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Board Battles Over Textbooks; Illegal Immigrants and Crime; New Strategy in Drug Fight; Depression Threatens Black Youth; Cost of Immigration; Al Qaeda Leader Talks; Hot on the Web
Aired May 20, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN in 60 seconds.
Mexico's president speaks to Congress today. On the agenda, border security, drug trafficking, and the new Arizona immigration law.
Officials say they will not try to deport a woman whose daughter asked the first lady about taking people away if they don't have the right paperwork.
We knew it was coming. Oil from BP's massive spill reaches Louisiana wetlands.
The mothers of three American hikers held in Iran meet with their children.
The Wall Street overhaul bill on shaky ground. Senate Democrats will try again today to get votes they need.
The final count is in. Meteorologists say 16 tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma Wednesday.
North Korea denies it fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors.
Another strike in Greece. More than 20,000 people march in Athens, protesting budget cuts.
In Malawi, a gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison. The men found guilty of indecency.
ESPN reports cyclist Floyd Landis admits to using performance- enhancing drugs.
This is CNN in 60 seconds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories. Textbook battle: a fight to rewrite history from slavery to religion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's tell the truth as it was, not as we want to remember it to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is time for us to wake up and see what we're doing to our kids, and see that we're not promoting those principles and values that made America great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A young man's battle with personal demons turns into a crusade against teen suicide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ran under there. And the only thing on my mind was I just -- I just want to get all his body parts, because I figured that was it, and I wanted to grab his body parts and have him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You're online right now, and we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I'm looking at one of the top searches on Google right now. Cyclist Floyd Landis admitting to doping and pointing the finger at Lance Armstrong.
Also, most e-mail (ph) story, a thief steals five paintings from a museum in Paris, including works by Picasso and Matisse.
And a top story on CNN.com, Pakistan is blocking access to Facebook and YouTube.
I'll have more on that story in the hour.
HARRIS: Terrific.
All right. Let's get started with our lead story.
A Texas battle over textbooks is nearing a showdown. Conservatives on the state school board stand by their plan to rewrite the curriculum. They say they will move ahead with a vote. Pay close attention, as critics see this as an attempt to push conservative ideology.
Tom Foreman looks at what's in and out of the proposed curriculum and what's at stake.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is about a basic question. What do we want in textbooks when we are teaching young people about this country? Does it tilt liberal or conservative, or stay in the middle? And right now the battleground is Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Save our history! Save it now!
FOREMAN (voice-over): In Austin, heated words. The state's school board is in hearings over the content of new textbooks, and some conservative board members want it moved to the right.
For example, since textbooks include sections on Democratic president Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, which expanded government, they also want a favorable light shined on Ronald Reagan's vision of a smaller government and the political power surge by conservative groups.
Don McLeroy is leading the charge.
DON MCLEROY, TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: What we have is the history profession, the experts seem to have a left-wing tilt. And so what we were doing is trying to restore some balance to the standards.
FOREMAN: More examples of what those board members have wanted? Out: too much talk about Thomas Jefferson and the Enlightenment, which stressed reasoning and science over faith. In: more recognition of the contributions of religious leaders like Moses to American ideals.
Out: calling the U.S. government democratic, like the party. In: calling it a constitutional republic.
Out: capitalism, which some board members fear has been turned into a dirty word. In: free enterprise.
(on camera): And on it goes with these board members wanting more praise for conservative icons like Phyllis Schlafly, the leadership qualities of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, and even the cultural value of country music.
(voice-over): Not all of these measures have survived, but even the discussion has many more liberal Texans furious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not fair for public school students to have the personal and political ideologies and agendas of the conservative state board members crammed down their throats and into their textbooks.
FOREMAN (on camera): All of this matters because, with almost 5 million students, Texas buys a lot of textbooks, and that helps push publishers in terms of what they make available for all the rest of us.
Electronic publishing is mitigating that factor just a little bit, but for the time being, as Texas schools go, in large part so go the rest of the nation's schools. And right now Texas seems set on going to the right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right. Tom, appreciate it. Thank you.
And the board is meeting today to finalize the changes. A vote is expected tomorrow, but the debate is not over.
Ines Ferre joins us with more.
And Ines, give us a bit more of the flavor of this debate right now.
FERRE: Well, sure, Tony. The changes are being debated in Texas, but they're really getting national attention. Critics fear that they'll water down the teachings of the civil rights movement and slavery.
Now, there was a pact hearing that took place yesterday in Texas. Folks on both sides of the issue talking for hours. And here's some of what was said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's tell the truth as it was, not as we want to remember it to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The far-right faction of this state board has demonstrated their willingness to undermine the quality of our children's education and drag our classrooms into the culture wars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans like State Representative Wayne Christian from Center backed the changes that the predominantly Republican Board of Education wants to make.
WAYNE CHRISTIAN, CENTER: The arguments that are going around are evident that there have been the legitimate questions raised. They're being discussed. They're being debated. And they're being answered.
We've seen an expansion in the standards of minorities by a significant portion. While the debate says that there always should be more, well, that's the debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And, Tony, more than 200 people signed up to speak at yesterday's hearing. There weren't enough hours in the day to hear from all of them. Another one is being held today -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, let me ask you this. Would changes to the curriculum and the textbooks bought by the people in Texas impact the textbooks bought by other states?
FERRE: Well, right now, as it stands today, any changes would affect how history and social studies are taught to about 4.8 million public school students over the next 10 years. But as far as textbooks sold to other states, well, Education Secretary Arne Duncan didn't seem to be too concerned this morning. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Curriculum in our country is always going to be decided at the local level. But what I will say is, whatever Texas decides, I do not think there will be large ripple effects across the country.
People are concerned about that. I'm actually much less concerned. Textbook companies today have a real ability to customize textbooks, and whatever the Texas board decides, I don't think that's going to impact education in other parts of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: Tony, it's become a very big local political issue in Texas. Some Democratic lawmakers saying they may not appropriate funds to buy the new textbooks if the changes go through. And they've asked the board to delay that vote -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Ines, appreciate it. See you a bit later with what's hot.
Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, takes his push for overhauling U.S. immigration to the halls of Congress. Just moments ago, in a speech before a joint meeting of Congress, Mr. Calderon again criticized the immigration law recently passed in Arizona and called on U.S. lawmakers to act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELIPE CALDERON, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: Comprehensive immigration reform is also crucial to securing our common border. However, I strongly disagree with the recently adopted law in Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Supporters of Arizona's immigration law point to crime as one rationale for the crackdown.
CNN's Carol Costello tries to separate fact from fears.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, politicians and some police say Arizona's tough new immigration law is desperately needed to stop a wave of violent crime committed by illegal immigrants pouring over the border. Critics say this kind of talk is wildly exaggerated, an excuse to use racial profiling to lock up people who are actually five times less likely to commit crimes than American citizens.
Who's right?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): In Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was all about finding and arresting illegal immigrants.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: Because I'm enforcing the law.
COSTELLO: If you want to know how many illegals his deputies have questioned, arrested or detained, it's on the Web site, 38,136 to date.
ARPAIO: Right now, in this area, we have 100 people in jail right now, charged with murder, that are here illegally.
COSTELLO (voice-over): That was three weeks ago. It's a scary number for those living in a state bordering Mexico, a country with a terrible violent drug cartel problem. But critics say while some illegals do commit violent crimes, Arpaio's assertion that illegals are terrorizing Arizona in mass is simply false.
PROF. DAVID HARRIS, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: When we looked at the data. When we looked at the real number, we find that those claims are wildly exaggerated if not outright untrue.
COSTELLO: According to FBI statistics, violent crime in Arizona dropped by nearly 1,500 reported incidents between 2005 and 2008. Property crimes also fell.
Harris says immigrants, legal and illegal, are five times less likely than native born Americans to be involved in crime.
In Trenton, New Jersey, where 23 percent of the residents are immigrants, police agree. They say illegal immigrants are more likely to be victims of crime than criminals.
So, instead of aggressively pursuing illegals like Wendy Ochoa, Trenton embraces them by allowing groups to issue illegals a community identifications card that gives them access to libraries and doctors' offices.
WENDY OCHOA, HONDURAN IMMIGRANT (through translator): If the police stop me, I can give them this I.D. and anything that is protected by the police makes me feel safer.
COSTELLO: Trenton police are not allowed to ask about the immigration status unless they suspected felony. Detective Bob Russo says most officers like the policy, because it builds the community trust they need to find crime.
DET. BOB RUSSO, TRENTON POLICE DEPT.: I haven't had the opportunity to speak to the authorities in Arizona. I don't know if they've recognized to the extent that we have, that the immigrant population can actually be an asset to us.
COSTELLO: In parts of Arizona, that argument doesn't fly. The governor says 600 illegals convicted of serious criminal offenses are in Arizona jails, costing taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Supporters of Arizona's law say cities like Trenton only make things worse. HEATHER MACDONALD, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE: They add to the schizophrenia within our public discourse about whether we believe in the immigration rule of law or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In other words, MacDonald says immigrants who come into the country illegally are committing a crime no matter where they live. All jurisdictions agree, though, the federal government must step in and do something to fix the problem -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Carol. Thank you.
A trillion dollars spent in the U.S. war on drugs. And the man now in charge of fighting that war says much of it has been wasted. Boy, is that tough to hear. I will ask him about the new strategy.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A "we wouldn't believe it if we didn't see it" "Random Moment of the Day" for you.
Take a look at the video here. That is Charlie Martin, sitting alongside Interstate 25 in Albuquerque.
She was driving her scooter on the freeway when her tank gave out. Not her gas tank, her oxygen tank. And I'm not talking about a small motorcycle. She was driving a motorized wheelchair.
Martin planned to drive her scooter eight miles on I-25 after her van broke down. She wanted to get to a casino.
Never gamble on the "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, just finished addressing the U.S. Congress. One of the issues he is hoping to get some help with, drug-related violence.
Also this week, The Associated Press issued a special report that said the U.S. war on drugs has been a failure. The director of U.S. drug policy, Gil Kerlikowske, joining me from Washington to talk about these issues.
Gil, good to see you. Thanks for your time.
GIL KERLIKOWSKE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Thanks.
HARRIS: Let's frame this discussion a bit. Mexico's president is certainly one of the Latin American leaders who will tell you Americans are the world's largest consumers of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and the Caribbean, as a fact.
Is that true?
KERLIKOWSKE: We are the largest consumer. I don't think per capita. I think we might have lost our place. But given the size of this country, yes, it's a significant problem. And we certainly recognize that here.
HARRIS: OK. Again, just to get you to frame this -- and then we'll dive into the issues -- are Americans the world's largest consumer of Colombian and Mexican heroin and marijuana, as a fact? Is that true?
KERLIKOWSKE: Yes, we consume a lot of the drugs that are produced either in Mexico or in Colombia.
HARRIS: OK. So the U.S. has spent an estimated $1 trillion over 40 years since President Nixon signed the first Drug Abuse Prevention Act. You've said the strategy we've been using hasn't worked. Tell us why and what needs to change.
KERLIKOWSKE: Well, President Obama, last week, released his national drug control strategy. And it's a very balanced strategy.
It talks about the importance of looking at this drug problem, not just as a public safety problem, but also as a public health problem. And it means putting renewed emphasis in both prevention and treatment.
And what I told the AP is that when I crisscrossed the country developing this strategy for the president, when you talk to citizens, I don't think the average citizen sees the drug war as having been successful. And if we approach it in a more holistic way and a more balanced way, I think we've got much greater opportunity to make headway.
HARRIS: The change in policy, I'm curious, with the change, is the president saying that the war on drugs is a war against people who, in many cases, are users and abusers but who, in many cases, need help and not just punishment?
KERLIKOWSKE: Well, here's what I said last may to "The Wall Street Journal," is that we should end the war on drugs. We shouldn't keep calling it a war.
We've talked about it for 40 years. The problem with calling it a war usually means that you only have one tool in a war, and that's usually force. This is as much a public health problem as it is a public safety problem.
HARRIS: Got you.
Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, as you know, is in Washington. Getting a handle on drug-related violence is one of the biggest issues the United States and Mexico face right now. I'm just curious, from your perspective, what methods is the U.S. government using to work with Mexico on this problem? KERLIKOWSKE: The relationship has never been stronger. And the cooperation with government-to-government law enforcement sources has actually never been better. And having spent 40 years in law enforcement, I think I can speak to that.
I have had five trips to the Southwest border, three trips to Mexico. I have looked at the government training for prosecutors, for law enforcement officials. I've looked at their technology. And I've looked at how the information is shared across the borders so that we can all pursue these traffickers and financiers of the drug business.
HARRIS: Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that you have a partner in the Mexican government, in President Calderon? Because there is still great concern about corruption and the role of the Mexican police and maybe the Mexican military in facilitating this drug trade (ph).
KERLIKOWSKE: I have great confidence in President Calderon. I have met with him now on several occasions, and also General Galvan, the head of the Sedena (ph), the army. Garcia Luna (ph), who is head of the federal policing. They have taken great steps now not only to reduce or eliminate corruption within their ranks, but they've also taken great steps to make sure that when they do enforce the law, that they are doing their very best to preserve human rights issues.
HARRIS: If you're not going to call it a war on drugs anymore, what do you call it so that you can galvanize attention, public attention, to whatever the effort is?
KERLIKOWSKE: So that's a great question. And somebody said, well, if you're not going to have the bumper sticker "War on Drugs," what are you going to do, what are you going to say?
The drug problem is infused in everything, from keeping kids in school, to a prepared workforce, to health care, to the Southwest border, to race relations between police departments and the people they serve, particularly minority communities. This is a complex problem. It has been around in this country at a highlight for a long time.
I actually believe when I've listened to people across the country that this country is ready for the complex discussion, without a bumper sticker answer, about the problems of public health and public safety all around drugs. And you know what? If I'm wrong, I'll be here as a consultant next year to you.
HARRIS: Nice. OK.
Gil Kerlikowske is the director of U.S. drug policy.
Sir, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
KERLIKOWSKE: Thanks.
HARRIS: New concerns now about the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Today marks a full month since the start of the crisis. Heavy crude is washing on to the Louisiana shore. BP is defending its response to the leak. Its managing director talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about what the company is doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB DUDLEY, BP MANAGING DIRECTOR: We've got a small city going on a mile and a half down below, with between 10 and 12 robots that are manipulating the blowout preventers nearby and the work that we've been doing to design the containment systems. We've had a whole set of parallel engineering tracks in place.
That's what we need to be deploying the resources on, is shutting that well, as well as controlling it. It's a very difficult flow rate to measure using those techniques with the gas/oil ratio of 5,000/1 right now. It is -- again, that soda can analogy is not far off, and that's what we're seeing now when we produce to the surface, 3,000 barrels a day, 13 million cubic feet of gas along with it. It's a very gassy substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Clearly, those efforts have failed to prevent heavy oil from starting to clog Louisiana marshes. People who make their living in the Gulf are certainly worried. The owner of a Louisiana seafood company tells CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" he knew this would happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN BLANCHARD, PRESIDENT, DEAN BLANCHARD SEAFOOD: We've definitely got a mess. That was sad to see, the pictures hauled (ph) on the beach. But I knew it was coming.
I'm in constant contact with the fishermen that are actually working for BP, and they told me over a week ago that the booms they were using would not work because the dispersants had pushed the oil further, and the oil was going underneath the booms. And for some reason, BP didn't try to straighten it out. They just let it happen. I don't know why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, it's a fact of life. We may not be happy about it, but it's the truth. Everyone tells a little white lie every now and then. Right?
But here's the question: Who tells more, men or women?
Guys, you should be feeling a little guilty about now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on top stories right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: Men lie more than women. A new British survey finds men fib an average of three times a day. Women stretch the truth just two times a day on average.
Without further ado, here are the top five lies told my men.
Starting with number five: I'm on my way.
Number four: It wasn't that expensive.
Number three: I had no signal.
Number two: Nothing's wrong, I'm fine.
And number one: I didn't have much to drink.
What are you laughing about? Oh, that one you find funny.
Ladies, your top lies coming up next half-hour.
We want to know all about the fibs you come up with, the real whoppers. Join the conversation at CNN.com/Tony. We will have some of your comments on the air at the end of the hour.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Adolescent mental illness -- cultural differences increase the risk -- it's what we're talking about today in our "What Matters" segment. We're going to speak to one young man who is helping to save lives after almost ending his.
First, here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why don't we go down to where the purple is?
HARRIS (voice-over): This is Jordan Burnham. Two years ago, the 18-year-old was relearning how to walk. He had almost died after jumping from the window of his ninth floor bedroom.
JORDAN BURNHAM, SUICIDE ATTEMPT SURVIVOR: I felt so low, that I didn't feel like living anymore because I wanted any other emotion, any other feeling than being depressed. And I couldn't wait another minute for to it go away.
HARRIS: Burnham says as an African-American teen, he felt he was carrying a burden.
BURNHAM: Being a minority, I always had to be the best. I always had to do something that put me in the frontier, and that upper tier. And I always pushed myself because I felt like if I slacked, then I was just letting the African-American community down by not excelling.
HARRIS: Today, Burnham is touring the country with Active Minds, an organization which encourages students to talk about mental health issues.
BURNHAM: There's plenty of pressure being a teenager, but society tells you to just deal with it and to keep quiet if you're not feeling that great. And I think we need to change that stigma of actually being able to speak out and talk about mental illnesses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow.
Boy, there he is. Joining us now from Philadelphia, Jordan Burnham.
Jordan, good to see you, man.
BURNHAM: Hi, Tony. Thank you for having me on here.
HARRIS: Doc, it's my pleasure.
How do you feel physically? I mean, look, nine stories is a long way to fall. I'm not quite sure how it is that I'm talking to you right now. But, physically, how are you doing?
BURNHAM: Yes, physically it's been a long battle. I'm not going to lie to you. Ninety feet is a long way, devastating injuries, breaking the fibula, the tibia, shattering the femur and breaking the pelvis. Those were injuries that were tough to bring along and to go to physical therapy and deal with.
But, physically, I'm doing great today. I'm able to walk, assisted with a cane. Physical therapy has been going great here at King of Prussia at the Rothman Institute. I've been making strides to hopefully walk independently within the year.
HARRIS: Yes, you've been spending a lot of time talking to others about your experiences. Has that helped you cope?
BURNHAM: Absolutely. It's therapeutic for me to share my story and to speak on mental health knowing that I'm making a difference, but most importantly sparking a conversation between young adults, especially in the African-American community, because it's a topic that we all want to shy away from.
HARRIS: You've said you felt a lot of pressure as an African- American to succeed. Why did you -- describe the pressure and why did you take that burden on to yourself seemingly, solely, why did you do that?
BURNHAM: Being in a predominantly white school, I felt that I had to be successful just to fit in. I felt like there was no in between when it came to being an African-American in my school. Either you were a genius or you were someone that wasn't going to be successful. You were just someone that could not add to society as a black person. So I figured I had to be the next Barack Obama when I was in school because that's when people would view me as successful and look past the color of my skin. And that's the kind of burden they would carry, the type of pressure that I would carry when I was going to high school. And when I didn't reach that, I got really down on myself to the point where I had those suicidal thoughts of not wanting to be here.
HARRIS: Pressure that you felt was coming from the white community or pressure that you felt was coming from the African- American community, or a bit of both?
BURNHAM: I think it's definitely a bit of both.
HARRIS: OK.
BURNHAM: Because when you're -- a lot of times I was the only African-American in my classroom. When you have that kind of pressure, it's almost like you have the entire African community -- African- American community, excuse me, on your shoulders, on your back and you have to carry them in that class so that you can set an example for other people to view.
HARRIS: Wow.
BURNHAM: And so that's how I would feel going to school. And then also the peers a lot of times in high school and even colleges, students are going to base their success off of what their peers view as successful. And a lot of times my peers viewed success as going to a four-year school, being valedictorian, having a 4.0 and I felt that's what I had to live up to.
HARRIS: OK, guys, let's - I'm just -- this is for our folks on our team. I'm going to stick with Jordan for a couple of minutes. You're on it. So we'll blow some other stuff out in the show.
Jordan, does the African-American community, in your view, stigmatize people with mental health issues, like depression?
BURNHAM: I think that in the African-American community, mental health is definitely something that's a stigma and shameful because I know that in our black society, whenever we're going through a tough time and we're going through any type of issues, religion is so strongly based in the African-American community that that's the only answer. That going to get help, going to see a therapist, taking medicine is something that's taboo and no one really wants to discuss because they think they can base it solely off of religion. Well, granted, that may help, but we also have to be comfortable in seeking treatment and talking about this topic.
HARRIS: What's your message to others feeling the same kinds of pressure as you have described here?
BURNHAM: My message is simply that I'm just trying to be a messenger of hope. I want to tell young adults that it's OK to talk about these emotions, these feelings. It's OK, you can feel confident in going to seek treatment and saying that, yes, I might have a mental health issue or a mental health disorder, but I feel confident in going to get help because in our society it's OK if you have a mental health disorder or a mental health issue, but when you go to seek treatment, that's when you're looked at a little differently. So my message is always just to keep that conversation going because every young adult, every teenager has a rainy day, it's just whether they can find the right umbrella for them. And that's what I encourage young adults to do.
HARRIS: Wow. How about today? Do you feel loved? That you feel loved, secure, protected?
BURNHAM: Absolutely. I feel great doing what I am today. I love the people that are around me and supporting me, my family, my friends. Now, I want to make it clear to everyone out there, especially to young adults, I emphasize, I still have depression. It's not a cold that goes away after a couple of weeks after you take some medicine and see a therapist. It's still something I deal with and cope with it, but I still cope with it and deal with it a lot better than I did, especially before this suicide attempt. And I feel great having that healthy emotional balance.
HARRIS: I'm going to get you on Oprah. That's strong stuff.
BURNHAM: Come on, Tony, help me out, man.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
Jordan, it's good to see you.
BURNHAM: Absolutely. Thank you for having me on.
HARRIS: Yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was terrific.
And to read more stories that matter to all of us, pick up the latest issue of "Essence" magazine on newsstands right now.
How much does immigration cost this country? We will have the numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know we tell you anything can happen in the CNN NEWSROOM. We've got some breaking developments right now. We told you just a couple of moments ago that cyclist Floyd Landis is admitting to espn.com that he used performance enhancing drugs. It is something he has denied for years. There is Lance Armstrong and he is answering those accusations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lance, you never (INAUDIBLE).
LANCE ARMSTRONG, TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPION: And that's the other thing. I think if you get into the (INAUDIBLE) because (INAUDIBLE) scene the e-mail, that's not correct. But a lot of other things in the e-mail, the time line is off (INAUDIBLE) year by year. Ultimately, all of the other e-mails that have been sent around will come out. All the e-mails to myself will come out. All of the e-mails to Andrew Messic (ph). All of the e-mails to John (INAUDIBLE).
You know, for somebody that says I'm here to clear my conscious, why are you sending e-mails to other people's sponsors, other people's partners, to the organizers (ph).
HARRIS: OK, let's do this. Let's frame this up a little bit. A "Wall Street Journal" report says -- is reporting that, of course, that Landis has circulated e-mails which also implicate Lance Armstrong and others as dopers, right? So Armstrong has denied taking the drugs. Here are more of Lance Armstrong's comments from earlier in that same news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARMSTRONG: So we're just as -- I should say we're a little confused. Maybe just as confused as you guys. But, you know, with regards to the specific allegations, the specific claims, they're not even worth getting into it. I'm not going to waste your time or my time. I think history speaks for itself here. We've all followed this case for the last four years. We followed it before winning the tour. We don't know what he did or didn't do when he was on that tour. We can only speak about what he did (INAUDIBLE). We followed the case. We followed all the drama with regards to the case. And now we see something different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Lance Armstrong answering allegations, accusations from Floyd Landis that he, in fact, that Lance Armstrong is also a doper, a drug user, and that he used drugs for years.
We will take a break and we will come back. More CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Quick two-for (ph) here. First of all we want to get you to the best financial website on the web, that's cnnmoney.com, of course. "Stocks sink hard and fast." What is going on? It's all seemingly tied to the euro zone and whether the European Union can get its act together.
Let's slide on over here and take a look at the Dow. We've been in negative territory all day. At one point down better than 300 points. We are down 277 points right now. The Nasdaq, let me see here, the Nasdaq is down 77. OK. So, obviously, we need to follow these numbers and we will throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
You know, within the past hour, Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, told a joint meeting of Congress he is convinced comprehensive immigration reform is crucial in securing our crime and border. He doesn't think Arizona's tough new law is the way to go, but not everyone agrees with that view. Josh Levs is here now and he's tracking the numbers by one group that is trying to reduce immigration. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, everyone's got numbers, right, Tony, to the cost?
HARRIS: Oh, everybody does. Yes.
LEVS: And everyone's got -- we're always keeping a eye on what those numbers are. And one of the newest sets of numbers looks specifically at Arizona. It's from this group, FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. This is specifically about Arizona.
And when they look at the cost of illegal immigration there, what they say, they find that overall the costs are about $2.85 billion. The total revenue collected, just about $143 million. So they say Arizona comes out behind by $2.7 billion.
Now, I want to show you something from the flip side, because this is another kind of thing we see very often. We're going to go over to the web here. This is another group, Reforming Immigration for America. Look what they -- they are the opposite side. They push for more people who are here to become legal immigrants. And they have this constantly running tally. They say this is how much money in tax revenue would be collected if it were brought basically out of the shadows and were pays taxes. And they say $638 million nationwide just since January 1st alone.
So you have these two sets of figures. And what I want to do here is show you how you can get some of the most unbiased analysis out there from the Congressional Budget Office, which just looks at numbers. It's non-partisan.
HARRIS: There you go.
LEVS: They say that nationally, most estimates find that tax revenues from immigrants exceed the cost of services they use. Which means, overall, when you're looking at legal and illegal immigrants, overall they say the country probably comes out a bit ahead. But, look at this. They say that when it comes to illegal immigrants, many of these estimates that are out there, funded states come out behind. Many estimates show the cost of services for illegal immigrants at state and local levels exceeds their taxes. So when it comes specifically to illegals and the state and local levels, a lot of estimates find that they come out behind.
We've posted all these studies for you at my Facebook page, facebook.com/joshlevscnn. You can take a look at it yourself. You can see what you think and, as you know, every time there's a new study, we're going to take a look at it here. We're going to keep coming back to these non-partisan analysis as well, Tony, so everyone can get the facts.
HARRIS: Man, that's -- exactly. So we're going to serve our role as kind of aggregator here. You know, there's the information and that's where you get it and then, you know, join in the discussion.
All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: A captured al Qaeda leader speaks out. You will hear what he had to say coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Now for a CNN exclusive. A one-on-one with one of America's most wanted. Usually we only see al Qaeda leaders on grainy Internet video. But this week, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen was able to sit down face to face with the man who says he is al Qaeda's top commander in Baghdad. Fred's the first western TV journalist allowed to talk with Munaf Al-Rawi since his arrest two months ago. Fred says the Iraq's allowed the interview to show the progress that they are making against terrorism. Later they asked us not to use part of it, worried that the al Qaeda leader was trying to send hidden messages. In this part of the view, Al-Rawi talks about the continued attacks and all the bloodshed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are they fighting for then? If it's not against the Americans, what's al Qaeda in Iraq fighting for? Because the Americans are leaving.
MUNAF AL-RAWI (through translator): They're fighting for control of the country. This is the reason for the fight.
PLEITGEN: There's so many innocent people who die in all that. How do you justify that? Women, children. Not only that they die in the attacks, but that you use them for attacks. You used women to kill people. You used children to kill people. How do you justify that?
AL-RAWI: First of all, with regards to the use of women, they use women and the justification is that women and men can fight alike. As for children, I'm not aware of young children being used for bombs. But women are used in operations. As for the people getting killed because of these bombings and these operations, we did not mean killing women or children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now still to come in the NEWSROOM, a poet extraordinaire tries her hand at Twitter. I wonder if her tweets will rhyme. We're checking what's hot on the web next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So it is time to check out what's buzzing on the World Wide Web. It's what a lot of you are talking about. We know you're online this hour. We are too. Ines Ferre joining us once again to break it all down.
Ines, what's hot?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, most popular on cnn.com, a Seattle cartoonist declared May 28th everybody draw Mohammed day as a cartoon satire.
HARRIS: Yes.
FERRE: But she never intended it to be a real day. And so now, Tony, there are Facebook pages both for and against this day with more than 80,000 people that signed up. And Pakistan today banned Facebook and YouTube. They're saying that YouTube has sacrilegious content on it.
Tony.
HARRIS: Wow. OK.
FERRE: This has been, yes.
HARRIS: It's a hot one. It really is. And there are other sites, Wikipedia, it goes on and on, right?
FERRE: That's right. Wikipedia, mobile Blackberry service devices, yes.
And also, Tony, the poet, Maya Angelou.
HARRIS: Love her.
FERRE: She's on Twitter. She's throwing herself a birthday party at her North Carolina home and launching her account at the same time. Her birthday was actually on April 4th. So the party is a little bit late, but she's 82 years old and she already has more than 385,000 fans on Facebook. So you can imagine she's going to get a lot of followers on Twitter.
HARRIS: You know, I've got to get -- do I friend her or do I wait to be friended by her? I got to get this down. I'll just reach out some way, somehow.
FERRE: You have to - you have to friend -- you have to follow her. You go on and you follow her.
HARRIS: Is that the deal? OK. That's how that works.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: All right, Ines, appreciate it. Thank you. See you tomorrow.
FERRE: I'll do it for. I'll do it for you. Bye.
HARRIS: All right, thank you.
Let's do this. Let's check the Dow again. Boy, what a rough day so far. The Dow is down 313 points. We're going to keep an eye on this throughout the day. Drew Griffin is coming up next here, but it is a rough day for stocks. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Again, take a look at this number. Boy, that's a bad number. The Dow down 338 points. More on this number and what's driving it next hour with Drew Griffin, in for Ali Velshi.
So, what are some of your favorite lines? Let's see if I can get through this quickly. Here's a sampling left on our blog.
Our first comment is actually an observation from Michael who says, "women not only lie the most, but they indeed do it badly."
Tim says, "my favorite lie that men tell is, 'no, you don't look fat in that dress.'"
And from Karas (ph) it's this lie, "I can't answer my phone at work." And he says he's heard it a lot.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can leave us a comment on my blog at cnn.com/tony.
CNN NEWSROOM continuing right now with Drew Griffin in for Ali Velshi.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks a lot.
