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BP Tries Again to Cap Gushing Well; School Kids Killed in China; Hikers' Moms Head to Iran; New Greek Protest Planned; Freedom of Expression or Cultural Disrespect?; FBI Raids Northeast Locations; Officer Lies About Shooting
Aired May 13, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. Let's take a look now at what we're working on for you this morning.
And you can see that the fear is building and the anger is boiling. Another Arizona law brings out the emotions.
And there it is. One mile down, the source of the gulf mess. The source of fear for those who rely on that water for a living.
And this little boy, the sole survivor of a plane crash, his family among the dead.
Let's start with new pictures of the growing disaster in the gulf. BP just released them. CNN had requested this video weeks ago. Finally, after a lot of pressure, we get to see it.
You can see the oil and the natural gas pouring from the broken well. The natural gas is the lighter colored stuff that you see coming up there.
The Mineral Management Service, the government agency in charge of inspection, says it checked other rigs in the gulf and those quick inspections turning up only minor issues so far.
The investigation is still moving forward. Documents released to a congressional panel point to multiple failures in the blowout preventer. The government agency regulating the rigs admits that equipment like that is not checked before it's installed.
Now the containment chaos. A new cap is on the sea floor waiting to be put in place right now. But that's not the only emergency plan BP has going on.
David Mattingly is live in Grand Isle, Louisiana this morning.
So, David, we have that top hat, the smaller dome, ready to go. When is that going to be in place?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it is in play right now. It is on the ocean floor. They are evaluating exactly how they are going to be trying to deploy it. The plan is to put it over the end of that leaking pipe that we saw in that BP video to siphon off a large portion of that oil to a containment ship on the surface and prevent that oil from getting into the Gulf of Mexico.
Simultaneously, they have another plan in the wings that involves possibly putting a tube inside that leaking pipe. They've got these two plans in play. They are trying to evaluate which one is going to work best. And that's what they're going to do for the next -- either today and possibly tomorrow.
The plan is to have this working by the end of this week or by this weekend.
PHILLIPS: Now, by the way things have gone, David, do I dare ask, is there a plan C?
MATTINGLY: Well, once these plans go into play, they are also looking at the end of next week, being able to pull off what they are calling that junk shot where they're going to be shooting solid and liquid material - junk, essentially -- into that pipe to clog it up and stop the flow of oil completely.
This top hat is just sort of a band-aid to take part of the oil away while they prepare that junk shot for next week that will stop the flow of oil completely. Once they have done that, they will be able to continue to drill down and put a cement cap on this and seal this well off completely.
PHILLIPS: David Mattingly, appreciate your report.
Now looking past the investigation to the human toll, more than just jobs but family businesses caught up in the uncertainty of all this massive spill.
Next hour, we're going to talk to a couple of people feeling the effects firsthand. Fishing boats idled and hotel rooms abandoned.
Arizona has done it. The governor signed another bill into law that's stoking anger and this time student protests.
Fifteen people arrested for trespassing at the State Education offices. They're just a portion of the parents, students and teachers outraged over HB 2281. That law restricts ethnic studies programs in public schools.
Here are two points that really grabbed our attention. Number one, the law bans classes that are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group. Number two, the law bans classes that advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
Now listen to this emotional pushback. First a student, then an adviser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAILANI CLARK, STUDENT: Because of these classes, I could look myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of my curly hair. I was not ashamed for being darker than most people. These classes have done so much for me.
ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ, ETHNIC STUDIES ADVISER: I think it's an attack on the Mexican-American communities and all ethnic communities within the cities and communities of Arizona. I think it is ridiculous, completely outlandish, horrendous, and diabolic.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That man who pushed for this bill for years is Arizona school superintendent, Tom Horne. He believes the program pushes what he calls ethnic chauvinism and racial resentment towards whites while segregating students by race.
Horne went further on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HORNE, ARIZONA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION: America is the land of opportunity and we should be teaching the kids that this is a land of opportunity, and not teach them the downer that they're oppressed and they can't get anywhere.
They should be angry against their government. They should be angry against the country. That's what the teachers are saying their observation is that has been going on in this Raza studies program.
In fact, I brought in a picture that you might want to show that shows the revolutionary garb that they wore when they protested against my law with the masks, sunglasses, berets, brown shirts.
This is a revolutionary program which is an absolute abuse of taxpayer money to do that in public schools. And we had -- there was a girl -- they sent up a bunch of students to testify at the legislature. And a girl was testifying. A state senator said, couldn't you learn these things in other courses? And she said no, before I took this course I didn't realize I was oppressed. Now that I took the course, I realized that I'm oppressed.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: For the record, Tom Horne is running for Arizona attorney general.
Now one more thing before we leave Arizona, the law that brought down the heat on the Desert State, the one allowing police to question people's immigration status. It's triggered a new blast to Arizona's economy.
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a boycott of Arizona- based businesses and governments. L.A. has about $56 million in contracts with companies headquartered in Arizona.
The resolution also bans city employees from traveling there unless canceling a trip would harm L.A.'s interest.
As Yogi Berra would say, it's deja vu all over again. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan back on Capitol Hill and for the second straight day she's trying to convince senators that she's right for the job.
Democrats are sold, Republicans, skeptical. They point out that she's never been a judge on any level. Among those she meets today Arlen Specter. As a Republican, he voted against her nomination for solicitor general. Now he's a Democrat.
The U.S. and Afghanistan or U.S. and Afghanistan, rather, putting on a show of warm relations this week for President Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington. The Afghan leader winds his trip up today with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. He'll pay respect to Afghan and Iraq war veterans.
Mr. Karzai will also speak to the U.S. Institute of Peace. President Obama says there'll be a long-term partnership with Afghanistan even after U.S. troops begin pulling out next year.
Young but resilient. The 8-year-old Dutch boy who was the only survivors in that plane crash in Libya is getting several medical scans today. This boy identified as Ruben van Assouw has been on Safari with his parents and brother in South Africa when that passenger jet crashed yesterday in Tripoli.
His family was among 103 people killed in that crash. Two Dutch tour groups were aboard the flight. The data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from that plane. The plane had been on a nine-hour flight from South Africa.
Well, we're seeing a disturbing rash of attacks in China targeting children in school, a place they're supposed to be safe. The worst yet, though, had happened just this week. Seven kindergarten kids killed.
And as CNN's John Vause reports from Shaanxi Province, the Chinese government is stepping up security and censorship in an effort to thwart copycat killers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a gentle rain and in small groups, villages here gathered to ask why -- why would the most vulnerable be the targets of such a violent, gruesome attack?
"I can't imagine how this would happen. Then they told me the murderer was from this village. I just can't accept that," says this woman whose 6-year-old nephew was killed.
Across China, parents everywhere too are asking why. After this, the sixth rampage targeting young schoolchildren in less than two months.
(On camera): Are you worried about taking your son to school today? Worried about his safety?
(Voice-over): "Of course we worry," she says. "Every day I drop him off and pick him up."
(On camera): Why do you think all these attacks are happening?
(Voice-over): "Because a few people aren't happy with society," he says. "And they are deliberately causing social unrest."
In all, 17 have been killed in the attacks. Nearly 100 wounded. All victims of middle age men armed with kitchen knives, hammers, gasoline, and in this latest killings spree, a meat cleaver.
Throughout the night, investigators search the home of the man responsible. Wu Huanming killed himself here. He was the kindergartener's landlord, lived in the same street.
(On camera): According to a preliminary police report, there was a dispute between Wu and the owners of the kindergarten. He wanted them out when their lease expired in April. They wanted to stay another two months until the end of the school year.
(Voice-over): But no one seems to know what sent him over the edge.
"Normally, he was pretty good, a decent guy. It's hard for us to believe this," says this woman from the same village.
Security at schools across China has already been increased. Some guards are armed with baton.
(On camera): Why are parents don't like to talk about this?
(Voice-over): Local officials are telling parents not to talk to reporters.
(On camera): And it seems government censors have ordered all news outlets to limit their reporting of these attacks to only use the official Shin Wa News Agency fearing widespread media coverage may incite more copycat killings.
John Vause, CNN, Shaanxi Province, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Testing the power of a mother's love. Three Americans jailed in Iran. Now moms are headed there trying to bring them home.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Plus, heavy rain creating flooding across parts of the Midwest. We'll have your nation's forecast coming up in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And breaking news. This is coming into CNN, coming to us from the FBI in Boston. It has to do with the attempted Times Square bombing.
Apparently, search warrants have been served in relation to that attempted car bombing. This is what we're being told straight from the FBI there in Boston, quote, "Search warrants have been executed in several locations in the northeast area of Boston in connection with the investigation into the attempted Times Square bombing."
Apparently, they do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or any plot against the United States. This is strictly towards that attempted Times Square bombing. Two individuals, we are told, were encountered during the searches and they were taken into custody for alleged immigration violations.
We'll bring you more information as we get it out of Boston.
Well, they have travel visas and a lot of hope. Three American women hoping to convince Iran to release their kids. They were arrested in July and charged with spying after straying into Iran during a hike.
CNN's John Roberts spoke to one of the mothers on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." He joins us for this morning's "AM Extra."
Tell me about that interview, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you can obviously expect that Laura Fattal, who is Josh Fattal's mother, has just over the moon about what happened. She was in Washington, D.C. yesterday to get her visas. Then the mothers of the other two detainees -- Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer -- also had visas.
Their plan is to travel to Tehran probably the beginning of next week. And what they've been told so far by the Iranian government is that they'll be able to visit their children in prison.
But when I talked to Laura Fattal this morning, she said that she doesn't have any concrete indication but she's holding out hope that this trip could be far more than just a visit.
Listen to what she told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Do you have some thought that maybe this will be more than just a visit?
LAURA FATTAL., SON JOSH DETAINED IN IRAN: Well, we are optimistic. It portends perhaps even greater things. But we are grateful for this humanitarian gesture.
And we can look forward to absolutely hugging, kissing and embracing Josh, on my part, and of course Cindy and Nora for Shane and Sarah, and all of us just being together. But we hope, of course, for even greater measures of this gesture.
ROBERTS: And that would be to be able to bring them back home with you?
FATTAL: Absolutely.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So, John, what about any word on the health of the hikers?
ROBERTS: Well, as you can imagine, Kyra, they have been held since last July so they've been in jail for almost 10 months. They haven't been visited that much from people -- by people on the outside.
The Swiss ambassador has been paying some attention to them whenever he could. We're hearing that Sarah Shourd has some sort of fairly severe health problem. Don't want to go into detail about it, but something that requires immediate medical attention.
Shane Bauer is suffering from a stomach ailment as well so he could probably use some treatment. Josh Fattal as far as we know is doing fine. But you can just imagine that those mothers really want to get over there. They want to hug and kiss their children as Laura was telling us, and sort of catch up over what's been going on in their lives over the last 10 months and really make an appeal to the Iranian government to say, hey, we are here.
They are right now just being held on charges of entering the country illegally. There's been talk about espionage charges but nothing official has been leveled. So I think that they're probably engaged in some conversations with Iranian officials to say -- you know, Ahmadinejad, the president of the country, has appealed for maximum leniency here.
We're here. What about just letting our kids go? But, you know, they've got nothing concrete to hang that on, just their hope at this point.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's amazing the negotiation tactics that a mom can have, especially when they are strong-willed. Wouldn't you agree?
ROBERTS: Absolutely. And Laura Fattal is definitely strong- willed. Through all of this, they've been very diplomatic. Yesterday when they went to get their visas, they brought a dozen roses to the Iranian interest section.
They say that the roses are the official flower of Iran and they just wanted to say thanks for finally granting these visas that they've been waiting so long for.
PHILLIPS: Let's hope it works. JD, thanks.
It's going to take lots of heavy lifting for middle Tennessee to recover from its historic flood. Good thing there's plenty of professional muscle.
These broad-shouldered fellows are members of the Tennessee Titans NFL football team. Those players and coaches worked with Hands of Nashville, the organization directing volunteer cleanup efforts in that city.
Flooding during the first week in May killed 23 people in Tennessee and did an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.
And Nashville could be in for some more rain this weekend.
Right, Jacqui Jeras?
JERAS: Yes, that's right. Great to see so many people helping out there, Kyra. Wow, it's just been amazing. Hasn't it?
PHILLIPS: The athletes, the musicians.
JERAS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: The journalists -- we've been raising money too for that area.
JERAS: Yes. Good stuff.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui. Thanks.
A Hollywood legend helping you pay bills or say happy birthday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AFRICAN QUEEN")
KATHARINE HEPBURN, "ROSE SAYER": Mr. Allnut?
HUMPHREY BOGART, "CHARLIE ALLNUT": Yes, miss?
HEPBURN: The current is quite strong here, isn't it?
BOGART: Yes.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Katharine Hepburn, a legend of the big screen, now a lot smaller but no less significant at the post office.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We have breaking news for you right now in that failed car bombing in Times Square.
An FBI spokeswoman is telling us that search warrants have been carried out in several places around Boston. Two people apparently taken into custody for alleged immigration violations.
At this point the FBI is not releasing any other details. And as you know a Pakistani born man, Faisal Shahzad -- this guy -- has been charged in that failed attack. Investigators have been trying to figure out if anyone else were involved. Another top stories now. Another controversy in Arizona, and not about immigration. The governor has signed a bill restricting ethnic students programs in schools. Fifteen protesters arrested for trespassing at the State Education offices. And that law bans classes designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group.
In China, a man used a cleaver to hack seven kindergarteners and two adults to death. Eleven children were hurt. It was China's fifth school rampage in less than two months.
And if at first you don't succeed, keep on trying. How many times have we heard that? Well, a new smaller cap to stop that oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is on the sea floor. BP also says it has a couple of other plans if the cap doesn't work.
Got a little one who likes to be pushed around in those little toy cars? Stick around. You don't want to be pushing them in these things.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEPBURN: Mr. (INAUDIBLE)?
BOGART: Yes, miss?
HEPBURN: The currents are quite strong here, isn't it?
BOGART: Yes. We're getting near the rapid.
HEPBURN: Really? So soon?
BOGART: Just around that bend.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Always stunning that Katharine Hepburn. You remember this. "African Queen." Bogart got the Oscar for that one. Kate lost out to Vivian Leigh who starred in "Street Car Named Desire." Hepburn did win for Best Actress Oscars, though.
And now the late actress is getting a different kind of honor, a postage stamp. Katharine Hepburn is the latest to be honored in the Post Office's "Legends of Hollywood" series. Bogey got his in 1997, by the way. They held the unveiling at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center on Old Saybrook, Connecticut, her hometown, on what would have been her 103rd birthday, by the way.
Here's a reminder on just how cautious we are in the post 9/11 times. An ice chest just sitting there unattended prompted a bomb scare yesterday at Disneyland in Southern California. About a thousand people were evacuated from that area for about 90 minutes. They were allowed to return to Tomorrow Land when a bomb squad determined that package was not a threat. Now if you've got a small child who likes to push around those little cars that you push around, you know, the ones with the long handle? There you go, there they are. Well, there's a recall to tell you about. Step2 Company is recalling 2.5 million of these guys. The Push-Around and the Whisper Ride model toy cars. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that the buggy's handle can come off. So 28 people have reported minor scrapes so far.
Wear and tear can cause a pin holding the handle that causes it to break off. Now if you've got one, contact Step2 for a repair kit.
Students wearing an American flag T-shirt to school. One administrator says it could trigger violence on campus so he kicks them out. You bet, there's major fallout over this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The Dow gained almost 150 points yesterday. Six triple digit moves now in the last two weeks. As we approach the opening bell, stocks were right back where they were last Thursday before the so-called flash crash.
Felicia Taylor has a preview of today's market action from the New York Stock Exchange. She's always looking flashy.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I don't know about that, but I'm trying. Thanks, Kyra.
You know, the Dow did pretty much recovered all of that 1,000- point drop in the week since it happened, and we have a little bit of a lower open today but not too badly, down about 20, 21 points. The reason volatility may be dying down. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Ahead of the opening bell, though, investors did get a look at the latest weekly jobless claims. New claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week. So, that's good news.
Continuing claims fell as well about a little less than expected. More than 4.6 million Americans do continue to collect benefits. However, Gold Prices, they have been pretty high up until this morning. They're slipping just a bit after two days of record-closing highs. Investigators have been flocking to the security of gold because there has been so much uncertainty over Europe's debt crisis, and again, last week's bumpy ride for U.S. stocks.
Let's see where the numbers do stand right now after just a few minutes after the opening bell, the Dow is down 23 points, that's 2.5 percent, the Nasdaq is off a third of a percent, and the S&P is off a fifth of 1 percent. Pretty much across the board is the banking stocks right now that are getting hit so far in just about two minutes of trade -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Felicia, thanks.
And then in Greece, the crippling debt crisis is setting the stage for a new protest just days from now. It may not be as confrontational as what we saw last week, but it's impact could be even more dramatic. Labor unions say that their walkout next week will close schools, shut down public services and leave hospitals with only emergency staff. It will also paralyze travel by air, ground, and sea. Labor unions are protesting cost cutting reforms, and they say will hit low earners the hardest.
Now, we continue our breaking news coverage on the failed car bombing in Times Square. We just got word within the past 20 minutes or so that an FBI spokesperson tells us that search warrants have been carried out in several places around the northeast in Boston. The justice department is saying that the searches are the product of evidence that has been gathered in the investigation subsequent to the attempted Times Square bombing and do not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot -- or an active plot of some sort against the United States.
That's been told to us straight from the FBI. Now, two people have been taken into custody for alleged immigration violation. As you know, A Pakistani-born man, Faisal Shahzad, has been charged in the failed attack. Investigators have been trying to figure out if anyone else were involved in that.
All right. Shall we talk about our kids' clothes for a minute, OK? Does it irritate you sometimes the way your son or daughter dresses? How about when your son has draggy pants like this. Does this just drive you nuts? I'm sorry, but this is New York State Senator Eric Adams. I promise I'm going somewhere with this -- is his droopy pants campaign to pull up your pants. OK. If a kid looked like that, come on now. All right. Now, that's just one issue that's got parents talking and also school administrators with regard to how our students dress.
I don't know if you remember this story that we ran. It was all about a revealing prom dress on this gal in Oxford, Alabama. She wanted to go to her senior prom. I don't know. Come on, I think she looks beautiful. But, this one, all right, I can understand. It's a little much, but she was actually a college student, a 20-year-old college student in Brazil who was expelled for wearing this short skirt. There was a bunch of public outcry. They got her back into class, by the way, so that didn't work.
But, now, let's talk about this for a second. The American flag. Kids being lambasted for wearing the American flag. Do you think that's fair? We're talking about five students at a California high school who wore clothes with American flags to school on the traditional Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo. They got noticed. It also got them kicked out of school after they refused to take the shirts off.
Freedom of expression or cultural disrespect? CNN's Dan Simon has the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began when Austin Carvallo and four of his friends showed up at school wearing American flag T-shirts and red, white, and blue bandanas. That they wore the colors on Cinco de Mayo, a May 5th holiday that is widely celebrated by Mexican-Americans, was viewed by school administrators as incendiary. So, the students were asked to flip over their shirts and hide anything to do with the American flag. Three of them refused and were sent home.
MATTHEW DARIANO, WORE AMERICAN FLAG: They told us, basically, we will be kicked out or we get suspended. They threatened us with suspension, and so, we all decided that we were just going to leave school.
AUSTIN CARVALLO, WORE AMERICAN FLAG: I have lot of Mexican friends. I don't dislike Mexicans, but I think that we should be able to wear an American flag whenever we want.
SIMON: And so a controversy was born.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy. It's crazy. The day you're getting kicked out of school for wearing red, white, and blue. Come on.
SIMON: Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California is 40 percent Hispanic. The following day, 100 students, most, if not all Hispanic, skipped school and marched to city hall saying they've been disrespected by their fellow students.
TERESA CASTILLAS, PARENT: It's not that they were sitting at the bench having lunch, minding their own business. They were actually taunting other kids.
SIMON: An accusation, those students deny, but by then the incident had blown up. Watch as an American flag is ripped off a pickup truck in the middle of the student protest. The school district pleaded for cooler heads, but at the same time, acknowledged it was wrong to tell the students to remove their American flags.
(on-camera): The principal later apologized saying a mistake was made, but the damage was done. Tempers on both sides have been elevated ever since which leads us to what's happening inside this gymnasium.
MARK ZAPPA, PARENT: This was no small infraction. This was not a speeding ticket. I want to see the principal and the vice principal fired or you will face (INAUDIBLE). Thank you.
SIMON (voice-over): What school board members hope would be a healing event turned into a shout fest at this board meeting Tuesday night. Student Teresa Corona said the administrators made the correct call.
TERESA CORONA, STUDENT: On the Fourth of July, you don't see the Hispanic students going down to the parade wearing nothing but Hispanic flags. You don't see that.
SIMON: The debate went on for more than an hour.
JOY JONES, PARENT: Please note, the students were not making a political statement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would rather be here discussing the Constitution than discussing what happened if a kid would have got injured on that campus.
SIMON: In the end, school board members wanted the forum to serve as a teaching moment. Instead, it spotlighted what appears to be a deep division.
Dan Simon, CNN, Morgan Hill, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You can see the parents' outrage.
Now, let's hear from a man who says it's the principal's prerogative to order students to take off the tees. Philip K. Howard, the author of "The Death of Common Sense," talked with our John Roberts last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You heard Philip and what a lot of the parents that had to say that it would be ridiculous to tell a kid that he can't wear an article of clothing that got the American flag and blazing on it. You might think that school administrators have taken leave of their senses by saying, you can't wear that. You come down to the office.
PHILIP K. HOWARD, AUTHOR: Yes, absolutely. I think the people who run schools ought to have wide latitude to enforce values of the schools just as they do in charter schools and parochial schools and other schools.
And if the principal thinks that wearing the flag in this context was disrespectful, maybe the same way as walking on a flag or burning a flag and particularly on this holiday, I think the principal ought to be able to enforce values to say we're not going to have a racially hinged statements in clothing or otherwise. Just as public schools in New York ban the wearing of certain kind of gang bracelets or other things because they get people riled up. I think principals ought to have that authority.
ROBERTS: Some people would think equating an American flag T- shirt with a gang bracelet, that's a little bit of a stretch.
HOWARD: Maybe not, maybe not when Cinco de Mayo and maybe not when the kids are really flashing it in the face of the other Spanish kids. The American flag is meant to be a symbol of honor and freedom. It's not meant to be a bandanna, with all due respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A lot of people think that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, but actually, it's not. Instead, it marks the Mexican army's victory over the French army in 1862, and it's observed in the U.S. as a celebration of Mexican heritage.
I want to update you now on the breaking news story we've been following for the past hour. Several places in the northeast rated linked maybe to the Times Square car bomb case.
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with us now with more details. Jeanne, what can you tell us?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we wish we knew a little bit more about what's happening this morning. All we can tell you is that a federal law enforcement source tells us that search warrants are being executed in Boston, New York, and New Jersey. There's a statement from the Justice Department and also from the FBI in Boston confirming that search warrants are being executed. Two individuals were taken into custody during these searches on immigration violations.
They say it does relate to the probe of Faisal Shahzad, but the statements go on to say it does not relate to any known immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States. Clearly, since Shahzad was arrested, they've been trying to pull all the threads on this investigation to determine if he had any associates here in the U.S., how he got the money, where he got the training, if anybody helped him put things together before he left -- allegedly left that bomb in Times Square.
This is clearly an outgrowth of that, but we don't have the specifics on who they picked up here or why their suspicion fell on these individuals and these locations -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll follow up with you. Jeanne, thanks. More from the CNN NEWSROOM. Straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Perfect segue, right? Small but mighty protest in New York. Strippers trying to help the schools. Yes, two of the picketers are strippers. Sorry, exotic dancers. They want the state to add a pole tax. The stripper pole tax, they say. They want guys going to the club to pay an extra 10 bucks and that money goes to help cash-strapped schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER CIOFFI, EXOTIC DANCER: If the men or anybody who enters a strip club, if they're going to spend money, they might as well help give a few dollars to go to the school to support the kids. I mean, the kids are losing all their extra-curricular activities, music, art, sports. Everything is going. So, I mean, we're making a little bit of money. Why can't we just spread it to the schools?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yes, what the heck. They say they got the idea from the Texas law that added tax to help victims of rape. The governor's office says that the idea isn't even under consideration, but the strip club isn't giving up. They're going to start this weekend charging an extra $5 for the feature performance. The attraction, Amy Fisher, you know, Long Island Lolita and supporter of the pole tax.
Flames and Hooligans were busting the party. Montreal Canadian fans just wanted to celebrate after the heroes eliminated the defending the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh penguins from this year's playoffs. Police say most of the people who hit the streets were pretty cool, but others wanted to loom (ph) into their bottles. Twenty-five people were arrested. Two officers injured. The bad stuff happened after most of the fans had left the downtown area.
All right. Let's check our top stories. Doctors taking a closer look today at the sole survivor of that plane crash in Libya. This little boy also lost his family in that crash. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the accident that killed 103 people aboard.
Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, back on the hill today. She is doing the whole meet and greet thing with Senators. It's all part of the confirmation process.
Trying to cap the broken well. Here's what it looks like down there in the gulf. BP says, they hope to have the latest fix in place today, but just to be safe, they're setting up a new drainpipe to attach to that gusher.
Cop on the streets of Philly facing two men with one gun. He is shot but survives and is called a hero. That's not the full story. We're going to tell you about a man going from hero to offender.
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PHILLIPS: Trying to cap the broken well, here is what it looks like down there in the Gulf. BP says they hope to have the latest fix in place today. But just to be safe, they're setting up a new drainpipe to attach to that gusher.
Cop on the streets of Philly facing two men with one gun; he is shot but survives and is called the hero. That's not the full story. Let me tell you about a man going from hero to offender.
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PHILLIPS: To Philadelphia now in dealing with a police officer's conduct. This one started with the report of an officer shot by one of two men that he confronted.
But as CNN's Randi Kaye tells us, the officer was lying.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was 4:00 in the morning in Philadelphia when the radio call came in: cop shot. A white police sergeant said he'd been shot by a black man. Officers responded in force, an all-out search of the African-American neighborhood in Philadelphia's 19th precinct where Sergeant Robert Ralston said it all went down.
(on camera): The sergeant told the story this way. He had come across two black men along the railroad tracks on the morning of April 5th. One ran away, he said. The other pointed a silver revolver at his head. He knocked it away, he said. But it fired anyway. And the bullet grazed his left shoulder. He also said he fired one shot but wasn't sure if he'd struck the suspect.
(voice-over): Police gave thanks their man had survived. Tragedy averted, they said. The white cop described the shooter this way: dark skin, braided hair and a tattoo next to his eye. But police never found the black shooter or anyone matching that description.
And now, more than a month later, we know why. The real story: the two black men the cop said he encountered never existed.
Philadelphia police commissioner, Charles Ramsey, says Sergeant Ralston made the whole thing up.
CHARLES RAMSEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: It was clear to us soon after it took place that this simply was just not true. It is just the evidence just didn't support the story he was giving.
KAYE: But, wait, what about the sergeant's shoulder wound? The commissioner says Sergeant Ralston actually shot himself, which may be why he said he got off one shot at the suspect, an explanation as to why his gun had been fired.
RAMSEY: A test was run on his shirt. The powder on the shirt matched the same kind of ammunition we used in the department.
KAYE: That's right. The gun powder on the sergeant's shirt was the same kind his own weapon used.
And there's more. The angle at which the bullet struck him didn't square with his story either, says the commissioner.
We tried to ask Sergeant Ralston to explain. But outside his home, he dodged our cameras and ducked inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us why you did that, sir?
KAYE: Neighbors called the sergeant's actions a sad statement.
BRAWLY JOSEPH, SGT. RALSTON'S NEIGHBOR: I can't believe he would really do something like that -- that's really uncalled for. He -- ever since I have been living here, he's really been like anti-social around this area.
KAYE (on camera): What's still unclear is why Sergeant Ralston, a 21-year-veteran of the force would make up such a wild tale. Only after hours of interrogation police said did he finally admit he shot himself on purpose. The police commissioner says he may have done it for a job transfer or maybe for attention but that the sergeant didn't give a reason.
(voice-over): The police commissioner calls this a, quote, "terrible and embarrassing chapter in the department's history".
RAMSEY: The fact that he stated that two African-Americans were involved in this, again, just I think inflames tensions in our community, something that we certainly do not need.
KAYE: Sergeant Ralston has been suspended with pay. The commissioner says he will be fired. He was given immunity in exchange for his confession so he doesn't face criminal charges, but he'll have to pay for the massive manhunt to find his phantom suspects. Cops are still adding up the cost.
The days of calling Sergeant Robert Ralston a hero and crediting his quick actions for saving his own life: long gone.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So what do you think about getting a medal for holding your fire? That actually could happen for U.S. troops in the future.
Flashback now. He knocked out a lot of people; Joe Lewis, born on this day in 1914. The "Brown Bomber" reigned as heavyweight boxing champ for an amazing 12 years. He retired in 1949.
In 1981 Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square. That attack inspired the Pope Mobile. The Turkish attacker got out of prison just earlier this year.
And in 2003 we got a new 20, the $20 bill getting a color-coded facelift to stop counterfeiters. The 5, 10, 50, and 100 all got similar redesigns.
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PHILLIPS: Well, the Grand Canyon between Arizona and sanity just gets wider. You've got the tough new immigration law. You've got bilingual teachers weeded out if their accents are too thick, and now you've got ethnic studies classes banned. Arizona State's school superintendent says that Tucson's Mexican-American studies program teaches Latino kids that white people oppress them.
Ok. Well, let's be consistent then, shall we? Does this now mean that all your mainstream history classes need to delete references to slavery, Jim Crowe, Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights movement? Hey, all those facts could make the black kids feel oppressed. And why don't you go ahead and strike out the Trail of Tears, too. Don't want the Native American kids to feel resentment and if you're teaching current events better not mention the tough new immigration law. That might upset the Latino kids.
You get my drift here. Bad things have happened through our history. People have been marginalized because of their race so many people have overcome that. We don't want to go backwards. You know the quote, "If we forget our history, we're condemned to repeat it." Banning these classes is akin to putting blinders on. Acting like everything has been fair and equal since the beginning. Come on, we know better than that. Keep your ethnic studies, but hire teachers who will empower kids to learn history in a constructive, forward- thinking way.
The key to ethnic studies is teaching tolerance and understanding, not inciting hatred. Ethnic groups are part of Arizona's and America's past and present and they're part of our future whether the governor or school head likes it or not.
We're talking about this story on my blog and we want to know what you think. Should ethnic studies classes be banned? Go to CNN.com/Kyra and weigh in. I'll read some of your comments on the air next hour.
Also ahead, he played high school basketball like a man among boys; fact is he was a man among boys. We'll have this story next hour.
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