some of them saying, "Thank you, Senator Kennedy." Those are bringing people in from a nearby convention center in order to get them to this particular location. Again, 15 condolence books that have been set up here.

And you can see -- now, this woman from Haiti, actually...

Soker (ph), we spoke to you a bit earlier. You're about to write in the book, but I wanted to ask you -- you're from the Haitian community. Tell me the impact Senator Kennedy had on you.

Number one, I would have to say it's about all service. It really taught us as the Haitian community just to understand that. Service is all about service. And no matter where you come from, as long as you work hard, you can do whatever you want to do.

That whole American dream idea, he personified that. And in Haiti, the term "Kennedy" is equivalent to goodwill. Because you're going pass down something, like a hand me down you're giving to a friend or family, anyone you know who needs it, you call it a "Kennedy."

FEYERICK: Wow. All right. So interesting.

It seems that he and his whole family really made everyone feel included, that they were part of a much larger picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Absolutely, because look at the amount of people, and the fact that the family came out to just thank everyone. It's -- we, standing from afar, think it's so far away and you can't reach and touch even the family themselves, but they, themselves, they showed you that you can. No matter where we are.

FEYERICK: Soker (ph), thank you very, very much.

Again, what people are doing is, once they -- Tony, once they come out from inside -- and it was interesting. I was inside earlier this morning. They did open the doors about 15 minutes earlier.

I was able to get inside and walk past the casket. And what really struck me was the profound silence of that room once you enter it. And it's interesting, because on television, you see what appear to be gray screens. Well, in fact, those are shades which cover huge windows that overlook Dorchester Bay, the water there.

And so, again, just really a picture of beauty as you walk in. And also, there are a lot of pictures of the senator, of him as a little boy. There's one very cute picture of him being poked by an elephant. He couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 years old. But also pictures of him and his brother and all the dignitaries he met -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Benazir Bhutto.

So, you do get a real sense of history. And all these people of come out to celebrate it. The first time I heard that doing an act of charity is called a "Kennedy' down in Haiti -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, that was a new one for me as well.

Deb Feyerick for us.

Deb, appreciate it. Thank you.

And again, we encourage you to stay with CNN for continuing coverage of the life and legacy of Senator Ted Kennedy. His body will lie in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library until the memorial service tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Private funeral services will be held tomorrow, followed by his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

A lot of TEA parties are going on. Actually, they're on the road right now.

I will find out what organizers hope to accomplish. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Our top stories now.

A woman snatched from a bus stop when she was 11 years old is now reunited with her mother. California police say a convicted sex offender has confessed to kidnapping Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago, keeping her locked in a shed behind his house, and fathering two children with her. The suspect and his wife, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, are set to be arraigned in a California court later today.

Railways in Turkey back open a day after a train wreck in the western part of the country left five dead and more than a dozen people injured. A Turkish government official says the train slammed into an earth-moving machine that had moved into the train's path, causing several cars to derail.

And mourners have just a few more hours to pay their respects to Senator Ted Kennedy. The public viewing is scheduled to end at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a private memorial service tonight. The funeral mass is tomorrow.

We will get another check of our top stories in 20 minutes.

Activists on both sides of the health care debate are hitting the road to drive home their points. Let's talk to them.

First, big government opponents begin a 33-city bus tour of the country today. And Mark Williams is an organizer of the Tea Party Express, and he joins me now from Sacramento.

And Mark, good to talk to you. I appreciate the opportunity, Mark.

MARK WILLIAMS, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: Good to talk to you from our sendoff.

HARRIS: Hey, look, I want to understand the work that you are doing here a little better. We went to the Web site, TeaPartyExpress.org. Correct?

WILLIAMS: Correct.

HARRIS: And I would encourage others to do that as well.

Sort of your purpose statement there reads, "Join the Tea Party Express as we cross the nation rallying Americans to oppose the out- of-control spending, higher taxes, bailouts, and growth in the size and power of government."

Are we talking about out-of-control spending generally, or is this, in part, a rebuke of Democratic spending? I'm just trying to figure out if you're a partisan organization or nonpartisan in your efforts here.

WILLIAMS: Well, we are nonpartisan. And if you ask any random 100 people who will be here, and along the road, with 34 cities now, and you mention George W. Bush, you will probably have to stand back at what's going to happen next, because it's generally seen that in the last couple of years of his second term, anyway, we began this reckless mess that we are in now, which has only been accelerating since the beginning of the year.

And you're right, it is spending in general. It's government intrusion in general. It's out of whack priorities in general. But what kind of brought everything together was the ObamaCare idea, because that contains pretty much every odiferous objection...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Now, why do you call it -- Mark, why do you call it ObamaCare? Why do you do that?

WILLIAMS: They change the name. I know, it's KennedyCare today, right? I forget. Is it ObamaCare, health care reform, health insurance reform, KennedyCare? Whatever it is...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Now, Democrats aren't calling it -- you know Democrats aren't calling it ObamaCare. Who is calling it ObamaCare?

WILLIAMS: No, it's KennedyCare. I think it's KennedyCare now officially. Again, I can't keep track with the name changes because they change it every time a focus group comes back.

But that is just the issue that has brought everybody kind of together. And we find in different localities, as we work our way across the country, that there are different priorities.

For example, here in Sacramento, the main focus of this sendoff rally, after we leave here at 2:00 our time, the rally will be taken over by central valley farmers and other concerns who need water, which is now being denied to them for the sake of a minnow, which, you know, do you want food or do you want a minnow? And the legislature here will be taking that matter up in a matter of a couple of weeks, and they are here to be heard.

As we work our way across the country, it will be different things. Michigan will be jobs and the disastrous condition that state is in.

HARRIS: All right. But generally speaking, it's about big government, right? The intrusions of big government and power and spending. WILLIAMS: Pretty much. I think that would be fair, yes.

HARRIS: OK. So, the argument, then, is you indicated that this has been growing in its momentum.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes. It has.

HARRIS: Where was the bus tour when, say, the Bush administration propped up, helped the auto industry? Where was the bus tour when the Bush administration was pushing a stimulus package through Congress?

WILLIAMS: It hadn't reached critical mass. It hadn't reached critical mass.

What you're going to be seeing is working stiff Americans who have jobs, who have lives, who aren't like a far-left-wing rent-a-mob. These are people who really need to be motivated into action.

And this all happened organically because of one guy on TV who went into a rant. And then it grew up to the April 15th rallies around the country.

And what we're doing what the Tea Party Express is we are taking all those words and we're trying to turn them and channel them into positive action. There are literally hundreds of Tea Party groups out there, and if you poll, again, any 100 of us, you'll find a hundred different priorities.

But we all come together under one umbrella, and that is protecting the Constitution and the rights and the freedoms that allow us to hold those differing views and to espouse those differing views, because that is what is being threatened right now.

HARRIS: All right. You know what the criticism here is. The criticism is that you are rallying in a way now, and in a way that you didn't during the Bush administration, because you have glommed onto issues and your core, the core group of people who follow this movement, are people who don't support the president, will never support the president, and are working in all kinds of ways to defeat the president.

How do you answer the criticism?

WILLIAMS: Then I had 15,000 disgruntled anti-Obama people here on Tax Day. It sure didn't look like that to me from the stage.

No, this is not anybody upset over one particular politician or even one particular party. And, in fact, if you ask the Republicans in the crowd here, you'll find they are just as upset at their party as they are at the Democrats.

This is Americans standing up to take back their country. This is very much -- the feeling I get is very much like when I was a kid in the '60s and '70s, where the nation went this way, government went that way. HARRIS: Right.

WILLIAMS: And we're in another one of those right now where the greatest threat to our nation in the minds of many people with whom I speak has certainly, in my mind -- the greatest threat to this nation right now could very well be its own government. And we need to take back control of this country.

Jerry Garcia once said of the Grateful Dead -- he once said it's clear somebody's got to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us.

I maintain he got that exactly backwards. We, the people, have been sitting back and allowing our elective representatives to do the jobs we hired them to do, which is attend to the day-to-day business of this country, but they screwed up.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: But Mark, just because it doesn't go the way -- just because the debate doesn't go the way you want it, doesn't mean you are not being listened to.

WILLIAMS: This is debate. You're going to see debate across the country in 34 cities. This is democracy.

This is federal hall. This is what we celebrate in this country, and that's what the Tea Party Express is. It's a celebration of America. It's a celebration of freedom. It's a celebration of free speech. And it's a celebration of democracy.

This is the way it works.

HARRIS: And this is not rooting for the failure of this American president?

WILLIAMS: It's rooting for the failure of those policies being enacted and advocated in this country now that are directly contrary to the ideals and the principles of this country.

HARRIS: Mark, we appreciate the time. Good to talk to you.

WILLIAMS: Good to talk to you.

HARRIS: Let's do this a few more times during the tour.

Mark Williams with us.

WILLIAMS: Let's, please.

HARRIS: All right.

Shortly, we will get the flip side of this argument when I speak to a man promoting President Obama's agenda through the group Organizing for America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We heard from Tea Party Express just a couple of minutes ago. Now the flip side from the Organizing for America bus tour.

President Obama created the group to push his agenda, including health care reform.

Jeremiah Bird is the deputy director of Organizing for America, and he joins me from Washington.

Jeremiah, did you hear my conversation just a couple of moments ago with Mark Williams?

JEREMIAH BIRD, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA: I did. I heard your conversation with Mark. Thanks for having me, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. It's my pleasure.

Do you believe -- I'm not going to have you respond directly to Mark, because he can't respond back, and then that gets messy and whatever.

BIRD: Sure. Sure.

HARRIS: Do you believe the president made a strategic mistake by not writing a reform bill, sending it to Congress and essentially asking Congress to improve it, make it better?

BIRD: No, absolutely not. I think the president did exactly what the American people wanted him to do when they elected him overwhelmingly in November, which was to lead. And that's what he has done from the beginning.

You know, from the beginning of the health insurance reform debate, the president has said over and over again, there's three things that we have to do. We've got to cut costs, we've got to ensure choice, that's both in your plans and in your doctors, and we've got to make sure that we have health insurance for all Americans. And I think that's what you see overwhelmingly across this country that people want and what Americans are behind. So I don't think there was a mistake at all in that. In fact, I think it was a wise thing to do and it shows his true leadership.

HARRIS: Gotcha. I'm going to come back to that point in just a moment. But the first stop on this tour, what is it, 11 cities?

BIRD: Yes, 11 cities.

HARRIS: Wednesday in Phoenix.

BIRD: Yes.

HARRIS: What took you so long?

BIRD: Well, we started, you know, the health insurance reform organizing. We kicked it off on June the 6th, you know, back before some of the johnny come lately folks have come on recently. And, you know, we've had 12,000 events, in every single congressional district, in over 2,500 towns across this country promoting health insurance reform. Giving our volunteers and those folks who support this (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIS: Well, Jeremiah, let me jump in here because -- let me jump in here.

BIRD: Yes, sure.

HARRIS: Because, what's the issue? Is it marketing? Have you not done the job of marketing? You haven't been on television much in August. It looks like you've been pummeled during the town halls by people who have pounced on, frankly here, it seems to me, the vacuum left by the lack of a bill. And they've filled the breach, in many cases, with some bad information.

BIRD: Yes, no, I think if you look at local media, if you look at the folks that, you know, the different local newspapers and local channels and what Congress is really looking at, you'll see overwhelmingly that people have been coming out, not only in these town halls, but in events way before recess even began. Whether it was roundtables or going door to door to have individual conversations with Americans, just like we did on the campaign.

And really when you look at the town halls, what you'll see is just like Reston (ph), Virginia, earlier this week. You know, there were over 2,000 supporters of health insurance reform in that event. And you see that across the country in small towns and urban areas, in suburban areas, that supporters of reform are far outnumbering opponents. And, unfortunately, you know, some of the 24-hour cable news eco-chamber has focused on the small minority of folks who are trying to disrupt everything.

HARRIS: Oh, stop, stop, stop. Just stop. You know, the criticism has been, and nothing against local television, that's where it got going.

BIRD: Sure.

HARRIS: But, you know, if it's not on CNN, it didn't happen.

Part of the criticism is you've been slow to organize. You've relied to heavily on the president's personal appeal to carry the day.

BIRD: Yes, I just -- I don't think that's true. Again, we've had 12,000 advance, you know, since June. We've been all across this country. The bus tour is a great example. You know, we're having great stops. We just had over 1,000 people in Albuquerque last night. Well over 1,000 people in Phoenix.

Overwhelming support in these areas from local elected officials, from average citizens, folks coming out, sharing their stories about the skyrocketing costs of health care. Talking about the need to end the status quo and get health insurance reform passed in 2009. And you've seen that across the country in town halls and in our events. And so I think we've been -- we were on the front end of this. We weren't coming on late in the scene. And we're -- we've been out there talking to folks door to door, on the phone, in their -- around their kitchen tables, and everywhere that they go.

HARRIS: OK. All right. So your bus tour is an 11-city tour over how many days?

BIRD: It will last right up until folks come back to Washington from the recess.

HARRIS: OK, Tea Party Express, 33 stops. I'm just saying . . .

BIRD: Yes, but no it's -- I think that's the problem. It's not about the bus tour. We also have over 2,000 events happening over the next couple of weeks. We've got events all across the country this weekend, all throughout the week next week. The bus tour is a small part of it and it's (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIS: All right, don't get angry.

BIRD: I'm not.

HARRIS: All right, don't get angry.

All right, Jeremiah, appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

BIRD: Hey, Tony, thanks for having me.

HARRIS: My pleasure.

BIRD: Appreciate it.

HARRIS: Even the man who manages our nation's money supply has become a victim of identity theft. What can you do then to protect yourself?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Once again want to show you the Web site, cnnmoney.com. It is the best Web site you can find. If you're looking for the latest financial news and expert analysis, our Money team does just an awesome job. We'll talk to a member of the Money team in just a moment, Gerri Willis.

But again, let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange now. We're better than three hours into the trading day. As you can see, it's a down day so far after four -- I guess it's eight days of gains. Maybe a little profit taking here? The Dow is down 66 points and the NASDAQ is down eight. We will follow the numbers throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Do you think ID theft can't happen to you? Not even the Federal Reserve chairman is immune. Ben Bernanke's wife was a target of an ID theft scheme that's preyed on, what, 500 people. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here with ways you can protect yourself and your money.

Gerri, what's going on here?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, I got to tell you, it just shows to go, no one is safe.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

WILLIS: Ben Bernanke's wife, last summer, her name's Anna, she was sitting in a Starbucks near their home on Capitol Hill. She had her handbag on the back of her chair, like so many of us women do, right?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Well, guess what, the purse disappears and what is taken, her checkbook, drivers license, four credit cards and a little bit of cash and her bag. Now according to the "Newsweek" version of this story, a couple of days later these thieves are in the bank trying to cash Bernanke checks. Unbelievable.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness.

WILLIS: It turns out this is a really sophisticated crime ring where people were stealing, you know, hundreds of IDs and turning those around and selling them to people who wanted them. So, bottom line here, it doesn't matter, you know, how famous you are, how well educated you are, you can be a victim of identity theft.

HARRIS: Wow. So what can -- I'm just thinking about the image of trying to hey, I'm in the market of an ID. I've got one for you. Name, Bernanke. Mean anything to you? What is it that . . .

WILLIS: Yes, who would buy that, right?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. What is it that people can do to protect themselves?

WILLIS: Well, the reality is, there's no magic bullet here. There's nothing you can do that will absolutely protect you from getting your identity stolen. However, because -- and as we said, this is a huge industry. It's like a $9.9 million industry, right?

So, what can you do? Well, you can take small steps that will help protect you. First of all, buy a shredder. You want to put any financial documents that you're not going to use. Maybe financial statements from you bank. Credit card offers. You name it, put it in that shredder. Make sure you don't put it in the garbage because there's dumpster drivers out there who will steal that and get your ID.

HARRIS: Right.

WILLIS: Look, I put anything with my -- even my address and name on it, I'm shredding that. It does not go in my . . .

HARRIS: Are you really? You go that far?

WILLIS: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: Yes, OK.

WILLIS: Yes. I am trying to avoid this at all costs.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WILLIS: Also, reduce your mail. You want to make sure that you're not getting all this stuff in the mail to you, right? Get those statements online so you don't have all of those coming into the house because, let's face it, OK, maybe you shred, but then maybe somebody steals your mail out of your mailbox.

Protect your Social Security Number at all costs. This is the big kahuna of ID theft, right? If you have my Social Security Number, you have everything. So don't put it in your wallet. Don't scratch a copy of it down and put it in a pocket. You definitely don't want to do that.

Tony.

HARRIS: Well, OK. So, and, look, for whatever reason I haven't been vigilant. I haven't covered all my bases. What do I do if I find out someone has stolen by ID?

WILLIS: Well, you want to call one of the three major credit bureaus and file a fraud report. Then you can get a free copy of your credit report from each of these three companies. They share this information. So once you tell one that you've got a problem, a fraud problem, they're going to share it. Also, file a police report. That's critical because that's really -- this is a criminal act. You want to make sure the police know.

HARRIS: Yes, get it on the record. Yes.

WILLIS: And then beware of companies that want to fix your credit after ID theft. Not a great idea. A lot of these are fraud artists as well.

And, of course, one smart thing to do, and I tell people this all the time, you want to be checking your credit card statements and your bank statements online at least once a week. Maybe more. I just peek in, make sure everything looks normal. I know what's going through. It's just a great way to manage your money to begin with. And then, secondarily, you know if somebody is taking advantage of you.

Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, there's a lot to do here. But, look, it's your money. Yes, it makes sense.

All right, Gerri, appreciate it. Have a great weekend.

WILLIS: My pleasure. You as well. HARRIS: Thank you.

Trying to unravel an 18 year long kidnapping. A woman snatched from a bus stop when she was just 11 years old is now reunited with her mother. California police say a convicted sex offender has confessed to abducting Jaycee Dugard, keeping her locked in a backyard shed and fathering two children with her. The suspect and his wife will be arraigned. That happening later today.

Four wildfires in southern California are forcing hundreds to evacuate. Overnight as many as 1,500 people left the wealthy sea-side town of Rancho Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles. Evacuations also went on northeast and east of Los Angeles. More than 3,200 acres have been burned since Tuesday.

Pirates take a pot shot at a U.S. Navy chopper. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: The U.S. Navy says one of its helicopters was fired on yesterday by pirates holding a Taiwanese flagged fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia. The pirates have used the vessel as a base since April to attack other ships, including the U.S. flagged Maersk Alabama. The Navy says pirates opened fire with a large caliber weapon. Take a look at the video here as the chopper flew over the vessel.

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VICE ADM. BILL GORTNEY, COMMANDER, U.S. NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL CMD.: We have presence down there with our cruisers and destroyers and helicopters, with a goal of denying the mothership freedom to operate through our presence and our pressure. The firing was undisciplined using a weapon with a very short (INAUDIBLE) second range of about 800 yards and we have a designated stand off distance well outside that, operating in the vicinity of any of the pirated vessels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The U.S. Navy helicopter was not hit in yesterday's attack and the chopper did not return fire.

The Sounds of New Orleans, a music program for kids born in the ruins of Hurricane Katrina.

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HARRIS: The march that changed history. It's what we're talking about in our "What Matters" segment in partnership with "Essence" magazine. Today is the 46th anniversary of the March on Washington. About a quarter million people gathered in The Mall on this day in 1963 where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech. The anniversary falls on the eve of Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral. As you know, Kennedy was a champion for civil rights. And his first major speech on the Senate floor was in support of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Mississippi is planning to make civil rights a mandatory part of its public school curriculum. The program is in its early stages and should be in place in all public schools for grades K-12 by next fall. Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas schools have emphasized civil rights, but Mississippi may be the first to make it mandatory for all grades.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans four years ago, many of the cities' school music programs were washed away. This struck a cord with musician Derrick Tabb and he helped create a free after school program that is helping kids keep off the streets. Fredricka Whitfield hits the high notes.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The powerful booming reach of rebirth, one of the most popular brass bands in New Orleans just got bigger. For drummer Derrick Tabb, their gift of music needed to reach another audience.

DERRICK TABB, FOUNDER, THE ROOTS OF MUSIC: That music really saved me from, you know, a lot of stuff that was going on in the street. And I figured I could do the same thing with a lot of other kids.

WHITFIELD: He came up with an idea, offer kids ages nine to 14 a chance to learn music for free.

TABB: (INAUDIBLE) and that was with no advertisement or nothing, just word of mouth.

WHITFIELD: No strings attached, no instruments need, just bring yourself.

TABB: I call it the no excuse process. I give them a bus, I give them the transportation, I give them the instruments, I give them the food, I give them the tools, I give them the teachers. So you have no excuse why you, you know, why you're not here.

WHITFIELD: At first, 42 kids showed up.

TABB: And in a week and a half we had like 65, 70 kids.

WHITFIELD: A year later?

TABB: I have like about 100 kids in the program right now, still. And 400 almost still on the waiting list.

WHITFIELD: A year-round music education program for at least three hours a day, five days a week, known as The Roots of Music, fueled by donations, volunteers, and lots of love.

For kids like nine-year-old Jeremiah Russell, even riding the program's bus 20 minutes is an exercise in discipline. His mother sees the transformation. CONNIE RUSSELL, JEREMIAH'S MOTHER: Ever since he has been in the band, he's been a much better child. Academically as well as his behavior is better.

WHITFIELD: Program co-founder Alison Reinhart (ph) helps make even math something to smile about.

ALISON REINHART: Well, all of our kids have gone up a letter grade in mathematics and language arts.

WHITFIELD: A success rate worth bragging.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And as Fred mentioned, the program is supported by donations. For more information on how you can help, visit the Web site at therootsofmusic.com.

Kid Rock sings the praises of his hurting home state, Michigan. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: You love yourself some Kid Rock, don't you, Kyra Phillips?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, do I love Kid Rock.

HARRIS: Do you?

PHILLIPS: Do not give it away. Do not tell.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. Sorry.

PHILLIPS: I'm in love Kid Rock.

HARRIS: Sorry, sorry. Perhaps no American -- not any longer -- perhaps no American city has been hit harder by the recession and the decline of the auto industry than Detroit. But a rock star from the motor city is doing what he can to turn things around. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow reports Kid Rock.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): This is no ordinary concert. It's Kid Rock performing at his biggest headline show ever, bringing 80,000 people to his hometown of Detroit. Talk about a city that needs an economic stimulus like that.

KID ROCK (singing): Bittersweet and brings us to our knees. It makes us who we are in times like these.

HARLOW: Detroit has never seen times like this. But the people of this city have an unexpected patron in Kid Rock. The bad boy from Detroit has become the voice of a city in peril.

HARLOW (on camera): How long have you had this?

KID ROCK: This? Oh, geez, probably 10 years.

HARLOW: You won't leave, will you?

KID ROCK: No, I'll never leave.

We've got one more song for you.

HARLOW (on camera): The downfall of the auto industry hits home for Kid Rock, whose father made a living selling American cars.

KID ROCK: It's mind blowing. It's mind blowing to everybody in this town.

God bless you all.

HARLOW: And in this peril less time, this self-proclaimed son of Detroit is working on more than just his music.

KID ROCK: You know, as I've gotten older, I've just become more in tune with that and realize how much the stuff that I'm doing can help people.

RON ADAMS, DETROIT RESIDENT: You look at the impact that he's having here in Detroit in terms of a foundation at Wayne State University, trying to fund music scholarships for kids there. I think he's had a major, positive impact on Detroit, which is something this economy needs right now.

HARLOW: Kid Rock's music scholarship is funded by t-shirt sales from the apparel company he bought out of bankruptcy, Made in Detroit. And, believe it or not, his recently launched American Badass Beer, well, that can be thanked for creating jobs in this state. More than 400 jobs he says.

KID ROCK: There's no way to get love back or get respect if you don't give it first. So I've always tried to do that, give everything I have to this city.

HARLOW: But battling rampant unemployment, Detroit has problems much bigger than even this larger than life rock can solve.

KID ROCK: It's got to get cleaned up, you know. They've got to bring -- I mean we just -- we almost need an angel.

KID ROCK (singing): But I won't leave, because this is my hometown.

HARLOW: In Detroit, Poppy Harlow, cnnmoney.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.