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Taliban Linked to Times Square Bomb; Picking Next Supreme Court Justice; Tar Washes up on Gulf Beaches; GOP Schism Seen in Utah, Florida; Staying Safe on Craigslist; Hikers' Moms Work to Free Them From Iran; Big Man Switches From Medicine to Baking

Aired May 09, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: White house officials think they know what group was behind the Times Square terror attack, and later on today in the NEWSROOM the downside for this year's college graduates and how do military families stay connected during overseas deployments?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live this mother's day, Sunday, May 9th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

One week ago today officials were downplaying reports that the Pakistani Taliban might have been involved in the Times Square bombing. Well, today it's a very different story. Attorney general Eric Holder says there is evidence that the Pakistani Taliban was intimately involved in the plot and another administration official says it's likely that the suspected bomber Faisal Shahzad was working for the Pakistani Taliban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The case is still evolving, ongoing investigation, as you know. Mr. Shahzad is in custody. He is being cooperative as far as responding to our questions. It looks like he was working on behalf of the TTP, the Pakistan Taliban. This is a group that is closely allied with al Qaeda.

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad, Pakistan. Reza, exactly who makes up this Pakistani Taliban and what more do we know about that group?

How are they the same or different from the Afghanistan Taliban?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pakistani Taliban Fredricka is Pakistan's version of the Afghan Taliban with a few differences but many similarities. First off, they're from the same region, the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. They both speak the same Pashtu language. They were both inspired by Mullah Omar. Many of them fought alongside one another in the Afghan jihad against the soviet in the 1980s but the Pakistani Taliban was formed a few years ago in response to Pakistan's alliance with the U.S.

Remember after 9/11 Washington told Pakistan that you have to go after the foreign fighters or militants who are escaping from Afghanistan into Pakistan. So what do the militants in Pakistan do? They formed the Pakistani Taliban to go after Pakistani security forces. Of course, over the past couple of years the Pakistani Taliban has expanded its mission to go after U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan and most recently, Fredricka of course, they have declared their desire to hit U.S. targets on U.S. soil.

WHITFIELD: And so what, if any, links are there to al Qaeda?

SAYAH: There are a few links. Obviously they live in the same place. This is the north -- South Waziristan area. Al Qaeda can't be in this area without the Pakistani Taliban's approval. This tribal region along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, the Obama administration has called it the central front in the war on terror.

The Obama administration says al Qaeda is here in this region, plotting the next attack on U.S. soil and now, of course, you have the Pakistani Taliban saying the same thing as well. But I think it's important to say, before we go out and name the Pakistani Taliban, the next al Qaeda that is capable of hitting U.S. targets, we really have to find out the details with the connection between Faisal Shahzad and the Pakistani Taliban. How extensive was it? Did the Pakistani Taliban really go out, find this guy, recruit this guy, bring him back, train him, pay for this attempted bombing? Or did Shahzad find the Pakistani Taliban and met with them a few times and they gave him a rough pamphlet, bomb making pamphlet and sent him out there?

I think it's these types of details that'll make it easier to determine what type of threat the Pakistani Taliban is right now. These are details the U.S. officials have yet to come out with.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reza Sayah, thanks so much in Islamabad.

This of course continues to be top of line for the Obama administration as does this. Word is that the president could name his Supreme Court pick within days. It looks like he's focusing on four candidates.

Let's get right to our Kate Bolduan who is in Washington.

What are you hearing?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka. Well, right now it is still a bit of a waiting game but we are getting indications from people close to the selection process that a decision from the white house is expected this week as early as tomorrow.

We know that President Obama has personally met with and interviewed the four people talked about as the leading candidates for this spot to fill Justice John Paul Stephens' spot. He is retiring at the end of the term. We also know that Vice President Biden has met with the same four candidates. But this is an announcement that is traditionally kept very quiet and this time is no different. Listen here to attorney general Eric Holder from this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president will make this decision, announce this decision as soon as when?

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think the decision will be announced very shortly. The president has had a wealth of good candidates to consider and I think he's looking for a person who will understand that we have to have a supreme court that understands its decisions and the impact those decisions have on the American -- the average American person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An announcement tomorrow?

HOLDER: I think we'll have an announcement very soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very soon. As early as tomorrow. Is that fair?

HOLDER: I'd say we're going to have one very soon.

BOLDUAN: That's no surprise. That's very much what we've been hearing from many people within the administration, within the white house up to this point. This is no doubt one of the biggest decisions or at least one of the longest lasting decisions any president can make. They call it his longest lasting legacy. That's because the decisions of the Supreme Court touch American lives for years, possibly for decades after president Obama leaves office. This is a very big deal and there is a lot at stake here.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. It's a title and appointment for a lifetime and that justice gets to keep the job as long as they see fit or want to. So, Kate, who are the top candidates?

BOLDUAN: Exactly. There are -- of course there can always be a surprise. We always want to say that first. But the leading candidates really being talked about include two women and two men. One being the current Solicitor General Elena Kagan as well as some federal appellate judges. Diane Wood out of Chicago, Merrick Garland out of Washington, D.C. as well as Sidney Thomas from San Francisco. They represent a range of people, they talk about diversity on the court for various reasons. It will be very interesting the calculation that goes into president Obama's pick. We are waiting to hear and working our sources to figure this out as soon as possible.

WHITFIELD: Could be a pivotal week. Thanks so much. Kate Bolduan in Washington.

All right. So long time political watcher Jennifer Donahue is going to be joining us about 20 minutes we'll talk about some of this week's hot political topics including the U.S. justice department possibly suing Arizona over its new controversial immigration law and we'll also talk about lawmakers facing tough re-election bids already.

All right. Now, the latest on that giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A plan to plug the gushing well head with a massive dome has hit a snag and there are more indications that the spill is actually spreading. Let's go live to CNN's David Mattingly in Venice, Louisiana. David?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, that snag you're talking about was a form of ice crystals or ice-like crystals formed when gas collects with water down at the low -- the high pressure and the low temperatures down below. It was forming on the inside of the dome, clogging it up, making it really useless and what they plan to do to siphon the oil up to the surface and into a waiting containment vessel.

What they have to do now, they're taking the next couple days to set the dome aside, figure out what they need to do to prevent these crystals from forming on the inside. They knew hydrates would be forming down there. They did not believe it would be this big of a problem, so much so that it would actually clog up the dome. But that's what has happened. That's what they're looking at, solutions to this problem before they abandon it and move onto something else.

WHITFIELD: And what are the options? What would be the "something else?"

MATTINGLY: Well, there are other things that they've got -- they've been talking about, two of them primarily include to establish another blowout preventer, install it down below. Remember that was a device that failed and allowed this disaster to happen in the first place. They're talking about setting one up, a new one down there to possibly stem the flow of oil.

They're also looking at something called a top kill where they actually inject solid material into the pipe to essentially for lack of a technical term clog it up. But these all carry their own types of risks. And the biggest risk being it could actually make this worse than it already is. So they are trying to find a way to fix what they're doing with the dome so that they can continue with that their first plan to stem the flow of the oil.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Now, what about wildlife? That's been a major concern. We know the coast guard said just yesterday two porpoises have died. They're not sure if it's oil related. As well as two birds and I understand there are more birds now that they are finding coated in oil. Right?

MATTINGLY: There was one bird found last night and our camera was there just as it came ashore brought in by a crew aboard a boat. It was found last night floating in the oil that was up against one of the booms. It was completely covered with this oil all over and it really looked very serious at the time.

Usually they have to bring these birds in and give them IV fluids and give them food because they're so weak. And it usually takes a couple of days before they're able to clean them off. For this bird, fortunately, this pelican they brought in, it was still strong enough they were able to clean it right away and today it is clean and they're nursing it back to health. So a success story there but, again, every time one of these birds comes in it's another sign that this oil spill is doing damage out there and still getting bigger and more menacing every day.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Thanks so much, David Mattingly.

I understand there were a couple other birds they had to wash as well earlier on in the weekend. The plan is they would actually release them into the wild so perhaps that's what's going to happen for this pelican as well. Thanks so much. In Venice, Louisiana.

All right. BP and the U.S. Coast Guard are, again, holding a briefing on that spill later on today. They are expected to talk about the role local fishing vessels can now play in containing the slick. That's at 4:00 eastern time. We'll carry as much of that as we are able to.

A touching reunion that was decades in the making. Just in time for mother's day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CPL. MATTHEW KUGELMAN: I'm Matthew Kugelman here in Afghanistan. I'd like to give a shout to my wife Tara back in California. Happy mother's day, baby. I love you. I miss you. I'll be home soon. Give Madison a kiss for me.

CPL. MICHAEL SALAS: I'm Corporal Michael Salas from Compton, California. I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan. I want to say happy mother's day to my wife and my mom. I miss you guys and I love you guys.

WHITFIELD: Happy mom's day to all of them. For an Alabama mom this special day holds an extra special meaning. It's the first mother's day that she has actually spent with a daughter she gave up for adoption decades ago. Jonathan Lowe with CNN affiliate News 14 Carolina has the story from Charlotte.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN LOWE, NEW 14 CAROLINA: As she waits, 24-year-old Quandra Boston can't help being a little anxious.

QUANDRA BOSTON: My entire life I waited for this day. It's like the super bowl to me.

LOWE: Make that a lot anxious.

BOSTON: I want to meet her and embrace her.

LOWE: A day before mother's day this is the first time she will see her biological mother since she was 3 months old.

BOSTON: You want to stay on the phone?

LOWE: If only they can find each other in Charlotte's airport.

BOSTON: She is very nervous.

LOWE: But, finally --

BOSTON: Come here!

LOWE: The embrace both have longed for more than two decades.

BOSTON: How are you? ALLYN BULLARD, MOTHER: Oh, god. Oh, my god.

LOWE: Allyn, who lives in Alabama, said she wanted Quandra whom she named Ashley to be adopted because financially she couldn't support a child.

BULLARD: I wanted her to have the best in life and I knew I couldn't give her that.

LOWE: In 2009 they would both experience tragedy that would start the process of bringing mother and daughter back together.

BOSTON: Private investigators and searching.

LOWE: The year Ashley who lives in North Carolina lost a baby and Allyn --

BULLARD: My daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

LOWE: And though they had never met Ashley says she felt a connection.

BOSTON: The nightmare and day dreams and I would start crying.

LOWE: Evidence they say of the unbreakable bond between mother and child, a bond that reunited these two. They say the same can happen to others.

How is this for a mother's day present?

BULLARD: This is the best ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Quandra Brown says she plans to go to Alabama next month for her birthday to meet her biological mother's family.

An historic college graduation in Montgomery, Alabama. Just yesterday nine students expelled for a student sit-in in 1960 finally got their diplomas from Alabama State University. They proudly stood before a packed house, got a standing ovation. The school's president Dr. William Harris urged the board of trustees to give degrees to the nine.

JAMES. S. MCFADDEN, SIT-IN PARTICIPANT: We honor and respect Dr. Harris for having the courage to do what was right. This should have happened many years ago. We give him the honor for stepping forward and honoring us. We thank Dr. Harris who had the courage for that and we are excited and appreciative of it.

WHITFIELD: The students had protested segregated dining facilities at the Montgomery county courthouse 50 years ago.

All right. The ash plume from that volcano in Iceland is acting up again. We'll show you what it's doing now and how it could impact your travel plans especially if you're going overseas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now. Emergency crews are scrambling to save dozens of trapped miners and rescuers at a coal mine in western Russia. At least a dozen people were killed in two explosions at that mine. Rescue workers got trapped inside when they entered the mine after the first blast. The second explosion destroyed the main air shaft. Now rescue work has been suspended until methane is actually pumped out.

And some call it a sign of voter discontent with Washington. Utah Senator Robert Bennett won't be seeking a fourth term. Delegates at the Republican convention in Salt Lake City last night voted to bar him from running. Many are unhappy that Bennett backed the Wall Street bailout and the bill mandating health insurance coverage. Bennett is the first Congressional incumbent to be ousted this year.

And flying ash from Iceland's volcano is disrupting air travel again. The plume has shut down airports across Europe, southern France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany are all reporting closures today. Transatlantic flights are affected as well. Many are being rerouted in a larger path around Greenland to the coast of Portugal. That move alone adds several hours to flights from North America.

Let's check in our Jacqui Jeras who's in the severe weather center. I guess we'll concentrate on what is happening around the world beginning with Europe and the travel and --

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know.

WHITFIELD: Just when I guess folks were getting confident and thinking Transatlantic flights were okay or flying within Europe was okay, uh-huh. Check again.

JERAS: Some are okay. There are a couple cancellations. Some of those re-routings you were talking about. But then also we've got some which are operating okay. It all depends on where you're going and also which way the wind blows. In this green and red area you're looking at here, this is where the ash cloud is and where the upper level winds are directing it. We have more of a northerly flow again. Winds are going to be relatively light and variable over the next couple of days until probably Tuesday into Wednesday. We'll get a stronger northerly component and we'll likely see additional problems as we head into the middle of the week. This is something we'll continue to watch. It's going up there toward flight level, again up to at least 18,000 feet now. So when it gets into the upper levels of the atmosphere the higher the eruption the greater problems that you'll have. If you do have travel plans overseas into Europe the next couple of days, even into middle to latter part of next week, make sure you check those flights before you take off.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, a shakeup in the Republican Party. In the U.S. Senate, Utah's Bob Bennett, out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Several big political stories this week. Senator Bob Bennett has lost his bid for re-nomination in Utah. It looks like two other candidates kind of squeezed him out and will face each other in a June primary. Conservatives were pretty angry. I'm going the wrong way. Aren't I? Conservatives were pretty angry about his position on a couple of top issues, including his vote on health care. And then Charlie Crist, you know he was a Republican for a long time. Now he is an Independent and polls are showing that he made a pretty smart political move there. We'll talk about that. And Attorney General Eric Holder says the U.S. Justice Department just might be suing Arizona over its controversial new immigration law.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLDER: It is certainly one of the concerns that I have that you will end up in a situation where people are racially profiled and that could lead to a wedge drawn between certain communities and law enforcement, which leads to the problem of people in those communities not willing to interact with people in law enforcement, not willing to share information, not willing to be witnesses where law enforcement needs them. I think you have to think about the collateral consequences of such a law, understanding the frustration that people feel in Arizona. It's one of the reasons why I think we have to have a national solution to this immigration problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Obviously there is a lot to talk about. We're going to begin with that very topic Eric Holder was talking about. Jennifer Donahue is with us. She's political director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester.

Good to see you, Jennifer.

JENNIFER DONAHUE, NEW HAMPSHIRE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: OK, let's talk first about Eric Holder and what the probability is of the Justice Department filing suit against Arizona. On what grounds?

DONAHUE: Well, I think, basically, what you heard Holder say in the sound bite that you played is that the grounds are humanitarian, that basically, it's racial profiling. And I think one of the problems with that argument, even though a lot of people agree with that argument, and it's actually a split issue, is that in Arizona itself, where there's a huge immigration problem, over 70 percent of the voters actually support the legislation that would allow what Holder considers to lead to potentially racial profiling.

And that's the frustration and anger that he's referring to when he says that he understands that Arizonans are frustrated and angry about the current immigration situation, is because there's so much illegal immigration in Arizona that it's created a lot of anger.

So how far would the feds go in filing a lawsuit? I think they'd go as far as they possibly can, and I think it's likely a lawsuit would be filed. The question is, would it fall upon deaf ears in Arizona?

WHITFIELD: Right, and especially because Arizona and other border states would say, We have unusual circumstances here. They're dealing with crime, unlike any other state that is not on the border, obviously. And so the argument Arizona is going to make is that these are special circumstances. Am I correct?

DONAHUE: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: And that's why this is the exception to the rule.

DONAHUE: That the problem is so great that this is the way to deal with it, and that, in fact, there is no constitutional violation that Holder is saying in the racial profiling argument, that the state would say there is no constitutional argument to make, that nobody's rights are being violated, that only people who appear to be illegal immigrants would be pulled over. How law enforcement officials would make that determination, though, is unclear, and that's exactly the wedge that Holder is addressing.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk about Senator Robert Bennett now and what happened to him. The incumbent, he was seeking a fourth term. He felt, perhaps, very entrenched in this position. But there has been a sizable current that is occurring inside and outside of Washington, saying there is anger at the incumbency, and perhaps he is one of the first to fall. Explain where the missteps might have been for him, or where there may have been this collective movement to make sure that he didn't seek a fourth term.

DONAHUE: Sure. There are a couple things at play. There are a lot of Tea Party movement supporters who had candidates that they liked better than Bennett. And as you know from the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts just down the road here, when Tea Party movement activists get riled up about something, they can have a lot of power and they can have a lot of numbers. Are they strictly Republican? No, not necessarily, but they're conservative.

And that gets to the second part of this problem for Bennett, who no longer will be, you know, running for the U.S. Senate, unless he chooses a different party affiliation, is that Senator Bennett, in fact, voted for the TARP bill, and that's seen by some Tea Party movementers -- and obviously, in Utah many, of them -- as a vote for the administration and a vote against the interests of conservative policies. The other thing is that he co-sponsored a bill with a Democrat that dealt with health care.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DONAHUE: And I'm not talking about the big health care bill that was passed. But those are the two places that Bennett was vulnerable. Now, to whom was Bennett vulnerable? Was he vulnerable to rank-and- file voters who will come out in the general election in November?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DONAHUE: Probably not. He was vulnerable to the Tea Party movement. He was vulnerable to the conservatives in a very conservative state, Washington -- or excuse me, Utah, and Bennett was too vulnerable to get to the primary.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

DONAHUE: You know, what that really means is you have a split Republican Party, and is Bennett the person who was most likely to beat the Democrat in the general election? Possibly. And this is a problem we're seeing state after state after state around the country...

WHITFIELD: Well...

DONAHUE: ... is that while people say, Well, gee, is this something that's going to help Republicans win? No. This is going to hurt Republicans come November. If they elect highly conservative candidates across states in the U.S....

WHITFIELD: Well, you make some interesting...

DONAHUE: ... that makes it harder to win.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you make some interesting points there that really offer a great segue into Florida. You talk about, you know, splitting the Republican Party. You talk about any way that Bennett might be able to resurrect or maintain his political career would be to change party affiliation.

Well, that brings us perfectly to now Charlie Crist, who has done just that. He's now an independent, and now apparently he is gaining steam. So does this mean that there is a, perhaps, split in the Republican Party in that state, where there are a lot of Republicans who are saying, I actually like the idea of this independent? I didn't like him with the Republicans, but I like him now as an independent.

DONAHUE: Well, you know, it's really interesting. You see again, here, a perfect -- as you said, a perfect example of the split is that Crist is a moderate Republican. He had a challenger to his right that was actually getting some traction, although that challenger has his own problems and there were issues that would have slowed him down.

But you see Crist, who, you know, was the Republican governor in the state, was very popular, was on the short list for the VP nomination under McCain...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DONAHUE: ... and some thought would run for president. You know, here's someone who was a moderate Republican who had to leave his party to run. Even though, ideologically, many of his views...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DONAHUE: ... are still Republican, he was too moderate for the Republican Party.

WHITFIELD: OK...

DONAHUE: What does this say about the Republican Party? Has the tent gotten small? Does it no longer allow moderates? I would say that, yes, the tent has gotten smaller. The Tea Party, to the extent they are Republican-affiliated...

WHITFIELD: OK.

DONAHUE: ... have shrunk the tent in the Republican Party, and this exact schism is what's going to cause problems if Republicans...

WHITFIELD: All right, well...

DONAHUE: ... want to take over the House.

WHITFIELD: It is early on in the race, and we shall see. Jennifer Donahue, thanks so much. I know we'll see you again over the course of the next few months.

DONAHUE: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a long, painful road, isn't it, for many candidates.

DONAHUE: It's going to be a nail-biter, yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes, heading toward the fall. Thanks so much, Jennifer. Appreciate that.

DONAHUE: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, one family's tragedy. A diamond ring posted for sale on Craigslist leads to murder. We've got an expert to talk about what you need to know before you trust anyone on line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A cautionary tale from the Seattle area. It began with a diamond posted for sale on Craigslist. It ended with the death of a husband and father after thieves responded to the ad. A Pierce County sheriff's spokesperson explained exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED TROYER, PIERCE CO., WASH., SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN: Once they got in there, they hit one of the boys and hurt him. Dad intervened. Dad got shot multiple times. He died at the scene. Mom got tied up. One of the other boys was able to call 911 and tell us what happened and get us en route.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Four people have been arrested in that case. And just last week, three Georgia teenagers were accused of using Craigslist to draw in people that they could allegedly rob.

John Lucich is an internationally known computer forensics specialist. So John, Craigslist is the highway to get things sold, but what can we learn from this tragic murder in Washington?

JOHN LUCICH, FORMER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR: Well, one thing we have to remember is that, number one, the Internet puts the world -- where -- excuse me -- the Internet puts us in touch with the world, but it also puts the world in touch with us. We can't give out that information. You know, it's one thing, when we talk about burglaries, those are crimes of opportunity...

WHITFIELD: What do you mean, you can't put out that information? Well, what do you men? Let me stop you there.

LUCICH: Well...

WHITFIELD: Because people...

LUCICH: ... let me say...

WHITFIELD: ... are putting information...

LUCICH: ... you're going to tell somebody you have $10,000 in cash? You going to put $10,000 in cash or you got valuable jewelry?

WHITFIELD: Well, wait. Stop there.

LUCICH: You're just giving...

WHITFIELD: Stop, stop, stop, stop!

LUCICH: ... people...

WHITFIELD: Stop, John.

LUCICH: Go ahead.

WHITFIELD: Because people go to Craigslist to put an item on Craigslist in exchange for cash. So you've got a ring or you've got a car or something, you put that information. But clearly, we need to either use this or other examples as maybe there is a safer way in which to sell or to have a transaction, because that's the ultimate goal, is it not, a product in exchange for cash?

LUCICH: This crime was something that definitely was avoidable. This should never have happened. That should not have been done that way. There are better ways to broker a deal, and it's not through Craigslist. When you tell people that you've got something very valuable at your house and you invite those people to your home, you're inviting trouble. It's not your fault, but you're -- this could have been prevented.

You know, and it's not just Craigslist. This is not a Craigslist issue. We had Michael Pecora (ph) met somebody on line, ended up dead. Ashley Hall (ph) met somebody on Facebook. She ended up dead. Tory Ann Pankin (ph) met somebody at a popular dating site. She ended up dead. This is not a Craigslist issue.

Yes, right now, there's a lot of topics coming up on Craigslist, but this is really a crime issue and the people perpetrating those crimes.

WHITFIELD: OK, so I'm hearing a couple things from you. One, you're saying there needs to be a certain responsibility as it pertains to social networking, the use of public sites like a Craigslist in order to, you know, sell something. The other message I'm hearing from you is simply don't even try to purchase or sell anything on Craigslist. However, we know people are going to use that as a means. So can we go down the road of how do you do it safely, if there is a way in which to do it?

LUCICH: Enforcement. And there's got to be a protocol that you follow. We had a young girl who ended up dead by answering an ad on Craigslist for a nanny. She went to the guy's house. She ended up dead. This guy didn't even have kids. He was a 19-year-old kid. So there's got to be a protocol. If you're going to go to somebody's house, you don't go alone. If you're going to meet somebody, you meet them in a public place, like at a restaurant or something like that. So these types of crimes can't happen in a secluded area.

WHITFIELD: So if you are selling something...

LUCICH: When you invite...

WHITFIELD: ... you don't want to invite them to your home. You want to find a public place. Describe what would be the optimum public place where you would want to, you know, show someone the product that you're trying to sell, have a transaction, a place that's very busy, where there are a lots of witnesses? What?

LUCICH: The best way to do this is going to be broker the deal through a jeweler or through one of these on-line services so you don't get ripped off. There have been many people who have bought a baseball card that wasn't really that $5,000 baseball card, it was just a regular baseball card. Brokering the deal is always going to be better off because if you tell somebody to meet you at a diner, they're just going to hit you on the way to the diner or hit you on the way home from the diner. They're not going to hit you at the diner. So it's really -- you don't carry around cash. You don't carry around valuables. And you don't meet people like this.

WHITFIELD: OK. John Lucich...

LUCICH: It's not a way to sell valuable items.

WHITFIELD: All right. I hear you loud and clear. And hopefully, a lot of people hear your message and try to take away from it the best way to go about doing business in a safe kind of way because we do know that people are going to continue to turn to Craigslist...

LUCICH: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: ... or some other kind of public sites because they see the convenience factor of it. But you're underscoring the danger, too. John Lucich, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

All right, well, many moms, they're spending this holiday with their kids, but not this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, today is a day of uncertainty for three moms caught in the middle of an international crisis. Their children are stuck in Iran, detained after Iran said they strayed across a remote border during a hiking trip last year. Our Susan Candiotti says they are united in one mission, bringing their kids home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Laura Fattal starts each day reading her newspaper -- more than once.

LAURA FATTAL, HIKER'S MOTHER: The first time through is only for Iran or things related to Iran. The next time through, I read more thoroughly.

CANDIOTTI: On Mother's Day, and every day, Fattal looks for news about her son, Josh, and his two friends, journalist Shane Bauer, also 27, and 31-year-old Sarah Shourd, a teacher. Late last July, the three American hikers were detained in an Iranian prison. Iran claims they crossed its border illegally. The mothers issued a statement saying if they crossed the border, it was accidental.

FATTAL: This small hiking trip that was supposed to be eight days in length becomes a nine-month detention in prisons in Iran.

CANDIOTTI: On the home front, desperation is taking its toll.

FATTAL: None of us sleep through the night. We go on line. We check different Web sites. We see people who are e-mailing us. We get a lot of support from all over the world.

Dearest Josh, we heard from Mr. Shofi (ph) today...

CANDIOTTI (on camera): How many letters would you estimate have been sent over the past nine months to all of them?

FATTAL: Thousands.

CANDIOTTI: Thousands.

FATTAL: Thousands. CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Josh is apparently getting some mail. His mother found out during the only phone call he was allowed to make. It came in March, without warning. Laura missed it, but her husband was home.

(on camera): What did he say?

FATTAL: Josh just said, Hi, Dad, like it was any other day.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): For nine months, the three moms, including Fattal, have put their lives on hold. They visited the U.N., met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, done countless interviews, attended vigils around the country. A sign outside Fattal's home town high school urges everyone to remember the hikers.

FATTAL: How are you? Good. Still walking.

CANDIOTTI: Dan Weintraub (ph) raises donations to get the word out. He was a classmate of Josh's.

DAN WEINTRAUB, JOSH'S CLASSMATE: Everybody seems to, obviously, really want to help him out and bring him home, so we're doing what we can.

FATTAL: Hi, Cind (ph). Hi, Nora (ph).

CANDIOTTI: The mothers check in with each other daily.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to think about not having all of our kids safely at home for Mother's Day.

FATTAL: We know that whatever energy and power we have has to be totally in gear and totally working because we need to get them out.

CANDIOTTI: Fattal is a college art professor who dropped everything to work for her son's release.

FATTAL: Every day, where your -- my mind needs to be is, What else can I do? Because, clearly, they're not home yet.

CANDIOTTI: The man she feels can get them home hasn't. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the U.N. in New York last week, refused to see Fattal and the other moms.

(on camera): What would you ask him?

LUCICH: I'd offer up the mothers' compassion and the mothers' wishes, and if that gives him strength to bring the kids home, I welcome sending that strength to him.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Until that day, Laura Fattal spends Mother's Day waiting, writing one more letter. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And he may look more like a linebacker than a baker, but with a little help from Betty Crocker, he found his passion, leaving behind a career in medicine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's new, it's different, and you don't want to miss it. My new segment, "Face to Face With Fredricka," continues May 22nd with CNN founder Ted Turner. And we want to hear from you. If you ever wanted to ask Ted a question, this is your chance. Send your questions to CNN.com/fredricka, or you can find me on Facebook at FredrickaWhitfieldcnn. And I will pose those questions to Ted Turner. It'll be like your own conversation face to face with Ted Turner and me.

All right, his mind was in medical school, but his heart was in the kitchen. Today, as part of our "Follow Your Passion" series, you'll meet a would-be doctor who has done just that, made transitions to follow his passion. He finds a recipe for success that's topped with frosting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIP BROWN, "BIG MAN BAKES": Magnifique! Oh, yes! This is it!

I'm Chip Brown, also known as Big Man Bakes. I'm 6-5, 260, and I bake with very delicate hands.

Welcome to Big Man Bakes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

BROWN: How are you? That's me!

Welcome. First time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're the guy!

BROWN: I'm the guy. I'm Big Man Bakes.

I was not on a trajectory to be a master baker. I was on a trajectory to do politics, medicine or something like that. I got sent to college, and I happened to have a Betty Crocker book. And there was a girl I was trying to impress that her birthday came up and nobody was there. And I said, I'll be there. Let me read this book, bring over a cake and see what happens. And it was a successful venture. That's where it all began.

I got into medical school. I did medical research and then went to UCLA medical school. But I had always been doing catering on the side. I remember going to a UCLA meeting with the dean and said, What have you been doing in terms of your study? I said, Oh, studying, but I also was selling cakes on the side. And one of my mentors thought that was a pretty funny answer and one thought it was not the best answer to tell the dean of the medical school! I was at a party, and basically, people were having my cake and somebody said, Who made this cake? And they pointed to me across the room and they said, Big man bakes? And there the name began, Big Man Bakes. Here we are.

It's not just a name, it's a real person!

So every step in my life has been an important step. My trial and error in terms of learning a scientific method is how I learned how to bake, writing down recipes, trying it, throwing it out, starting over. It was all from a science background.

So this is what a red velvet should look like, that beautiful, rich crumb. Look at how moist that is. Oh! That's it.

It seems that as the economy tanks or is in a downward trend, this becomes one of those affordable luxuries that people don't want to dispense with.

Is it the real deal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the real deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the real deal!

BROWN: That's what I love to see. That's why I'm in this business, for that face.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Hey, I can attest it is the real deal. I have had those cupcakes. They are delicious. Chip Brown is...

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: (INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD: Yes, great success story. I'm hungry now, too, huh?

JERAS: You didn't bring me any of those for Mother's Day?

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. They went fast, though, in our household.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: I bet they did!

WHITFIELD: And beyond, yes. So in Los Angeles -- that's where you can find Big Man Bakes. And who knows, he might be branching out to other places -- Howard University grad.

JERAS: I love that, a big, strong man who can bake.

WHITFIELD: They turn out some great people, you know. It's my alma mater!

(LAUGHTER) WHITFIELD: Yes. OK, let's talk about some big names, when folks, you know, have their little babies...

JERAS: Nice.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: ... every year, the list of names are updated.

JERAS: They are. And it's, of course, the most popular baby names for a girl or for a boy. Roll the drum roll.

WHITFIELD: Here we go. Isabella.

JERAS: Isabella finally tops Emma. How about that? This is new this year.

WHITFIELD: There's an Isabella in my son's class.

JERAS: Oh, yes?

WHITFIELD: Yes. She's one of his favorites, so -- yes.

JERAS: Somebody told me that the reason why that name has skyrocketed...

WHITFIELD: Why?

JERAS: ... has to do with "Twilight," the movie "Twilight"...

WHITFIELD: Oh, is that right?

JERAS: One of the main characters is Bella or Isabella.

WHITFIELD: Oh! Oh, cute.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: We're getting the hurry. And Olivia came in third, Sophia and Ava. And then let's talk about the boys now, Jacob...

(CROSSTALK)

JERAS: ... year in a row. How about that? Jake is still the most popular name. Ethan came in number two. You can see Michael, my husband's name -- like that one -- Alexander and William.

WHITFIELD: Oh, those are all great names.

JERAS: Yes!

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: ... strong names, that's right. All right. Jacqui Jeras, we'll see you again a little bit later on. We're going to have much more -- JERAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: -- straight ahead. "YOUR $$$$$" is coming up right now. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Jacqui Jeras, see you throughout the day.