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Mexican President in Washington for Drug War Talks; Rolling Stones Album Still Rocking Hard; Elena Kagan Meets and Greets on Capitol Hill; Crackdown in Bangkok

Aired May 19, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, here's what you'll see this hour. The primary results are in, we'll tell you what they mean. More than just a jog in the park.

Mexico's leader is in Washington for drug war talks with the President of the United States. And 40 years later, a Rolling Stones album still rocks hard. We go behind the making of "Exile on Main Street."

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan resumes her meet and greet on Capitol Hill this hour. Today, she's sitting down with Wisconsin Democratic senator Russ Feingold. Yesterday, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham and Democrats Patty Murray of Washington and Al Franken of Minnesota had their say and more testimony is coming in just a moment on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The House Transportation committee is looking at the cleanup efforts and the long-term environmental impact of this disaster. Top executives from BP and Transocean are there and so is the EPA chief Lisa Jackson. It's a third straight day of oil spill hearings on Capitol Hill.

Actor and social activist Sean Penn is also on Capitol Hill. That's not him right there, but he is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations committee about the ongoing humanitarian mission in Haiti, four months after the island's horrendous earthquake.

All right, today Americans are waking up to the power of anger and the politics of change. Voters go to the polls in only a handful of states, but their message this morning rumbles across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAND PAUL, TEA PARTY CANDIDATE: It's the perfect storm, you know? It's the mood of the country and our message being exactly equal to the mood of the country which is we've got to get our government back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that was Rand Paul, a tea party candidate who not only won. He knocked off a darling of the GOP. Let's see, who else won, and lost and why all of us should care.

CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley breaks it all down for us. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In politics they don't come much tougher than 80-year-old Arlen Specter, but this hurt.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: It's been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania, and it's been a great privilege to be in the United States Senate.

CROWLEY: Specter was a Republican until a year ago in a Democratic primary. It hung like an anvil around his neck. So did his 30 years in the Senate, set aside for a congressman with four years in the House.

REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: A win for the people! Over the establishment, over the status quo, even over Washington!

CROWLEY: The year of the anti-incumbent looks real, real enough for Blanche Lincoln, too, running for her third term the Democratic senator from Arkansas won, but not by enough to avoid a runoff.

SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN (D), ARKANSAS: Tonight we begin our countdown to victory, folks!

CROWLEY: There were no insiders in the Kentucky Republican race for senator. But there was Trey Grayson endorsed by insiders. Grayson lost to Rand Paul, a tea party favorite.

PAUL: Washington is horribly broken. I think we stand on a precipice. We are encountering a day of reckoning and this movement, this tea party movement is a message to Washington that we're unhappy and that we want things done differently.

CROWLEY: Still, for all of the headlines of the night, perhaps the most telling story is about the congressional district of the late Congressman John Murtha, a district that is blue collar, mostly white, socially conservative. The kind of place Republicans thought they could take now and in the fall.

Mark Critz versus Tim Burns was the only Democrat versus Republican race of the evening, a special election.

MARK CRITZ (D), PENNSYLVANIA CONG. ELECT: You like the tie? It's got donkeys on it, you know? And we have a great victory tonight, don't we?

CROWLEY: It's more than a democratic win. It's a major league talking point for Democrats who argue that the first real test of strength in the fall elections, Republicans failed. So this fall could change a lot of things or maybe not so much.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: All right. For months tea parties rallied against Washington and rallied against big government and now voters send an undeniable message to Washington. Get ready for change.

Let's take a closer look at the political stage right now, set for the November election. Mark Preston is CNN's political editor, not quite director. Hey, Mark, good to see you. OK, so where does this tea party go from here following Rand Paul's victory? This really is a huge feather in their cap.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: It's a huge feather in their cap, Fred. You know, the tea party is a decentralized movement so it's not like the Republican party. It's not like the Democratic party. You know, will they seize upon this victory just Rand Paul victory last night and really try to grow their movement larger than what we know it as it is right now?

You know, Rand Paul talks about being on the precipice of coming back and taking over Washington. I would think that the tea party is actually at that precipice as well. They have an opportunity, Fred, to grow their movement and to try to bring more people in. What they need to do, though, they need to talk about fiscal issues and they need to police some of their rallies that we saw last year where there was some very offensive images by some of the people who attended them. If they can stick to fiscal issues, they'll be able to grow their movement even larger.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about Arkansas, she won the president's endorsement, Blanche Lincoln. However, she didn't get the majority. She barely got 50 percent. So now we're talking about a runoff, does this kind of embolden the liberal wing of the democratic party?

PRESTON: It certainly does. Not only does it embolden the liberal wing of the party to try to take out Blanche Lincoln on June 8th because that's where we're headed as a runoff, but it also emboldens them to go after more democrats that they don't think are towing their line when it comes to policy.

It also emboldens them when they go after President Obama, I think, Fred, if they don't think that he's doing what they think should be done. So expect to hear more from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

WHITFIELD: When we talk about Pennsylvania, though, and we talk about Arlen Specter, the president did throw his support behind Arlen Specter. However, he didn't campaign for him. Should the White House, the president be get anything blame for the outcome of that race?

PRESTON: Well, certainly they're going to get some blame because where was President Obama n the closing days? Why wasn't he up in Philadelphia, trying to help drive out the African-American vote? You know, if you talk to Democratic strategists this morning they say, look, in the end he wouldn't have been able to get the vote out for Arlen Specter. The margin was too wide, but yes, this is definitely a hit on the Obama administration. But, you know, Fred, talking to strategists this morning they also say that when it comes November, when Democratic candidates want President Obama, he's going to show up. Expect him to appear in urban areas and expect them to really try to work on the youth vote, expect him to even appear in some states that potentially he'll need in 2012.

He needs to start laying the groundwork right now and expect this person on the trail, too. Bill Clinton, we saw in Candy's package there that Mark Critz won out in the western Pennsylvania district. While Bill Clinton was there that weekend. So I'm sure Bill Clinton feels emboldened himself, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so expect the president as well as the former President Clinton to be campaigning for the candidates as if they were running themselves.

All right. Mark Preston, appreciate that.

So if you are away from your television set, CNN's vast resources are as close as your computer, of course. You can catch all of our coverage and the latest news at CNN.com/politics.

All right. President Obama is holding talks with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon at the White House this hour. Calderon got the red carpet treatment when he arrived about a half an hour ago. Pictures right now of that greeting. He is on an official state visit that will include an address to a joint session of Congress and a state dinner. Take a listen to what President Calderon had to say a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. FELIPE CALDERON, MEXICO: Today, Mexico and the United States are facing common challenges. We are facing organized crime, climate change, migration. This is the moment to overlook the fact of reproaching each other in the things that will really hurt us. We either start a new chapter of cooperation and a new era to compliment each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So during talks the two presidents are expected to discuss ways to cooperate in the fight against drug violence. They will also talk about Arizona's new immigration law that's likely to come up as well as trade and economic matters.

And we'll talk more about President Calderon's visit. In just a few minutes we'll get some insight from Juan Carlos Lopez, a Washington correspondent for CNN in Espanol.

All right. The U.S. military repelled a major Taliban assault today in Afghanistan. The target was Bagram Air Base where nearly a dozen Taliban fighters died in a foiled suicide bomb attack. CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Kabul. A few miles south of today's fire fight, Paula, this could have been a lot worse.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fredericka. This was an incredibly brazen attack. It happened in the early hours of this Wednesday morning and we heard from a NATO spokesman that around two dozen Taliban fighters turned up at the gates and that they tried to infiltrate the area.

Now we know that at least a dozen or almost a dozen have been killed. We know also one U.S. member of a contract group was also killed. Nine service members injured but there's a conflicting report as to whether or not these attackers actually got inside the base. The Taliban spokesman called CNN in the early hours of this morning to tell us this was going on.

He said that there were 20 fighters, all armed in suicide vests and he said there was a major firefight inside the base. The U.S. says they did not infiltrate the base. They did not get through the perimeter, but the fact is it is a very brazen attack and it comes just a day after that huge car bombing just very close to where this attack today happened which killed 18 people.

Again, NATO and the troops were the target. So really, back-to-back attacks from the Taliban just a week after they have said that they have launched their spring offensive, if you like. They call it Al- Fatah, which is Arabic for victory, saying they are targeting the NATO troops and so far they're true to their word. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Paula Hancocks, thanks so much from Kabul.

Accused Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad finally got his day in court, more than two weeks after he was captured, trying to flee the country in federal magistrate's court yesterday, prosecutors read the five terror-related charges that Shahzad faces. Each carries a potential life in prison sentence if convicted. His next court date is set for June 1st.

In Bangkok now, the demonstration may be over, but the fight rages on for some who refuse the order to surrender. The latest on the civil unrest in Thailand's capital city.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Plus damaging tornados and hail the size of baseballs. It's all possible in the southern plain states again today. I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. Find out who's at greatest risk coming up in your forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We've just learned some new information from the Senate judiciary committee telling us that confirmation hearings get under way for the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on Monday, June 28th. So right around the corner, confirmation hearings beginning for President Obama's choice for the next Supreme Court justice. Nominee Elena Kagan, Monday, June 28th. Mark your calendar. All right. President Obama and his Mexican counterpart are meeting at the White House right now. Felipe Calderon arrived about an hour ago on a formal state visit. We expect the two presidents to talk about several hot-button issues including the war on drugs.

More now from Juan Carlos Lopez of CNN en Espanol, joining us from the White House. We heard both the presidents make a pledge essentially to work and to move forward together to try and combat the drug cartels in Mexico.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL: Yes, Fredericka. President Calderon is under a lot of pressure back in Mexico due to this war on drugs. Official figures say that at least 23,000 people have died since 2006 when the Mexican government took these cartels head-on and there's a debate among Mexican public opinion on the need or convenience of fighting this war and the message, the support he's getting at the White House is very important.

It will probably play very well in Mexican public opinion and also as he said in his speech and as President Obama committed to, that it's a joint effort that it's both countries fighting the war on drugs. That it's Mexico trying to stop the flow of drugs coming into the United States and the United States trying to stop the flow of weapons and of cash that goes from north to south.

WHITFIELD: And so while we heard that the president of Mexico would make a mention of Arizona's immigration law, and I understand during his greeting he did have something to say. What was it?

LOPEZ: Well, one thing that Mexicans have been very careful about is recognizing that SB-1070 is a domestic issue, but in his speech he said that that law would lead to discrimination and the Mexican government feels that it is aimed directly at either Mexican immigrants or Mexican-Americans and that's why they voice their concern, but they understand that is something that has to be dealt with in the United States and they're waiting to see what step the U.S. government takes.

Remember, the state - the Justice Department might file a lawsuit or join at least one of the lawsuits that have already been filed against the law.

WHITFIELD: And trade and the economy are also on the agenda for the two presidents when they go behind closed doors and they talk. What likely, are they to talk about as it pertains to those two things?

LOPEZ: Well, one concern is if the U.S. does well so does Mexico. So both countries need the U.S. economy to keep on improving so that Mexico can improve and one of the issues related to the economy is immigration. The - when the economy is very well in the U.S., you see immigration go up, and one of the goals would be to improve the Mexican economy so people don't have to come.

There's another very pointed issue with the access of Mexican trucks to U.S. roads, something that was included in North American Free Trade Agreement and it hasn't been implement. It's a source of contention and they'll probably going to talk about it.

There are so many issues. Immigration, Arizona, the war on drugs that they probably won't have enough time to deal with them during the state visit.

WHITFIELD: All right. Juan Carlos, thanks so much. Good to see you from the White House.

All right. President Obama and Calderon are scheduled to hold a joint news conference this morning at 11:50 Eastern time and we'll bring that to you live as it happens as well.

All right. Defiance despite surrender, thick plumes of black smoke choke the skyline of Bangkok, Thailand after some anti-government protesters ignored the order to stand down from their days' long siege of that city. Leaders of the so-called red shirt movement say they gave up their fight in order to save people's lives after a massive show of force from Thailand's military, which has now been taking control of most of the Thai capital. We'll have more details as we get them, right here from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter lost in the Democratic primary, likely bringing his political career to an end come November. He is the latest casualty of an anti-incumbent backlash. Arkansas incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln is heading to a runoff in her primary battle.

And the U.S. Coast Guard says tar balls washing up in the Florida keys are not from the Deep Water Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Tar balls can form naturally or they can also come from ships in the gulf.

And Laura Silsby is back home in Idaho this morning. A judge let her go after nearly four months in a Haitian jail. Silsby was accused of trying to take 33 children out of Haiti without proper permission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your children are waiting and - what are you going to be thinking as you walk through these doors in just a second here, Laura?

VOICE OF LAURA SILSBY, RELEASED FROM HAITIAN JAIL MONDAY: I am just very, very thrilled to be home. I have missed them more than words can express.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's take a look at some severe weather kind of disrupting Oklahoma and Texas as we speak. Jacqui Jeras is in the severe weather center.

JERAS: It doesn't want to stop. It's the hot bed of activity. You know, May is typically a very active month for tornadoes here and this morning we've been dealing with a line of severe thunderstorms, a cluster of them or a big complex as you would call it, moving across about the northern half of the state and we've been seeing this line here having a history of producing winds around 70 miles per hour and hail about an inch in diameter.

No warnings on it right now. This is the first time literally all morning I haven't seen a warning on that line. It actually started way over here and it's held together and it's on it's way over towards Arkansas. There is a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for that area right now. This complex is going to hold together, continuing to bring torrential downpours in parts of Kansas. This is going to move to Missouri and Missouri already very, very saturated from flooding rains in the last week or so. So in addition to that certainly not some good news.

We think the real severe weather outbreak are going to start to take place, maybe by mid-afternoon and into the evening hours and you can see that red highlighted area here across the Red River Valley, up toward Oklahoma City and even up towards Enid and that's a moderate risk.

So we're really looking at that threat of large, violent tornadoes that stay on the ground for a long period of time and those hail could really continue to be very strong as well. We've been seeing baseball plus-sized hail, believe it or not, out of those thunderstorms yesterday. We can see more of that today.

Nuisance rain in the northeast and that's about it. It's driving people crazy and they're sick of the showers.

WHITFIELD: Oh, don't like the nuisance rain.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: You know, it's drizzly, nasty and cold.

JERAS: Not fun.

WHITFIELD: No. All right. Wear bright colors on days like that.

JERAS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: That's what you do. Thanks so much, Jacqui. All right. DNA tests for college freshmen. One university is offering it to incoming students but of course not, not everybody's happy about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Beginning this summer incoming freshmen at UC Berkeley are getting something a little extra in their welcome package, cotton swabs for a DNA sample. The DNA test will be voluntary and it's free. It will let students know about their ability to tolerate alcohol, absorb folic acid and metabolize lactose. The university says it will help students make decisions about their medical future. Well, reaction among some students, mixed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it could actually be really exciting. I mean I would be happy to know, you know, if my - I think it's supposed to read how you metabolize alcohol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fortunately, I did not have any problems when it came to that, but that sounds like something that I could use for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am skeptical. Yes. I think anyone who would have a big enough issue for that that would want to know would have already figured it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. The university promises the privacy of the students will be protected.

Anti-establishment voters were heard all of the way to Washington. We go beyond the primary numbers to look at the winning strategies and the potential impact on the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All eyes were on three states as voters flexed their political muscles in some key senate primary races. In Pennsylvania, Representative Joe Sestak beat an incumbent seeking his sixth term. In Kentucky, conservative Rand Paul, the so- called Tea Party candidate won easily. But in Arkansas the race will head to a runoff because no candidate got the necessary vote.

Some experts say results sent some mixed signals to Washington, D.C., but one thing was clear. The public discontent is aimed at both Democrats and Republicans.

The author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America" and CNN contributor John Avlon is here to analyze each of these three races for us.

Good to see you, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Ok, so -- so let's start in Pennsylvania; hotly-contested Democratic primary. Representative Joe Sestak made up a big deficit in the polls and beat Senator Arlen Specter who had held the seat for 30 years. Sestak keyed in on Specter's recent switch from the Republican to Democratic Party.

So take a look at one ad that seemed to resonate with the voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I'm Joe Sestak, the Democrat, I authorized this message.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: My change in party will enable me to be re-elected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 45 years, Arlen Specter has been a Republican politician.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Arlen Specter is the right man for the United States Senate. I can count on this man. See, that's important. He's a firm ally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now --

SPECTER: My change in party will enable me to be re-elected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arlen Specter switched parties to save one job -- his, not yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, John, was that an effective campaign? Is that what helped put him over the top?

AVLON: It sure was. I mean, here he associates Arlen Specter who, by the way, had been Pennsylvania's longest-serving senator. I mean, an incredible record of service, but had changed parties in the last year feeling that he was getting forced out of the Republican Party in effect but associates him with Bush and Sarah Palin.

You know in effect the right wing of the Republican Party, that's not something that's going to play well in a closed Democratic primary. And it was definitely enthusiasm gaps.

Specter -- you know, Sestak closed a 30-point gap, spending money only in the last three weeks, flooding the airwaves, you know, representing a swing district outside Philadelphia and a former admiral doesn't exactly fit the stereotype of a liberal Democrat and was able to make up that gap. And now he's the Democratic nominee against Pat Toomey.

WHITFIELD: Yes, at the same time perhaps Arlen Specter thought that perhaps the President of the United States endorsement might help. President Obama didn't campaign, didn't, you know, show his face in the place so to speak to push for Arlen Specter. But are we looking at the endorsement of the President as maybe putting a new value on that kind of stamp of approval?

AVLON: Well, as you said, Barack Obama didn't campaign in person for Arlen Specter, although he did do an ad in which he famously said "I love Arlen Specter" which ran a lot over the last several weeks. Clearly it wasn't enough to put Arlen Specter over the top.

But it seems to me that this was -- this was more of the Pennsylvania Democratic machine not being able to motivate its voters for Arlen Specter. Obama didn't help close that enthusiasm gap but he didn't campaign directly either, so I don't think this is a negative reaction to Obama.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about Kentucky now. Rand Paul, son of the more familiar Paul, Ron Paul that everyone seems to know. He did pretty good there, didn't he? And he won great support from the Tea Party Movement. You have to wonder how much this kind of empowers the Tea Party Movement and that whole anti- establishment push.

AVLON: Well, anti-establishment was the theme of last night's primaries and Rand Paul made a -- got a 25-point blowout win against the candidate who was supported by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a major upset and the real sign of strength for the Tea Party Movement; a milestone in its evolution for bringing a protest movement to a force in electoral politics.

Now, still a long way to go in the fall, but that core message of anti-establishment, reigning in spending -- that has proved very popular in the Kentucky Republican primary and now it's on in November.

WHITFIELD: All right, now let's talk about Arkansas. Again an incumbent Blanche Lincoln, she won the approval and the endorsement of the President of the United States, but now she is heading toward a runoff election with Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter. What's expected out of this race?

AVLON: Well, this is -- this is as you said, the rules in Arkansas say that the candidates had to hit 50 percent otherwise it goes to a runoff. Blanche Lincoln has won one of these runoff races before in her first race for the senate.

But a very tough circumstance here, she's a classic centrist Democrat. She got primaried from the left, her opponent Bill Halter as you said, is supported by MoveOn.org. She's getting the support of, for example the Chamber of Commerce and opposition and also challenged from the right by a conservative Democrat getting squeezed from the center from both sides.

So it'll be interesting to see, it'll really come down to turn out who is more motivated three weeks from now to really turn that momentum into a decisive win.

WHITFIELD: All right.

CNN contributor, John Avlon and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." I just love to say the title.

All right, it's good to see you John. Thanks so much.

All right. Well, perhaps if you're away from your television set, CNN's vast resources are as close as your computer. You can catch all of our coverage and the latest news at CNN.com/politics.

All right, Google putting your Internet security in question, sending cars around the world to map your neighborhood? But they're also getting a glimpse inside your WiFi world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, Google knows what you've been doing online. While gathering information for one of their more popular features, Google got much more than just pictures of your street.

CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rolling through the streets with a camera rolling on top, they're called StreetView Cars and they've been used by Google to create one of the more sophisticated map systems anywhere online. These cars have taken detailed images of thousands of streets in dozens of countries.

(on camera): To find an address with Google Maps you type it in up here and I'm typing in an address where we're going to be doing an interview for this story. It's searched and goes from satellite map there to this map and then when you click more you can go to Street View and it actually gives you a picture of the facade of the buildings so that you can ID it when you get there and it offers a 360-degree view of it.

So with my producer Dougall (ph) driving and not too hard to find this address here in D.C. where we're going to do our interview and get to it on time; so clearly the Google map system and the Street View system is very efficient.

Now, Google has had issues with people not wanting their addresses filmed and not wanting their license plates to be taken so Google has worked to address those issues now. Google is accused of actually using that Street View map system in its cars to pick up WiFi signals and download some very personal information.

(voice-over): The problem is that along with those cameras was a powerful WiFi receiver, able to pick up unprotected wireless networks and signals everywhere, including in private homes the Google cars drove by. Those cars downloaded and recorded so-called payload data, Web sites people were surfing, even e-mails they sent.

Google says it never realized this was happening. That address I found through Google's Street View for Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy advocate.

(on camera): Google says this was inadvertent, it was a mistake and basically a programming error that was made in 2006.

MARC ROTENBERG, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: Well, you know, accidental or inadvertent, I think it's something that happens once. It happens because something overlooks something; it's something that happens in a particular place.

What happened with Google's Street View took place over a three-year period in 30 countries involving most of the major cities in the world. It's very hard, I think, to imagine that as an accidental action. TODD (voice-over): Rotenberg says Google could have broken wiretapping laws. Irish and German officials have launched investigations. A spokesman for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission wouldn't comment on reports that it might look into this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just came up with a network called Net Gear.

TODD: Not protected?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not protected.

TODD (on camera): Driving through D.C. using Rotenberg's iPad computer we could easily pick up where all of the WiFi signals were and see which ones were secure and which ones weren't.

ROTENBERG: We'll see if we can get online with that, look at that. Look at the Washington, D.C. weather report.

TODD: How could Google use the payload data competitively? Rotenberg says if Google wants to become an Internet provider, it would have an advantage knowing where all the wireless networks are.

In a blog post, Google's chief engineer says the company never wanted and would never use that information.

(on camera): Google now says it's working to delete as much of that payload data as it can, it's working with regulators from several countries to address this issue and in the meantime has grounded its fleet of Street View Cars.

Brian Todd, CNN, the Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's been nearly two weeks since the so-called "flash crash" on Wall Street. We all watched as the DOW went into a gut-wrenching 1,000-point free fall. Well, now regulators say they've come up with a plan to prevent a repeat.

Poppy Harlow is in New York with the details on this. So Poppy, how can a sell-off that big be stopped?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: That's the question, can it be stopped?

What we have Fred is news from the SEC, one of the main regulators here. They've come up with the proposal, it has to be approved but what this would do is it would institute what are known as circuit breakers. So what does that really meanwhile and why do you care about this?

What it would do is if any stock in the S&P 500 -- so you're looking at all of the major, major players there -- if any of those stocks swung up or down 10 percent or more within a five-minute period, the trading of those stocks would be paused for the next five minutes.

The reason they think this might work is because what we saw on May 6th when we had that flash crash was that the New York Stock Exchange paused trading of some of those stocks that were falling from, say, $30 to a penny in just a matter of minutes. They paused the trading of those, but the electronic exchanges like the NASDAQ, they allowed people to keep trading those and more importantly, they allowed the computers to keep trading those.

The idea here is if you get some consistency, Fred, across all of the major exchanges then you're going to have people coming to a rational price for these stocks because we really did see some stocks like Accenture, Procter & Gamble falling 50 percent and 60 percent in a matter of a few minutes.

So again, a proposal but they think this is going to bring some consistency and the theory here is that it's going to limit the volatility that we saw on that day when the DOW fell about 1,000 points in less than an hour, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Poppy you know, part of the reason for that flash crash is that each exchange currently has its own trading rules.

HARLOW: Right.

WHITFIELD: How do you know who will abide by these new rules?

HARLOW: Well, if this proposal becomes an actual plan, it would be a pilot that would run until about December. If this actually takes effect, all of the exchanges in New York are going to have to abide. They're not going have any option, so the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ and some of the other exchanges are going to have to abide by this, again, to give some uniformity to the market.

Whether they like it or not, that's still a question. There was finger-pointing going on between exchanges after that crash but the idea here is let humans make some rational decisions about the pricing of a stock and not let the algorithms and the computers make all the decisions.

That said, Wall Street now focusing on that today. Let's take a look at the big board. The DOW down 92, the S&P and the NASDAQ also down. Why? Huge concerns still, Fred, about the debt crisis in Europe --

WHITFIELD: Oh yes.

HARLOW: -- that is spreading so we're down across the board.

WHITFIELD: Yes and it's frightening. All right, Poppy Harlow, thank you.

HARLOW: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Top stories in a little more than two minutes from now.

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WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now. Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak says both President Obama and Senator Arlen Specter have called offering their congratulations after Sestak's upset win over Specter yesterday in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary.

It was one of a number of closely-watched primary battles including Kentucky where Tea Party candidate Rand Paul captured the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate contest come November.

And after a massive show of force from the Thai Military, some anti- government protesters capitulate and stand down from their days'-long standoff with security forces. But some are ignoring the surrender orders with sporadic reports of arson and rioting despite a curfew that went into effect less than two hours ago.

And President Obama hosts his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon this morning at the White House. The two are sure to discuss the issues such as immigration, drug trafficking and growing violence along the border.

All right.

The first reviews were nothing special, but the Rolling Stone's "Exile on Main Street" has become a classic now. We'll look back on the legendary making of that album.

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WHITFIELD: Ok. Mick Jagger, who doesn't love the Stones? Well, he and the Stones have been at the pinnacle of the music world for nearly half a century. So you think that reviews don't actually matter to Mick Jagger anymore? Well, you'd be wrong.

Hear what Jagger had to say last night to Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": How do you react to reviews?

MICK JAGGER, SINGER: Well --

KING: I mean, when you're this famous, does it matter?

JAGGER: I think it does matter. See, there are some reviews that you kind of respect to some extent. You know, there are some reviews that are rubbish and you can discount it.

But you want the -- you kind of want -- when you put out a piece of work you want to have the approval of -- you want your own self- approval first. You want to feel that you have done --

KING: You'd like it.

JAGGER: Yes. I'd like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. Mick and the boys, the Rolling Stones, that is, are being reviewed one more time with this week's release of a re- mastered version of "Exile on Main Street", the CD even though I'm holding the album that contains previously unreleased songs that, of course, the album doesn't have. And it's getting a lot of media attention like here in "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Contributing editor, Anthony Decurtis joins us now from New York. So Anthony, you know, take me back.

This album wasn't really that coveted and accepted, I guess, by the masses when it was released on vinyl in 1972. Why is that? What was the initial response? What did the reviews say?

ANTHONY DECURTIS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE: Well, the initial responses seemed slightly disappointing. I mean, they weren't trashing the record, but there was a sense in which, oh, you know this, isn't the "Rolling Stones" album that we were really hoping for. And I think that's primarily because there wasn't like the great song that leaped off it. It's not like brown sugar say on sticky fingers where everybody got really excited.

And there was a lot of it. It was a double album and there were 18 songs and I think people were a little overwhelmed by it at first.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Some of the songs: "Rock Soft", "Hip This Joint", "Casino Boogie", "Tumbling Dice". So tell me about the recording session. Apparently, it was not very typical.

DECURTIS: It was quite untypical. They recorded essentially -- the Stones became tax exiles, I think the first band who left England because of -- you know, their tax laws essentially and they moved to the south of France and recorded this record or most of it at this enormous mansion that Keith Richards rented and they recorded it in the basement.

So even as posh as it sounds to be in the south of France, this basement had -- it was dank, it was damp. It was like anybody's basement and they were essentially, you know, there was essentially a kind of ongoing stream of guests and parties upstairs and these ongoing sessions for this album downstairs.

WHITFIELD: Of course, it's the Rolling Stones.

DECURTIS: Well, exactly. And it's become kind of a legendary story.

WHITFIELD: Right. So now this re-issued album really in CD form, it includes new cuts. What can you tell me about those new cuts and why they are distinctive and different and, you know, must have?

DECURTIS: Well, it's interesting. You know, there's ten of them. I wouldn't say that there's anything that's going to change anybody's life, but if you like "Exile on Main Street", hearing these other tracks, in many ways they're impact as much as the album was.

The first time I heard them I thought these are pretty good. I'm interested. But I've come to like them more and more, the more I played them. They've been -- Mick Jagger has recorded some new vocals. I mean and people should keep in mind that some of these were unfinished and the Stones went in and finished them.

Keith Richards would record a guitar track. They have Mick Taylor who was in the band at the time, and is no longer in the band to come in and do some parts. And Jagger has written new lyrics and new vocals.

So in a sense it's a combination of the Rolling Stones of 1972 and the Rolling Stones in 2010.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Anthony Decurtis thanks so much, contributing editor of "Rolling Stone" magazine; talking about the Rolling Stones and the re-release of "Exile on Main Street". I mean they just have the most incredible staying power unmatched so far, right?

DECURTIS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right.

DECURTIS: Yes, there's a sense in which, you know, the Stones are still stronger than they were.

WHITFIELD: They are. Check out those concerts there, they're really on fire.

All right Anthony. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. A Vietnam vet and a T-shirt vendor now hailed as a hero in New York. The man who told police about the explosives-packed SUV is honored.

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WHITFIELD: The t-shirt vendor who alerted police to the Times Square car bomb was honored by the New York State Assembly yesterday. Lance Orton's dad was in Albany for the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HORACE ORTON, LANCE ORTON'S FATHER: It's spreading like wildfire what's happening with my son, so I have to be a very, very proud father.

LANCE ORTON, ALERTED POLICE TO SUV WITH BOMB: The way I was raised and the type of person I am and the training I got says if something's wrong, do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That training Orton got was in the Military. He served in Vietnam.

All right. Our Tony Harris is up next with much more in the NEWSROOM. Tony have a great day.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: And Fred -- you have a great day Fred. Good to see you.