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Cuba Open to American Tourists?; Missed Clues in Fort Hood Massacre

Aired November 19, 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 (voice-over): Making news right now -- he's found guilty, contempt of court for snooping through her papers. But defiant Sheriff Joe Arpaio says his deputy doesn't have to follow any judge's orders. Hmm, can he do that?

The Ft. Hood tragedy.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: The shootings at Ft. Hood may indicate that communications failures and poor judgment calls.

SANCHEZ: New details, why was this guy still there, despite reports saying he was reckless? Worse, why was he promoted?

A guest checks into a posh hotel with a couple extra friends in his room. What happened next has landed him in jail, and part of it is caught on the lobby video camera.

Will Cuba be open to American tourists?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And even during the darkest days of the Cold War, our citizens could visit the Soviet Union.

SANCHEZ: The embargo, the new human rights report, and Congress weighing the travel ban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I was being elected to be a member of Congress, not a travel agent.

SANCHEZ: Your national conversation for November 19, 2009, starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. We're in New York. I'm Rick Sanchez with the next generation of news. This is a conversation, it's not a speech and as always it's your turn to get involved.

Just when we thought that we couldn't get any more defiant, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has, well, actually done just that. You're going to hear what he's telling a county judge in just a little bit. We're going to turn on that for you.

But, first, one can't help but ask, what was the Army thinking? What were the higher-ups thinking when they failed to root out Major Nidal Hasan? In fact, not only did they not root him out. They put him in charge, we're now learning, of some of their hardest psych cases and were preparing to ship this guy off into a combat zone.

As we all know now, Hasan never made it overseas. He's accused of turning Fort Hood into a war zone, killing 13 people and wounding dozens.

We have been asking questions since this day happened. And within the past 90 minutes, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he wants some answers as well. He's launched a urgent service- wide inquiry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Today, I am announcing that the Department of Defense will conduct a separate review to ensure the safety and health of DOD employees and their families.

We do not enter this process with any preconceived notions. However, it is prudent to determine immediately whether there are internal weaknesses or procedural shortcomings in the department that could make us vulnerable in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Here's the bottom line. It's looked all along as if Nidal's superiors may have ignored alarm bells. But now we're getting this. We're getting a warning about Hasan that was apparently sent up the chain of command by his superior nearly two years ago.

The memo obtained by NPR cites serious concerns about Hasan's job performance. It says that he displayed poor judgment, said he had a lack of professionalism. So, now we know higher-ups were not ignorant. They knew of problems with Major Hasan. The problem is, they took no action. That's an obvious problem.

And hold that thought for just a moment, because we now have this as well. This deeply sensitive topic involving the armed forces, involving Muslims, involving what some are calling an act of terrorism, all of that is now being dragged into a radioactive world of politics, because Senator Joe Lieberman is vaulting past the armed forces' investigations and conducting his own investigation. I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: We intend to carry out this investigation with respect for the thousands of Muslim Americans who are serving in the American military with honor and the millions of other patriotic, law-abiding Muslims who live in our country.

But we do no favor to all of our fellow Americans who are Muslim by ignoring real evidence that a small number of their community have in fact become violent Islamists and extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: You can agree with what he said, you can disagree with what he said. Either way, what Lieberman just said, what he is doing is controversial.

There's a lot of ground to cover here, as you might imagine, given what I have just been taking you through. So, we have brought in somebody who's got direct and personal experience with this.

James Yee is a Muslim and a former U.S. Army captain who was once charged with spying an aiding the enemy while he was a chaplain at Guantanamo. Important to note here, very important to note, charges were eventually dropped.

Captain Yee, thanks so much for being with us, sir.

JAMES YEE, FORMER U.S. ARMY CHAPLAIN: Oh, thanks so much for inviting me today.

SANCHEZ: All right, would you agree or would you disagree that it appears that someone in the Army has completely dropped the ball when it comes to the investigation of Hasan?

YEE: Certainly. Certainly, I would agree.

It's quite perplexing that this guy did move on and get promoted. Words like you mentioned in his previous evaluation report usually is an indication that this guy would never be promoted again.

SANCHEZ: Is it possible that the reason that he wasn't investigated as thoroughly as we all in hindsight would have seen now is perhaps for some kind of sensitivity issue having to do with the fact that he, like you, is a Muslim?

YEE: No, I don't think in this case that was what happened, because if those words that he was unprofessional or those words that mentioned in his previous evaluation report were written in his OER, his officer evaluation report, that would not be any case of insensitivity towards his faith.

SANCHEZ: But how do they let that go? How does it happen that you can read that someone is doing something like this -- and we now learn from this NPR report that one of his superiors was actually saying, look, this guy -- there are serious problems with this guy. Some people were even saying that he was working on some of his patients, trying to talk them into his beliefs, for example.

How does that happen before without somebody saying, hey, you, come here, we have got a problem with what you're doing?

YEE: Yes. That's a question that needs to be asked. How did it happen? And I don't know the answer. I think the U.S. Army has a lot to answer for in this case.

However, I did read some reports that a superior officer at Fort Hood actually characterized Major Nidal, though, as someone who actually gave excellent patient care. So, there is some discrepancy in the characterization of him, both past and present.

SANCHEZ: You're an American kid who grew up here, interestingly enough. Your story's interesting. You fell in love with a Palestinian woman. You married the Palestinian woman, your wife still, I imagine, right?

YEE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And, as a result, you became a Muslim.

What can you share with us about what it's like to be a Muslim in the U.S. military that maybe we don't understand?

YEE: Yes. Actually, I converted to Islam back in 1991. And I would meet my wife several years later, when I was studying in Damascus on my way to becoming a chaplain.

SANCHEZ: I see.

YEE: But I think there are challenges for Muslims in the United States, sure, especially after 9/11, in which many, many people have misconceptions and misunderstandings about our faith, especially those in the military.

It's often the case where our loyalty comes in question merely because we are Muslim.

SANCHEZ: Is it possible, then -- I'm just thinking out loud here with you, but is it possible, then, that maybe people were afraid to confront him, because, you know, I have never dealt with a guy who's a Muslim before, so I'm just not going to ask him questions and thereby I'm by not asking him questions not knowing what's really going on with this guy?

YEE: I think if it was a situation where he was just a regular U.S. Army soldier, a psychiatrist, an officer, that could be the case.

But it seems that, when he was at Walter Reed, he made very clear in his verbal presentation, a PowerPoint presentation, in which his ideas and his thoughts about the war on terror being a war on Islam and a lot of these things -- I was actually mentioned in that PowerPoint briefing, by the way.

SANCHEZ: By the way, there's a response that we're reading now. This is from the military: "Major Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. And we are working hard to maintain the integrity of the investigation" -- this put to us by George Wright, U.S. Army Public Affairs.

One final question, if you can keep it down to about 20 seconds, because we have got so much breaking news to get in, but Joseph Lieberman, the senator, started having hearings on this today.

YEE: Right.

SANCHEZ: You -- I heard from some of my producers you think he's jumping the gun. Why?

YEE: Oh, certainly. The shootings happened only two weeks ago. He's jumping the gun with regard to allowing the Army investigation, the criminal investigation to take place. How many answers can he really get, when he really doesn't have any...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Let me ask just cut to the chase here. You think he's politicizing this?

YEE: No doubt. It seems very political to me.

SANCHEZ: All right, my thanks to you, James Yee, former U.S. Army captain, for joining us with your unique perspective on this. My thanks again.

YEE: It's been a pleasure. Been a pleasure.

SANCHEZ: By the way, we have just been told that they have just aired -- this is something I was telling Kyra about just a little while ago. Let me make sure we're good to go with this -- that they have just aired the security video from a Wal-Mart store in that courtroom in Kennett, Missouri.

Remember, we brought you that story earlier this week where a young African-American woman named Heather Ellis is on trial? This is a case that goes back about three years. She was accused of cutting into the cashier's line. And then she got into a scuffle with store managers, as well as with police.

That resulted with her being charged with assault on an officer and a possible very long sentence, at least according to what some of the protesters are saying out there.

Our correspondent David Mattingly is in the courtroom, has seen the videotape, and is going to be coming out to our live truck momentarily to file a report on this during this newscast. I understand he might be able to do this within the next couple of minutes. So, stand by. We have got brand-new developments on this case that we have been telling you about. No one has seen this videotape, by the way. This is the very first time it's shown in court. And remember there's conflicting stories as to what really happened. So, this may be the ultimate arbiter, the videotape itself.

Stand by. We hope to be able to bring you that in just a little bit.

Meanwhile, we also have this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What this says is that the people of St. Bernard Parish, St. Bernard Parish as a community is vindicated in the sense that what we have feared all along and who was responsible all along has now become a reality. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The floodgates are wide open for lawsuits after a judge says the Army Corps of Engineers didn't do its job and because of that Katrina flooded parts of New Orleans. It's like something like 1,800- and-some people died as a result of that flooding, by the way. We're going to bring you that.

Also, this deputy caught on camera stealing in court is convicted of contempt. But you won't believe Joe Arpaio saying ignored the judge's order. He's a sheriff and he is telling someone to obey the law as handed down by a judge. You go figure. What is going on Maricopa County? Stay with us.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hi, Rick. Both deputies and whoever the other deputy was talking to should be charged with conspiracy and obstruction. My name's Ray (ph), Longview, Texas. Thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

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SANCHEZ: Well, everywhere you look, you see people who may have been trying to get out, get away from the hurricane, when suddenly the water came.

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SANCHEZ: We learned today officially that what Katrina did to New Orleans happened in some measure because the Army Corps of Engineers wasn't paying attention to what they should have been paying attention to. Remember the flooding from Katrina? It killed almost 1,000 people in and around New Orleans. This is personal for any one of us who were there and saw the death and the misery.

Producer Michael Heard and I set out on boats and followed rescuers into the flooded neighborhoods. When we got there, we heard children trapped in attics screaming to be rescued. The boats were full in some cases. Only some of them could be rescues. We had to tell others that we would be back for them as we followed the story.

We couldn't see them. We could only see them. Later, we watched corpses float by and we wondered if those are perhaps people who could have been rescued, but weren't. All stories affect us as journalists, but this one still wakes me up in the middle of night from time to time. It was that horrible. It was that graphic. And now the horror has an explanation.

A federal judge has ruled that the flooding was a result of the Army Corps of Engineers not doing its job. The judge says the Corps didn't keep up with the maintenance on the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. It's a shipping channel. And when Katrina hit, that shipping channel was in such disrepair, it overwhelmed the levees.

Keep in mind, this wasn't an overnight problem. In his ruling, this federal judge says that it was caused by 40, 40 years of deterioration, 40 years of ignoring a problem. In fact, the judge goes on to say -- quote -- "Clearly, the expression talk is cheap applies here" -- stop quote.

This ruling would award thousands of dollars in damages to five families in the Lower Ninth Ward in St. Bernard Parish who brought the suit. We haven't heard from the U.S. Corps of Engineers yet, but it's likely that they will appeal. And we will obviously stay on top of the story as we did then, and we will let you know where it goes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If we captured bin Laden tomorrow, would he be entitled to Miranda warnings at the moment of capture?

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Again, I'm not -- that all -- all depends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Attorney General Eric Holder off his game on bin Laden, but does he regain his footing with a new answer that he gave today while also involved in some heated exchanges with some of these lawmakers? We're going to bring it to you.

And this: Should you be able to travel to Cuba as a tourist, as an American go to Cuba as a tourist? That's the question. But here's the real question. Is Raul different than Fidel? There's a new study out that provides an answer to that question. Stay with us. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez coming to you live today from New York.

Today, the heated exchanges from the attorney general and Republican lawmakers are reverberating throughout Washington. Yesterday, I think you will recall, because I showed it to you during this newscast, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked really what was a great question that seemed to catch Eric Holder off guard.

Well, today, Eric Holder seemed to be at least slightly much more on his game.

Here's Jeanne Meserve. She's CNN homeland security correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The horror of 9/11 is now history. Eight years have passed. The attorney general says for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged conspirators, justice is overdue and justice will be done in the civilian courts.

HOLDER: Failure is not an option. This -- these are cases that have to be won. I don't expect that we will have a contrary result.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: I don't know how you can make a statement that failure to convict is not a -- an option when you've got juries in this country. It seemed to me ludicrous. You know, I'm a farmer and not a lawyer, but I just want to make that observation.

MESERVE: Republicans on the Judiciary Committee asked if an acquittal or mistrial would set terrorists free on the streets of the US. The attorney general insisted no. But the overarching question was about the wisdom of his decision.

SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: How could you be more likely to get a conviction in federal court when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has already asked to plead guilty before a military commission and be executed?

How can you be more likely to get a conviction in an Article Three court than that?

HOLDER: Well, Senator, you're dealing with...

That was then. I don't know what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed wants to do now and I'm not going to base a determination on where these cases ought to be brought on what a terrorist -- what a murder wants to do. He will not select the prosecution venue, I will select it and I have.

MESERVE: Although some 9/11 family members support Holder's decision, the group in the hearing room did not. The mother of Mark Bingham, who died in the crash of Flight 93, told the attorney general personally.

ALICE HOAGLAND, MOTHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: But I -- I think that I can speak for many 9/11 families when I say that we are heartsick and weary of the delays and the machinations. And I am afraid that the theatrics are going to take over at this point. And I very much regret that.

MESERVE (on camera): One question raised repeatedly by senators, if there's a criminal or mistrial, would self-proclaimed terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other defendants be freed within the United States? Holder insisted they would not.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Surveillance cameras capture evidence of alleged animals being abused at a hotel. We're going to tell you what happens. And, by the way, that is the reason for the cast. We're going to bring you that.

But here's another story that we're following with a lot of significance, at least in parts of Missouri. We're learning from David Mattingly, our correspondent on the scene, that they have finally shown in court this videotape that details what actually happened in this case where a woman was charged with assaulting a police officer. This has turned into a real brouhaha out there.

So, as soon as David lets us know he's ready, we are going to do that. Could be the next couple of minutes. It could be the next five or 10 minutes. So, bear with us. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're getting a lot of tweets from you, as a matter of fact. Here we go.

It's funny. You show animals and immediately you get reaction on television. We just showed you that one story of animal abuse at a hotel.

"People that abuse animals are evil. There's no excuse for it, none. Punishments for animal abuse crimes are just too lenient."

And then somebody else is weighing in on the terrorist case that we're following for you as well. I have got my laptop. I will continue to follow what you're saying to me as I'm talking to you.

Meanwhile, this story -- crucial security video from a Wal-Mart store is played in court. CNN's David Mattingly was inside. And he is going to be coming out to our live truck to file this report in just a little bit. It has to do with the woman who says that she was not assaulting a police officer. This has turned into a bit of -- well, a racial argument amongst some people in that town, that small town in Missouri.

Stay right there. I'm coming right back.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hey, Rick. This is Travis from Indiana. As far as that judge issuing that order to the deputy to publicly apologized, that's it? Are you kidding me? That judge should be removed from the bench. That sets an example. I mean, as a 10-year law enforcement veteran, that sickens me.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

We have been telling you about the story, news breaking in southern Missouri right now. This is the trial of that young woman -- you see her right there -- her name is Heather Ellis. This has turned into quite a real controversy.

She doesn't argue what they say she did. They're saying she cut the line in front of another customer at a Wal-Mart. Yes, fine. It's what happened after that that becomes contentious.

Police came. There was a disagreement. And there was some pushing and shoving. How it got to that and who hit who, maybe there's some answers on that store video that we finally got to see.

David Mattingly is outside the courtroom, because so many people have been following this case for us. And let me just tell you, as I go to David, that we have been seeing

And let me just tell you as I go to David that we've been seeing demonstrations, we've seen the NAACP go out there and have protests, we've seen people on the streets on the other side -- mind you this is not the entire community, but some people in the community holding a flag with a swastika, another with a rebel flag. So, let's just say the thing has been amped up to a level that most people don't understand.

It's all about a videotape, though, isn't it, David? You saw that videotape in court, what did -- what did it show? What did it reveal?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rick, we've heard what both sides have to say what happened in that Wal-Mart today. We're seeing the video for the first time. And if you're looking for a smoking gun, you might be a little bit disappointed.

We've been looking at these and we're going to show them to you now so you can maybe make up your own mind. The first one we're looking at was a tape from the camera that was above the checkout aisle where Heather Ellis -- according to testimony -- broke in line and then used her arm to push back the items that belonged to the customer who was being checked out at the time.

Now, she does this several times and that led to a verbal exchange between her and some of the customers, her and some of the employees. We've listened to employees testify today saying that she was saying insulting things, using a lot of profanity, being very loud the entire time this was going on.

And we have another piece of videotape to show you. This was after police arrived. You see Heather Ellis leaving the store with police behind her. She has one hand up in the air, waving a finger -- it looks like -- turning around, talking to the officers behind her. Again, no crime there, there's no sound on this tape, we don't know what she was saying there, but you see her leaving with the police behind her.

Now, we have a third shot from a different camera outside, one thing you do not see is the point where police officers first attempt to arrest Ellis. They come into frame after they're holding on to her, there's just a blob of people there. We really can't make out distinctly what's happening in that crowd. They walk to the end of the police car where she's cuffed and then we see her put into the police car.

Now, during that time she was said to have -- she's accused of assaulting two police officers, causing them injury, resisting arrest. I'm not so sure, Rick, that we can really see that going on in that tape. It might require some better resolution and better examination to pull out anything meaningful.

But what we're seeing in court not answering a lot of questions in these two very distinct stories that we're hearing. We're hearing testimony that she came in cut in line, was very abusive, very vocal, and was resisting arrest. Hurt two police officers as they tried to subdue her.

And then we're hearing another story about how she was not listened to. How she was in line. How she joined her cousin who was in line and that she had every right to be there and have her goods checked out.

So, who's telling the truth here, it's going to be up to a jury to decide. They're expected to get it today and then they'll have to decide who was wrong here and who was right -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: The ridiculousness of this story is the fact that this is the type of thing that happens to -- you've seen it in your community -- I've seen it where I live. We've all seen it. Somebody goes to a grocery store, somebody gets somebody angry because they were holding a spot in the line for them and suddenly, there's, you know, maybe a little fisticuffs or an argument.

But this is now what appears to be an incident with some racist or racial overtones that is involving the possible prosecution of a woman that could end up having her in prison for up to -- we're not saying that's what it is -- but up to 15 years. The question is: How do you get from here to there, David?

MATTINGLY: That's what made this case such a conversation starter. How do you cut in line one second and then the next minute be charged with all these crimes? Well, that's what they're wading through in court right now. I talked to Heather Ellis' family, and they say that they believe that in this area, that there's a double standard when it comes to enforcing the law between blacks and whites. They have enlisted the help of the NAACP, the ACLC, the ACLU -- members of those groups are saying the same thing.

But no one has played the race card in the courtroom right now. So far, it's just been testimony from Wal-Mart employees, the defense attorney challenging what they have to say. Now, the defense attorney did say that while she was being arrested, one police officer told her that, said, quote, "Why don't you go back to your ghetto." That was the closest thing that's been said in these proceedings so far that had any sort of racial overtones.

SANCHEZ: Well, we'll continue to watch it. We're glad that you're there. There's obviously a lot of folks who want to know what's really going on in this case. And one way or another, we're going to stay on top of it. And as you just did and exemplified, we're going to report both -- we're going to report both sides of this story.

David Mattingly, good job. We'll see you again, man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HOWARD BERMAN (D-CA), FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN: Even during the darkest days of the Cold War, our citizens could visit the Soviet Union.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Is it time to allow Americans to travel to Cuba freely? Congress begins hearing, but a new report card on Raul Castro's rule is also out. We're going to tell you what it says.

And then Joe Arpaio is at it again. He's defied the Justice Department, he's defied the government, and now, he's defying a local judge. Wait until you hear what he's saying. We've got his words.

Don't forget, you can also join the national conversation whenever you visit Atlanta, though I'm not in Atlanta today, by calling 1-800 -- no, pardon me -- 1-877-4CNN-TOUR -- 1-877-4CNN-TOUR.

We'll be right back.

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(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hey, Rick, this is Jared Mills (ph), from Wichita Falls, Texas. I was a police officer. For 20 years, a police supervisor at the FBI National Academy. If the deputy saw something that was in plain view that perhaps that he was taken from a police department, for documents like that, then he ought to go ahead and obtain those. I'm not saying he should rifle through anybody's materials. But from where he was standing, it appeared that he could look like down and see something.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We also have comments coming in from you. A lot of comments on the story that David Mattingly just reported.

Let's go to our Twitter board if we possibly can, Rog. I know it's down there in Atlanta, go in on that thing.

Let's look at this. It says, "Why don't cops go after real criminals instead of people who are merely rude?"

And the other one says, "The Wal-Mart case is silly and should not have gone to court. Why didn't the police just diffuse the situation upon arrival?" That is actually a very good question.

Let's continue, let's catch you up now on our top story: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has launched an urgent service-wide investigation into U.S. security at military outposts. It's the latest fallout from the November 5th massacre at Fort Hood, Texas. The suspect is Major Nadal Hasan. He's an Army -- United States Army psychiatrist.

I want you to hear what Secretary Gates said just a couple of hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Today, I am announcing that the Department of Defense will conduct a separate review to ensure the safety and health of DOD employees and their families. We do not enter this process with any preconceived notions. However, it is prudent to determine immediately whether there were internal weaknesses or procedural shortcomings in the department that could make us vulnerable in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As we reported, United States Senator Joe (AUDIO GAP). He's trying to determine whether the Army officials ignored warning signs concerning Major Hasan. The latest suggest they did drop the ball. It comes in the form of a memo obtained by NPR in which Hasan's supervisor accused him of poor judgment, a lack of professionalism and expressed concerns about his performance. Still, nothing was investigated.

We'll stay on top of this story for you.

Meanwhile, when we come back, the very latest on what's going on in Maricopa County, and also, Havana, Cuba. Here's the setter (ph).

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

On this show, as much or maybe more than most, we follow what's happening throughout our hemisphere, from the Yukon Trail in Canada, to Buenos Aires in Argentina. We call this for you every day, "Conexion."

Talking Cuba today, and how you probably can't go there if you're American, even if you wanted to. Nope, it's banned. As you know, it has been for nearly 50 years. But today -- today -- on Capitol Hill, they're talking about lifting that ban. Letting Americans travel to Cuba freely. The debate is not new, but there is something different today. A powerful member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the chairman, says he's ready to open the travel to Cuba, says the ban just doesn't work.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Limited contact between Cubans and ordinary Americans who serve as ambassadors for the democratic values we hold dear. Such contact would help break Havana's chokehold about information about the outside world.

REP. CONNIE MACK (R), FLORIDA: Going sightseeing to view political prisoners will not bring democracy to Cuba. America has always stood for freedom. And in a bipartisan manner, we have to endeavor to spread the light of liberty on the repressed Castro regime. Now is not the time to change policy and start appeasing and funding the Castro plan.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I believe the embargo needs to be lifted. It's not working. It's counterproductive. It hurts us in Latin America. But, you know, when you negotiate with the Cubans, you want to get something in return. What I think a first step should be is: get rid of the travel ban, let Americans travel in Cuba, but at the same time, push the Cubans to take some human rights and democracy steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Points well made by all three gentlemen. The last guy was, of course, not a congressman. That was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, as you know.

Another Republican on that committee is Florida's Ileana Ros- Lehtinen who we've had on our newscast before. She says she wants to keep the travel ban in place as well.

Here's the bad news for those who want to lift the embargo or maybe not, depending on how you look at it. Democracy Watch put out a report yesterday when it comes to how Raul Castro treats people who disagree with him. Well, guess what? Raul is no better a Castro than Fidel, according to the report.

Abused animals in a hotel room. What's going on? I'm going to tell you what really happened in that hotel room to that little puppy.

And we're not done with the story out of Maricopa County. The skinny from the former federal prosecutor on what will happen there -- next.

Stay with us. We'll be right back with Kendall Coffey.

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SANCHEZ: Oh, the days of college, I remember them fondly, who doesn't? No responsibilities, learning how to survive without your parents paying the bills, locking yourself in a classroom for days. Wait, wait -- it's time for "Fotos."

They're saying they're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. It is day two of student protest in UCLA. Students -- college students fighting back against a proposed tuition hike. When was the last time you saw that in this country? Their board of regents wants to increase it by 32 percent. That's huge, they say. They say they should be mad. The students they'd make as much noise as possible until the message is heard and there they go. Check this one out. The video's kind of dark. But as you can tell, it came from a security camera mounted outside and this happened in the middle of the night. It is a bird. No, it's a plane. No, it's a giant fireball streaking through the sky. That's security video from the University of Utah caught this oven-sized meteor as it plummeted toward the earth. Cool, huh?

And take a look at these little guys. Can you believe that somebody would want to hurt them? Their owner was thrown in jail in Palm Beach County after hotel employees say they spotted him throwing his little German Shepherd puppies around in the room. They say he stomped on one of the puppies, kicked another one, dragged through the lobby -- and we're not talking about a roadside motel. He was at a Four Seasons in Palm Beach, no less. I guess that's proof that alleged animal abusers can come from any income bracket. The dogs, by the way, were taken away and they are now, with casts, recovering.

SANCHEZ: That's "Fotos."

And that is the deputy that was -- well, caught stealing a document from somebody he shouldn't have even been looking into her file. She's an attorney. The Constitution says she's protected. In fact, we're all protected. But she's in a courtroom.

What his boss is telling him to do is also making news. It's Joe Arpaio.

We'll bring you that story and we'll take you through the experience of a former federal prosecutor. Stay right there. We'll be right back.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hey, Rick. This is Jason from Reading, Pennsylvania. I think that sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona, that rifled through the attorney's papers, he should be charged. He should be charged not only with breach of the public trust because he's a sworn officer, but he should also be charged with attempted theft or theft, because the other deputy actually walked out of the courtroom with the paper work.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

As you might imagine, people are appalled any time somebody abuses an animal -- as is the case in our Twitter board. Let's take a shot of it if we possibly can, Roger, from this camera over here.

"Hurting an animal is one of the most horrendous things that man can do." Boy, these have just been pouring in as you might imagine. And yes, it is.

But there's something else that makes Americans very angry -- when police officers abuse their positions. I don't know what it is, but there's nothing that sets our viewers off more than that, it seems to me.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, he's angry. He's angry again. This time, he's not fighting with the Department of Homeland Security. He's not fighting with the Justice Department. He's not fighting with the Obama administration. He's not defending his roundups of people that he calls "illegals."

Today, he's going to stare down with a judge and I'm going to show you why.

All right. Let's roll the videotape.

It's a story about this guy you see right there. All right, he is a sheriff's officer, deputy officer. He's an officer of the court -- detention officer. Is that right, Angie?

All right. The point is what he's about to do. He's looking around to see what he needs to do. He's going through somebody's file. He pulls into her papers, takes out a specific document that belongs to the attorney who's addressing the judge right now right there in front of him -- the lady with the black hair and the white shirt -- takes her private property out of her file, gives it to his friend, the other deputy, tells her, "Oh, yes, everything's fine." Well, he's just got into her property and taken out a document.

Finally, the lady says, "Look, there's something going on here." He tells her, "It's fine." It's not until her client says, "They just took something from you" that the judge stops the proceeding. And now, there has been a case against him.

That judge, at the moment right there, almost made it sound like he was -- she was taking the deputy's side. They had a side bar. You see it going on right there. And in the end, nothing was really resolved. So, it was handed to another judge.

This new judge has come out and said that this deputy was wrong. And she says he was -- pardon me -- he says that he's in contempt of court and telling him that he has to apologize, has to do so in public or he will go to jail.

So, now, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who's his boss, is coming out and saying, "No, you don't. You work for me. You don't work for that judge. Disobey what the judge is telling you to do."

Play the tape. Go ahead, Rog.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I do back up the detention officer. He was acting in good faith, trying to secure the courtroom. I would highly recommend to the judge, if he wants to run this office, you should run for sheriff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, keep in mind that a lot of people are saying that that deputy got off easily. You've heard all the people who've been calling our show and twittering the show -- people who, by the way, are even in favor of Joe Arpaio. They like what he's doing with undocumented immigrants but they don't like what he's doing here.

All the -- all the deputy has to do is say, "I'm sorry, I did that. I probably shouldn't have done something like that," even though some are saying it's theft. But Arpaio is saying, "No. You won't apologize. You won't talk publicly and you'll only do whatever I tell you to do and you don't do what the judge says."

It's an interesting case. Let me bring in someone I know, knows a lot about this kind of law: Kendall Coffey. He's a former prosecutor in south Florida. He and I have been talking about this kind of thing for years now.

I don't think I've ever seen anything like this, Kendall. Have you?

KENDALL COFFEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: No. It's pretty outrageous when you think about it. A deputy sneaking into a file literally behind a lawyer's back. The judge lets him off pretty easily. But now, you've got America's most controversial sheriff, loved by the voters, being investigated by the Department of Justice. And he's been pushing around a lot of people, Rick.

But pushing back on a judge, this could be the time that lands this sheriff in plenty of trouble.

SANCHEZ: But, hey, you know, I know, sheriffs can be pretty important, pretty powerful. Judges got to get elected, too, Kendall. And if you got the backing of a guy like Joe Arpaio, the people's sheriff, so to speak, you're doing OK. Is there a possibility that because of, as you said, his populist appeal, he can win this thing?

COFFEY: Well, he's definitely throwing the gauntlet down to the judge saying, "I've got more votes than you do." Let's face it, the sheriff is very popular. But there's one thing about judges. They'll take a lot of guff but they won't take willful to obey their orders.

It's one thing if you appeal an order, you do that, you can argue all the legalities you want. But when you look them in the face and say, "I'm not going to do it, Judge," you are in big-time trouble. And even though the order is specifically directed to the deputy, if the sheriff is complicit, basically telling the guy, "We're going to ignore the judge," both of them could be looking to become guests of the local taxpayers by December 1st, the deadline for compliance with this order.

SANCHEZ: Let's be fair and even-handed about this, because my friend -- and someone you know -- Sylvia Pinera yesterday was on this show down there in south Florida, and she told me something I hadn't thought about. What if we turn this around and it was the other way?

What if somebody from the family of a defendant, for example, stood up while you were a prosecutor handling any of the many famous cases that you handled, Kendall, and went into your files and started taking out evidence or your papers? What would happen to that person? Do you think they'd only have to apologize?

COFFEY: They wouldn't be apologizing. They'd be pleading guilty or not guilty after they were indicted for obstruction of justice.

And, again, I agree your readers. This deputy is getting off pretty lightly. At least there's been a fine, maybe criminal prosecution. Instead, all he's being asked to do is the most basic thing, say he's sorry, try to take back some of the reputational damage that was done to this defense lawyer who, by the way, was linked to really bad lawyers by some off the -- over-the-top comments by this same sheriff. So she's taken a pounding that she did not deserve.

SANCHEZ: What about the judge in the case? Not the judge who's made that ruling, who's held him in contempt of court -- which a lot of people find is too lenient, I understand, but the original judge.

I don't know if you've heard that testimony -- but when they have the side bar, the side bar concludes, the attorney obviously says to the judge, "Your honor, I've never had anything happen like this. This is wrong. I want this guy held in contempt of court." And the judge looks at her and says, "Oh, just count to 10 and take a deep breath," as if you're wrong to be upset.

What do you make of that?

COFFEY: Well, the attorney was right to be upset. And probably for both of them, they'd just never seen this before. They all needed some time to figure out what to do with it. I mean, how many times have any of us seen anything like this, Rick?

So, it was just the kind of situation nobody knew how to handle at the time. They did handle it properly.

SANCHEZ: But before we run out of time, I just -- I just want to ask you this one question: Is it a problem that can be inherent by this example that is set from on high -- if the boss acts like he doesn't respect the law, will the deputies be that way? Is that what you've seen in your experiences?

COFFEY: Of course, it is. There's no holds barred in this sheriff's department. It's some form of a sheriff from the Wild West only taken into the 21st century. And he's telling them, "I am on my Web site, everywhere you can hear about it, the toughest sheriff in America." So, you know, bare knuckles...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

COFFEY: ... all the time is his style. And you see it with his deputy.

SANCHEZ: We have not heard the last of this case. Kendall Coffey, my thanks to you for sharing your analysis and perspective on this.

COFFEY: Thanks, Rick. SANCHEZ: Good to see you.

All right. Wolf.