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Grilling About Drilling, Round Two; Considering Elena Kagan; Another School Attack in China Leaves More Children Dead; Investigating the San Francisco PD; Convicted in the Eyes of the Media; The High Cost of Tuition Avoided?; Segregated School Field Trip in Michigan
Aired May 12, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And it's at the top of the hour. Let the grilling begin. It's round two for oil exploration executives at the center of the Gulf of Mexico mess. Today, they're before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, BP, TransOcean and Halliburton all represented.
Most of the questions are aimed at BP. It's the face of the oil disaster and we're hoping to get some real answers, not just more finger-pointing and that's what we saw in another Senate hearing yesterday, lots of blame generously passed around.
CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please be seated.
KEILAR (voice-over): They sat right next to each other, top oil industry executives, and they told senators it was the other guy's fault.
Here's what BP said.
LAMAR MCKAY, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, BP AMERICA, INC.: TransOcean, as owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, had responsibility for the safety of drilling operations.
KEILAR: But TransOcean pointed a finger at Halliburton, which sealed the well.
STEVEN NEWMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TRANSOCEAN LIMITED: There was a sudden catastrophic failure of the cement, the casing or both. Without a failure of one of those elements, the explosion could not have occurred.
KEILAR: And Halliburton, it blamed BP and TransOcean, saying Halliburton just followed BP's instructions and TransOcean's blowout preventer, a shutoff device, failed to work.
TIM PROBERT, HALLIBURTON EXECUTIVE: Had the BOP functioned as expected, this catastrophe may well not have had occurred.
KEILAR: Democrats and Republicans weren't impressed.
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: I hear one message, and the message is don't blame me. Well, shifting this blame does not get us very far.
KEILAR: The blame game made Democratic senators skeptical that BP will make good on its promise to pay damages.
SEN. MARIA CANTWELL (D), WASHINGTON: So if it's a legitimate claim, a harm to the fishing industry, both short term and long term, you're going to pay?
MCKAY: We're going to pay all legitimate claims.
CANTWELL: If it's an impact from business loss from tourism, you're going to pay?
MCKAY: We'll going to pay all legitimate claims.
CANTWELL: To state and local governments for loss of tax revenue, you're going to pay?
MCKAY: Question mark.
CANTWELL: Long-term damages to the Louisiana fishing industry and its brand?
MCKAY: I can't -- I can't quantify or speculate on long-term. I don't know how to define it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Still a lot of questions, Brianna. What do you think? Can we expect more fireworks today?
KEILAR: I think we will be expecting some more fireworks. We heard last week when some of the executives from this company, these corporations did a behind-closed-doors briefing with these lawmakers and those lawmakers came out of that briefing very critical with a lot of questions.
I've actually been able to read the written testimony of some of these executives, Kyra. What I can tell you is that blame game that you saw yesterday on the Senate side, there's going to be more of that as they give their prepared remarks but really expect lawmakers to try to drill down on the issue of the damages that are going to be paid especially by BP.
As you can see, there was a little clarity that we got yesterday but there's still a whole lot of murkiness when it comes to how long will BP pay and really how much will they pay? Will they go to $10 billion? They were asked that yesterday and they wouldn't commit to that and said they couldn't comment on it and we're expecting more questions on that.
PHILLIPS: We'll watch it with you. Brianna, thanks. And one thing BP can bring to the table today, news that a new fix is almost in place. I use fix loosely because the last fix was a flop. This time it's the top hat, that's the name of the smaller containment cap. It's on the sea floor right now, but it won't be over the gusher until the end of next week.
Now people can't help, but compare the gulf oil spill with the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. It's been 21 years since that disaster but CNN's Dan Simon takes a look back at how that area is faring now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Plat is a commercial fishermen here in Cordova, Alaska, ground zero for the Exxon Valdez catastrophe two decades ago. It's been hard times ever since.
JOHN PLATT, CORDOVA, ALASKA FISHERMAN: I love to fish. I'm a third generation fisherman, but this other crap that's beyond my control, I wasted 20 years of my life.
SIMON: About 3,400 miles from here the BP accident in the gulf has leaked an estimated four million gallons of oil. Up here the Exxon Valdez leaked 11 million gallons of crude and left 1,500 miles of Alaska coastline blackened, birds, sea mammals, fisheries and people were devastated.
PLATT: We got hosed here in Cordova and nobody cares.
SIMON: Platt says his story is typical. The spill caused such stress it practically ruined his marriage.
(on camera): You are just one fisherman in this community, but you speak for many.
PLATT: People's lives were ruined. I mean, there were damn good fishermen, damn good fishermen here in the sound that just said screw it.
SIMON (voice-over): They left because the fish disappeared. The herring industry alone lost $400 million, three years after the spill they vanished and never returned. Exxon says it had nothing to do with the spill, but no one here is buying it.
MIKE WEBBER, CORDOVA, ALASKA FISHERMAN: People went bankrupt. People lost things.
SIMON: Mike Webber lost his marriage. With the fishing industry in ruins, he says he began drinking heavily.
WEBBER: I blame my divorce on Exxon and the oil spill.
SIMON: Sociologists spent years here since the disaster. They concluded a fifth of all commercial fishermen had severe anxiety and as many as 40 percent had severe depression. Divorces, alcoholism and even suicides went up. (on camera): The spill occurred about 60 miles away from where we are on Prince William Sound and even after all these years, oil residue can still be found on the shore. As a matter of fact, the local science center keeps bottles of it on hand.
RJ KOPCHACK, PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER: So you can take a look at it and it is still heavy oil and if you smell it, highly aromatic, still hydrocarbons still flowing out of that poison and yuck.
SIMON: It definitely smells like oil.
KOPCHACK: It actually does.
PLATT: It's been expect the worst and hope for the best.
SIMON (voice-over): Money has not made the problems go away. John Platt got his final payment from Exxon last year, nearly a half million dollars, but fishing is not what it was, so he used it to pay off debts on his fishing permits and boats.
PLATT: I think the general perception is that we were compensated a long time ago, everything's rosy and that's not the case.
SIMON (on camera): It's a much deeper story.
PLATT: Big time. Much deeper.
SIMON (voice-over): So what do things look like 21 years later? The oil stains may no longer be as evident, but they're still here, just below the surface.
Dan Simon, CNN, Cordova, Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, Exxon and Mobil merged 11 years ago and today that company provided us with a statement. It says in part, "The 1989 Valdez accident is one of the lowest points in Exxon Mobil's 125-year history. As a result of that accident, Exxon undertook significant operational reforms and implemented an exceptionally thorough operational management system to prevent future incidents."
So could the BP oil spill in some ways be even worse than the Exxon Valdez disaster? Josh Levs is here hopefully with some answers. It's kind of still hard to tell, right, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Because there is still so much we need to know. That's absolutely true. And I'll tell you something. I'm always wary of comparing tragedies because someone's tragedy is someone's tragedy. That said, as we try to wrap our minds around what's happening now and all the images that we keep getting like this, and all the work that's being done to try to clean up the spill, it does help to take a look back and try to look at some perspective here. We can go to some of the latest pictures we have. We got them from both places for you. We got from the Gulf region and we also have from Alaska. The first thing to keep in mind is a number of people that can be affected by what's going on right now.
Exxon Valdez, absolutely a tragedy. You know, the entire population of Alaska is just under 700,000. You also have a swathe of Canada as well that was affected. When we talk about what's going on right now, I just want to tell you how big the coastal population is in the Gulf of Mexico area.
Listen to this, projected by the Census Bureau, it's been on this huge increase. It was projected to increase from 44 million in 1995 to 61 million people in the coastal areas of our gulf coast, in the Gulf of Mexico coast by 2025. So we are talking about not only millions and millions of people in that area who can be affected but we're also talking about an area that has been growing and is increasing an economic engine to the country.
So in that sense, the scope, the number of people really who can be affected and that's pretty huge.
Let me take you through some numbers and Dan just touched on this as well. When we look back at Valdez, 10.8 million gallons spilled. Now, as you heard, Dan say, we're right about four million for the gulf right now but we're also getting another couple hundred thousand every day. So I'm being told we have to go and we have some news. But this is one way to look at some context in all these. Kyra, I'll send it back to you.
PHILLIPS: Hey, no problem. We'll take it.
I guess it's live to the hill - are we going live to the hill or is this a news conference? OK. Here we go. Live picture, as you know, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wasting no time interviewing for her dream job, just two days after President Obama nominated her, she headed here to Capitol Hill. This hour, as you can see, she is meeting with senators who will decide whether she'll be confirmed or not.
She's chatting with Harry Reid right now. You could basically call this the good old, Senate judiciary meet and greet. Republicans have questioned Kagan's qualifications because she's never been a judge at any level. Other supporters of hers have said that doesn't matter. We need someone who is more with the people and she will add diversity to the court. Do we want to listen in, guys?
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: -- whether it's Nevada or New York, whether it's a Democrat, a Republican or independent, the great country that we're in is ruled by law and that's what you're going to make sure continues. But we are grateful that you agreed to accept this assignment from the president, and I look forward to working, to make this transition from your present job to the next job as smooth as possible. Thanks, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are liberals so skeptical?
PHILLIPS: All right. There's one positive check on the yes list. Harry Reid and Elena Kagan. Of course, she has many more senators to meet with today and we'll follow that for you.
Now, a 10-year-old child believed to be the only survivor from a plane crash. It happened this morning at Tripoli's International Airport. A spokesman for Afriqiyah Airline says that a flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, was about to land when it went down. 104 people were believed to be onboard. 93 passengers and a crew of 11, but only one known survivor, a child, described now as a Dutch boy believed to be 10 years old.
This is video that we just got in within the past few minutes. He is actually getting treated in that Tripoli hospital. We are told that he is suffering from bone injuries and trauma, if indeed he's the only survivor, it will be pretty tragic especially if he was onboard with his parents. We'll follow this story for you.
All right. We've got an update this morning on more of the blatant examples of brutality in the crime-ravaged city of Juarez, Mexico. Police there say that four men who were kidnapped from a wedding on Friday have now been found dead. Those victims included the groom who was a U.S. citizen from New Mexico. Police say that all those bodies showed signs of torture, not clear if the killings were somehow drug related.
So why would a man hack kindergarteners and their teacher to death with a meat cleaver. That's what authorities in China right now are trying to answer. A horrific story about a spate of similar attacks. We are live from China in less than 90 seconds. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, for the fourth time in a little over two weeks, an armed man has attacked a school in China. The latest, this morning. Police say a man with a cleaver hacked a kindergarten teacher and seven students to death before he committed suicide.
From Beijing, CNN's John Vause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to state media, this latest attack happened in Nanzheng County, about 300 kilometers southwest of Xi'an, the city famous as being home to the terracotta warriors.
The rampage took place at a kindergarten around 8:00 a.m. local time just as parents with their children would be arriving for the start of the day. It's believed the attacker was armed with a knife. Early reports indicate several children may be among the dead and wounded.
This is the seventh violent attack targeting children in China in almost two months. Officials have ramped up security at elementary and middle schools as well as kindergartens. In some schools, guards are now armed with pepper spray and restraining poles.
One school not far from the scene of this latest incident has told CNN it has three check points before reaching classrooms. And right now security there has been increased.
China has a ban on personal firearms which is why knives are being used. In some cases the attacks have been the result of personal grievances.
Well, state media has reported those responsible are, in fact, mentally ill but there is growing speculation that the violent rampages are the result of frustration because of the gap between rich and poor.
At this stage, the reason for this latest rampage remains unclear.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about lifesavers. One guy got to meet and thank 33 of his.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So keep those weather radios on in the planes today. More rough stuff is expected. Oklahoma is still cleaning up from Monday's tornadoes.
And a smaller containment dome is now at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. BP hopes to have it sucking up oil from that gusher by the end of the week. A bigger dome didn't do the job.
And concerns about corruption in Kabul bound to come up this hour as President Obama host Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He talked with secretary of state Hillary Clinton yesterday.
So what would you say to strangers who did something so personable as saving your life. Meet cancer survivor Nate Post, after two surgeries, months of chemo and nearly 100 blood transfusions he got to meet and thank those who donated blood and helped him beat cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATE POST, CANCER SURVIVOR: To you guys, it's because without you, there's no doubt I wouldn't be here. So to all of you guys, to everybody who just came, thanks for literally saving my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Post got to meet and thank 33 of the 99 blood donors that saved his life.
Secrets behind the badge. What happens when police officers have a rap sheet of their own? Well, when cops have a past, convicted criminals could have a future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A debate raging in San Francisco right now. It's a story we've been following for you. Should the D.A. turn over the criminal records of police officers to defense attorneys? Not of suspects, but of the officers themselves. Well around 80 cops have something they'd probably like to forget in their files and some say it could lead to convictions being overturned.
Gary Delagnes is with us and he's president of the San Francisco Police Officer's Association. Unfortunately, we got cut off during our discussion earlier this week. We apologize for that Gary, also we're bringing in San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi.
Jeff, let's start with you. What's your beef with the cops?
JEFF ADACHI, PUBLIC DEFENDER: Well, police officers should not be above the law. In a criminal case when a witness has a record of a conviction or misconduct that evidence must be turned over to the defense. We have a situation here where as many as 80 police officers had misconduct records or prior convictions and this was withheld from the defense.
And so it creates a situation where trials may have to be re- tried again simply because this evidence was not made available to the defense as is required by law.
PHILLIPS: Gary, shouldn't there be full disclosure when it comes to our cops, the guys and the gals who protect and serve us?
GARY DELAGNES, PRESIDENT, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE OFFICERS' ASSN.: Absolutely. And pretty much what Jeff is saying is absolute nonsense. Let me tell you a couple of things. First of all, I would like to know if the public defender is inferring that we have convicted felons in the San Francisco Police Department. I would pose that question directly to Mr. Adachi? Is that what you're saying, Mr. Adachi?
ADACHI: Well, see the problem is, we don't know. Because what we've been told -
DELAGNES: Oh, yes, you do know, Mr. Adachi.
ADACHI: The police officers have not been provided to the defense and this is a situation which creates havoc in the criminal justice system because again, we don't want a situation where police officers are above the law and that their records are not being scrutinized as any other witness would be.
PHILLIPS: Gary? Let me ask Mr. Adachi if he is familiar with 1029 of the government code. Should you not be aware of that section, Mr. Adachi?
ADACHI: Well, there are ways in which we can get these records. What I understand is that these -
DELAGNES: No, no, no, no, Mr. Adachi, can you tell us what the government code is?
PHILLIPS: Gary. Gary. OK.
DELAGNES: I asked him a question. Could he answer?
PHILLIPS: Jeff, go ahead and then we'll lay out what 1029 is.
ADACHI: Right. The problem is that under the law in every criminal trial the prosecution has a duty to provide the defense with evidence of convictions of any witness and that includes police officers and what we just learned is that there were officers who were convicted and this evidence was not being provided. This was not something that is governed by the government code. This is something that the Constitution requires that the United States Supreme Court says must be provided in every criminal trial.
PHILLIPS: Are you talking about the Brady policy, Gary?
ADACHI: Absolutely.
DELAGNES: No. I'm talking about 1029 of the government code which prevents any citizen of the state of California, being a police officer has ever been convicted of a felony. You cannot be convicted of a felony and be a police officer in the state of California. It's that simple.
(CROSSTALK)
ADACHI: Gary, where you're wrong is that misdemeanor conviction can be relevant in a criminal trial. Let's say you have a situation where a person is charged with assault on a police officer and it turns out that that police officer has a history of violence.
OK, that's going to be admissible in that case. It doesn't matter if it's a felony or misdemeanor, that's where you're wrong. It isn't relevant in the trial.
PHILLIPS: Jeff, are you saying that you have rap sheets? You have evidence that up to 80 officers are convicted felons or have somehow been tied to some type of crime?
ADACHI: Right. What we found out is -
DELAGNES: No, he doesn't.
ADACHI: There were convictions -
DELAGNES: No, he doesn't.
ADACHI: No, we do. We began looking at these cases and for example, we found at least, you know, one case of an officer who had been involved in a crime of violence and that was never reported to the defense. In fact, I had a case that I tried just a couple of weeks ago where there was an incident, where the officer falsely arrested somebody, and that was not provided to me even though I had made a specific request for this evidence.
So again, this is evidence that's falling in between the cracks. I think Gary, you need to go back to your officers and talk to them and find out, you know, just what they've been withholding from you.
PHILLIPS: Gary, are you saying these officers as 100 percent clean? Not tied to any type of corruption whatsoever?
DELAGNES: As Jeff Adachi, what the pitcher's motion is as Jeff Adachi, if in fact he has access to the personnel files of police officers on a daily basis. Ask Mr. Adachi, if his attorneys do not file pitcher's motions on a daily basis to discover whether or not there is lying on the part of the police officer.
PHILLIPS: Gary, let me ask you though, Gary, because you're representing the cops here and we're talking about 80 officers here being accused, somehow being - that's what Jeff Adachi is saying here.
DELAGNES: He's lying.
PHILLIPS: Well, I'm asking you, -- so are you telling me these 80 cops that we're talking about, possibly more, possibly a little less are clean. No rap sheets, no crimes, nothing, no convicted felons on the force right now. Is that what you're telling me?
DELAGNES: I am telling you that, in 32 years as a police officer and 20 years at the Police Officers' Association, no police officer in the San Francisco Police Department has ever been indicted for or charged with perjury or lying, which is exactly what the Brady issue speaks to. And I would like to hear Mr. Adachi's response to that.
ADACHI: See, that's where you're wrong, Gary, because --
DELANGES: Really?
ADACHI: -- because it's not only felony convictions. And in fact, as you know, the police chief has said that there are cases where this evidence should have been turned over and it wasn't. So if the --
DELANGES: These are not --
ADACHI: The -- if the chief is saying that himself, then I have to take him at his word and what that means is that there was evidence that has been withheld in these trials.
And we're not only talking about felony convictions and we're not only talking about perjury, Gary. We're talking about, let's say you have an officer who has been convicted of a crime of violence, a misdemeanor. Would that not be relevant in a case where the person is saying, hey, this officer tried to beat me up? Nobody --
PHILLIPS: Gary, go ahead and answer that. Gary, go ahead and answer that.
DELAGNES: First of all, that information can be obtained through a Pitchess motion, which Mr. Adachi well knows. Second of all --
ADACHI: But see, it hasn't been and that's the problem here.
PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Gary.
DELAGNES: Why not? Why not, Jeff?
ADACHI: Because --
DELAGNES: Why haven't you been getting this information from Pitchess motions?
ADACHI: They've not been providing these convicts to the district attorney. See police officers, as you know, have to report an arrest to the police department, you know, within a certain period of time.
DELAGNES: That's correct.
ADACHI: What's happening is that arrest was not being reported to the district attorney. That's what the district attorney is saying. So the prosecutor is saying, hey, we were not being told by the police.
PHILLIPS: Gary, are there convictions. Let me ask Gary -- Jeff, let me ask Gary straight up cause we're going to have to wrap this up.
Are there convictions that are not being turned over, Gary?
DELAGNES: We have a handful of police officers that have been convicted of misdemeanor violations such as DUIs or possibly domestic violence, and this information can be received by the public defender's office through a Pitchess motion and is every day.
PHILLIPS: OK, cause I asked you -- OK --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: -- but, Gary, I asked you if these cops were totally clean. Now you're telling me there are convictions of misdemeanors.
ADACHI: We're hearing something different now, domestic violence.
DELAGNES: So you asked Mr. Adachi for 80 examples and he's giving you one. So is it 80? Is it one? And who's saying 80 other than Mr. Adachi?
PHILLIPS: Jeff?
ADACHI: We don't know because you won't hand it over.
DELAGNES: Exactly. And once you hand it over, we would be able to tell you exactly what we've been given and what we haven't been given. And I can tell you that we've not received any evidence of any convictions of officers through the Pitchess process as far as we know.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Gentlemen, we have to leave it there.
Gary, before we go --
DELAGNES: Yes, go ahead.
PHILLIPS: I'm just curious, you said OK, there are convictions here of misdemeanors.
ADACHI: Right, we finally get to the truth.
PHILLIPS: Will that information be turned over? I'm just asking will that information be turned over, Gary?
DELAGNES: Yes, we will -- we are more than happy to turn that over, more than happy.
ADACHI: We haven't gotten it yet.
DELANGES: -- and we are negotiating a brand new policy right now.
PHILLIPS: We will follow up. I can tell you that.
ADACHI: I'd like to see that now.
DELANGES: You have a lot of innocent clients, we know that.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Gary Delanges, president of the Police Officers' Association, also public defender Jeff Adachi.
Gentlemen, I can guarantee you we will follow up. Appreciate your time.
Twisters ripping through the plains, more may be on the way. We have the latest, Jacqui Jeras is here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Top stories now.
Dropping a hat on the oil leak. BP hoping this finally caps the gusher. All this while top oil exploration executives return to Capitol Hill for round two of the grilling on drilling.
A sole survivor found in the rubble of an airliner in Libya believed to be 10 years old. At least 100 dead. That plane crashed trying to land, still don't know why.
Severe storms could be headed back to the plains today, that could mean more tornadoes. Good news, too, three kids feared killed earlier this week in Oklahoma twisters, they were found alive. The death toll revised downward now to two.
When a rush to judgment tramples the innocent, the media piles on and somebody gets hurt. Just ask Gary Condit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Blame the media. Well, we hear that a lot, unfortunately, and we're sensitive to it, but sometimes the media does go overboard. We admit it. People can be hurt and worse, reputations suffer, careers get ruined, investigations stall. Like in the Chandra Levy case, Gary Condit went from Congressman to ice cream store owner.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve takes a look at how it all went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What started as a small local news item about a missing woman exploded in the summer of 2001 into a full-blown media obsession.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": It was like a brushfire that just spread out of control and practically consumed the entire media forest.
MESERVE: It was a story of Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old Washington intern who seemed to disappear without a trace.
ROBERT LEVY, CHANDRA LEVY'S FATHER: I think she's been stolen. I think she's been kidnapped or murdered -- oh!
MESERVE: Suspicion and speculation soon centered on Gary Condit, a California congressman who for months refused to acknowledge he had had an affair with Levy.
JOHN WALSH, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": So stay right here. Tonight we're searching for Chandra and the manhunt starts right now.
MESERVE: With high-profile shows like "America's Most Wanted" keeping Condit in the spotlight, the congressman tried to clear his name with a primetime television interview with Connie Chung.
CONNIE CHUNG, JOURNALIST: Did you kill Chandra Levy?
GARY CONDIT, FORMER CONGRESSMAN CALIFORNIA: I did not.
MESERVE: The terror attacks of September 11th eventually diverted attention from the case which was still unsolved. (on camera): About one year after Chandra Levy's disappearance, a man walking through this Washington park, Rock Creek, found bones and clothing about 100 yards off a jogging trail.
CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON POLICE: The remains found earlier today are, in fact, Chandra Levy.
MESERVE (voice-over): A search at the time Levy disappeared had missed her and the investigators had failed to link her case with other attacks on women in the park. Eventually they did, and more than eight years after Levy was reported missing, a laborer, Ingmar Guandique, was charged with her murder.
JEFFREY TAYLOR, U.S. ATTORNEY: We believe that miss Levy was a random victim of Guandique, who allegedly attacked and killed her as she walked or jogged through Rock Creek Park.
MESERVE: For Chandra Levy's parents, it does not stop the pain.
R. LEVY: Don't really want him to die. Just want him to suffer for many, many years. That would be the best. Dying is too quick and then you go to the other side and maybe forgiven.
MESERVE (on camera): Guandique is scheduled to be to go on trial in October. When he does, Chandra Levy's mother will be in the courtroom.
SUSAN LEVY, CHANDRA LEVY'S MOTHER: I'm her voice. She's not here, so I -- I am her voice.
MESERVE (voice-over): Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So while all the focus was on Gary Condit, the real suspect was still out there. It's a strong thread from finding Chandra. A book by "Washington Post" reporter Scott Higham and Sari Horowitz. They actually talked with our John Roberts last night about their scoop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You suggest in the book that because of the press' fascination with the congressman that the real suspect, Ingmar Guandique, was allowed to basically hide in plain sight.
SARI HOROWITZ, AUTHOR: Exactly. You know the press had a big impact on this case, John. The media frenzy in the summer of 2001, as you know, was unbelievable, newspapers and television. And because of the press coverage, people think they know the Chandra Levy story, but they don't know the real story and we found amazing new revelations in our book.
And one thing we really focus on in the book is that the press rushed to judgment. As we know now, Gary Condit had nothing to do with the disappearance and the murder of Chandra Levy, but they focused -- there was a singular focus Gary Condit. It was too good a story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So the Chandra Levy case cost a congressman his career, but it's not the only time we've seen a rush to judgment.
Remember Richard Jewel? He was dubbed Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park bomber and he was hounded by the media. Wrong guy. The bomber turned out to be Eric Rudolph.
And then what about JonBenet Ramsey and that murder? The shadow of suspicion fell on her parents and hung over them for years. They were finally cleared, that case is still unsolved.
Howard Kurtz from "The Washington Post" and CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" joining us now.
You know, Howie, we've seen so many examples. Why does the media just pile on these types of stories? I mean, we're all rushing for the scoop, but at the same time, we see how dangerous that that rush can be.
KURTZ: And yet, these kinds of frenzies seem to occur, Kyra, again and again and again. It is like a brushfire and there is very little restraint, unfortunately, on the part of many news organizations, especially if you have an attractive young woman who is missing or turns up murdered, and if you have a big name that you can connect to that as in the case of Gary Condit, who didn't help himself by refusing to discuss the fact that he was having an affair with this young woman. But clearly, in retrospect, he was more or less convicted in the press and as you just noted, turns out he had nothing to do with her disappearance or her murder.
PHILLIPS: And not only was he convicted in the press, but if you look at these other cases, when the media does hound stories like this it actually impacts police investigations because a number of times these sheriffs, these police officers they're elected officials, there's tons of reporters every single day hounding them.
Do you see even an influence in that regard that can be dangerous? Actually affecting the investigation?
KURTZ: I've seen it many, many times because police, prosecutors, they like to be in the media. They gravitate toward whatever the press declares is a big story. And there's sort of a symbiotic relationship here because there's often a lot of leaking by unnamed law enforcement officials which fuels the media narrative that so and so might be the prime suspect, for example, when it turns out when all the evidence is in that that's not the case. We -- too many of us in this profession have this rush to judgment.
And also, you know, lot of these -- this is the difference in the decade from years past -- a lot of these are local crime stories, they're tragic cases but what makes them go national is that the morning shows and cable television want to take women that no one ever heard of and turn them into some kind of national melodrama. And the drum beating -- you know all the names, Natalee Holloway, Elizabeth Smart, JonBenet, we've seen this over and over again and ultimately, it becomes about creating something that you can merchandise, a tragedy you can merchandise for ratings and circulation.
PHILLIPS: So how do we keep ours in check? You know how editorial meetings go. You know, stories are tossed around, different people have different opinions about it. You know, that word "sexy" is always tossed around -- oh, it's a sexy headline, it's a sexy story.
You know, there's got to be some line in the sand where we say, OK, this is going too far, this is getting dangerous. This could impact somebody's life in a way that we're just not really sure if we should go there.
KURTZ: A little bit of self-restraint, Kyra, would go a long way, both on this question of appearing to point our powerful spotlight at somebody who, you know, has not even been formally charged in an investigation. And also, you know, in these cases, you know, there's a sort of a pack mentality. If FOX is doing it and MSNBC is doing it, maybe CNN is doing it, where again, we turn these into these national melodramas.
Maybe, you know, it's often a question of volume. We pump up the volume so high often in 24-hour television and maybe that's the lesson we should learn. You know, Richard Jewel won some legal settlements with a couple of news organizations after he was falsely accused in the press of being the Olympic bomber. That, you would think, would cause a little bit more caution on our parts, but memories tend to fade when the next big story comes along.
PHILLIPS: Howie Kurtz, it's always good talking to you.
KURTZ: Same here, thank you.
PHILLIPS: A college education getting more expensive by the credit hour. So why does one school cost so much more than another? CNN's Tom Foreman investigates in our latest installment of "Building Up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anyone who has driven a child to college recently knows just how daunting the cost can be. Take a look at some of the most expensive schools in this country. Each one has a total price tag well over $50,000 annually. That means you could be pushing a quarter million dollars for a four-year degree once you add in all the incidentals.
But that's not the way it has to be. Right now, I'm driving to a school where it's very different.
(voice-over): The University of Virginia consistently appears near the top of those lists of the best values in college education, confirming time and again what Portia Henry learned several years ago.
(on camera): You can spend a whole lot more for an education --
PORTIA HENRY, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Exactly.
FOREMAN: But do you think you'll get a much better education?
HENRY: No, no. I feel like the University of Virginia is a wonderful intersection.
FOREMAN: Intersection of what?
HENRY: Between cost and value. I get the best of both worlds.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And directing traffic at that intersection is chief operating officer Leonard Sandridge.
LEONARD SANDRIDGE, COO, UVA: We budget very carefully. We know what we can afford. We know that we can't be everything to everybody.
FOREMAN: They can, however demand accountability from everyone. Each office here from those providing food services to student entertainment is held strictly responsible for its spending. If they run over, they must make up the difference on their own, no passing the buck to students.
All new construction is kept within campus limits to contain the cost of spreading utilities, computer connections, and security services far and wide.
Free or reduced tuition for the children of staff members? Not here.
A year at UVA still costs a lot, $21,000 for in-state students, about double that for out of state. And this is a state school, so it's wrestling with rising tuition like most others.
But knowing that he could have spent tens of thousands more elsewhere for a comparable education, Josh Mitchell is satisfied.
JOSH MITCHELL, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: I think, you know, that saying that you get the most bang for your buck is definitely applicable here.
FOREMAN (on camera): Accountability and attention to detail can make education affordable.
SANDRIDGE: I think it can make a difference.
FOREMAN (voice-over): That is why this school is at or near the top of the value lists, helping students build up their future on terms they can afford.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Charlottesville, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: It's 2010 and we have school field trips based on race. Distressing and true. That's next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, I totally get this. You have African- American students at a Michigan elementary school. They're lagging behind their white peers in homework and crucial test scores. So the principal says, hey, these kids need role models, let's go meet one. In this case, a black rocket scientist in Ann Arbor, a successful, smart guy with some good advice for those kids.
Here's the problem, the trip was just for the black students. The white kids? They didn't get to go. Does that sound fair?
Let's take a look at this report from Kim Bora at WDIV and then let's talk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM BORA, WDIV-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It was supposed to be a field trip, a chance to meet a real-life African-American rocket scientist.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: He showed us his cool, like, lab and stuff he does.
BORA: What wasn't cool for some was how Principal Mike Madison chose to handle students in one class after some were heard booing African-American students who took part in this trip. Parents say they were told the principal raised his voice at them, shaming the very students he excluded by not giving them a chance to go on this trip.
But not all parents are convinced.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was something that was very simple that was blown out of proportion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's very important for people to realize that the majority of parents at Dicken are very happy with Principal Madison.
BORA: In a letter addressed to parents, the principal said, in hindsight things would have been handled differently. He wrote, quote, "I'm sorry if any kids were upset by the field trip or my discussion afterwards with them, and I have let them know that."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that and anything they're trying is a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that kids were booing the kids that were returning from this field trip, in my opinion, would have upset me had I just planned a field trip that I felt really good about and I just saw the kids being really excited by it and inspired by it. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think that there has been a lot of reactionary talk. I think that the firing and the lawsuit discussion is pretty absurd at this point.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: OK, here's the thing, white kids need black role models, too. Why? Because, let's face it, there's still racism in this country. KKK members, white supremacists, maybe more casual racists are still raising kids, and there's all kinds of inflammatory, racist garbage on the Internet. Kids might believe that stuff unless they're challenged not to and see it debunked right there before their eyes.
Role models come in all colors, all genders, all professions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. So I'm glad to hear that the program in Michigan is being suspended so school officials can tweak it and make it more inclusive. Good thing, the segregated field might have violated Michigan law.
We also talked about this story on my blog and here's what some of you said about it.
This comes from Jaynie, "I believe it was a justified lesson. Let's face it, African-American students have been left out of the educational scene for so long that they needed the attention from the African-American engineer. Why can't people understand the private moment was necessary in order to relate to his success from an African-American perspective?
This comes from Chas, "It was a racist act plain and simple. If the races had been reversed, there would be picketing at the governor's mansion right now."
And this comes from Michelle, "I think this was a missed educational opportunity for the students who did not go on that field trip. I'm sure this professor had a great deal of knowledge and inspiration that was not race biased...but rather encouraging to young minds of all races and genders."
Remember, we love hearing from you. Just logon to CNN.com/Kyra and share your comments. I appreciate it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And we have a little good news to tell you about how all of you helped impact our world yesterday. We saw three times as many hits on our Impact Your World website thanks to our special guests, Widespread Panic, who joined us in studio yesterday. They jammed with us as part of an effort to help raise awareness about the need for aid to help flood victims in the Tennessee area.
Tony was digging them, too.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I loved it. Absolutely loved it. We ran chunks of it yesterday. Good stuff, Kyra. You pulled that off, it was magnificent.
How long of a run, walk is it to get up here these days? I barely made it and I'm totally out of breath.
Kyra, have a great day.
PHILLIPS: You, too. OK, Tony.
