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Gulf Oil Spill Endangering Manatees; DNC Ad Targets GOP; Legal Briefs; Bad World Cup Referee Call Against the US

Aired June 19, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: OK, the oil and the tar balls already they're traveling to some of your favorite beaches this weekend and on what is supposed to be a great weekend frolicking in the sand and surf, at one Florida community there is no waiting around for the government to help.

Let's get right to CNN's David Mattingly at Okaloosa Island, Florida. What are they doing and what are they witnessing?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are seeing here in Okaloosa County is a community of public leaders who got tired of waiting, so they came up with their own plan to keep the oil out of the bay, this precious area that they have here. And they said, at one time, they were going to do it whether the federal government gave them the permits or not.

Well, it came to a head and the federal government did give them the permits they needed and a lot of it had to do with the oil that was coming in here. Take a look. These are the tar balls that I collected on a beach in Okaloosa Island, just yesterday. These came ashore fouling about 300 yards of beach, there. These have since been cleaned up.

But this really created a heightened sense of emergency. This is, at the time, this was the most eastern point where we were seeing the oil come ashore. Today we got confirmation that there are tar balls like this, they hit a small area in Panama City Beach, as well. So, the oil is of moving east and it's encroaching on some valuable habitat for a beloved endangered species, the manatee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: It was a very rough winter for the manatees, here in Florida. Many of them died because of prolonged exposure to the cold and now there are growing concerns that if the oil comes in here, it could push this endangered species even closer to the brink of extinction.

(voice-over): It used to be the biggest threat was getting hit by boats. Getting hit by an oil spill is unheard of, and alarming.

NICOLE ADIMEY, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE: We don't know how detrimental it will be if they inhail it, if they ingest it, if they're foraging in areas where sea grass has been oiled, we have no idea how that's going to impact them. MATTINGLY: And no one is taking any chances. As the massive BP spill moved east, the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service in Florida has drawn a plan to move and rescue oiled manatees. Aerial stoppers will give them 72 hours notice before the oil reaches a prime manatee habitat.

(on camera): Realistically, how many can you save in 72 hours? How many of them can you move?

ADIMEY: I don't know the answer to that question, but we're going to move as many as we possibly can.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): So many unknowns on top of an already uncertain future. Ten percent of the known manatee population was just wiped out in Florida, many by the unusually frigid river. In the waters of Florida's Crystal River, we went looking for survivors, manatees still recovering from the stress of the cold.

PATRICK ROSE, SAVE THE MANATEE CLUB: If we add any levels of mortality from oil, we are looking at things that will take many, many, many years of recovery.

MATTINGLY: It's not hard to spot a manatee here in the warm, shallow waters. But sometimes weighing over a half ton, they are hard to rescue. So, the threat of an oil spill raises unsettling questions. Rescuing manatees in large numbers has never been done before. On this trip, we're looking for one of the lucky ones.

(on camera): It is right over here, that little thing sticking up out of the water there, that's the antenna for the radio device that's attached to the manatee. Right over there.

(voice-over): "Coral," the same manatee I saw in February in rehab after a wintertime rescue, now released into the wild and slowly recovering.

(on camera): How does she seem to be doing?

ADIMEY: She is in a nice, quiet cove, Perfect spot to be protected for now.

MATTINGLY: Protected.

ADIMEY: Nice and protected

MATTINGLY: For now.

ADIMEY: Yes, for now.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): And it is protection that could easy disappear with a change of wind and current, pushing a new threat and its unknowns closer to a beleaguered endangered species.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: But while those unknowns exist, people are trying to get in as much beach time as they possibly can. There are no health warnings for the water, here. Tourists back out on the beaches going out in the water, enjoying it as much as they can until the next wave of oil, whatever form it might take -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Mattingly, thanks so much in Okaloosa Beach, Florida.

And this programming note, you have seen the devastation from the oil disaster, now CNN is giving you a chance to help. Join us Monday, Monday night, for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. A special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday night, right here on CNN.

All right, President Obama is accusing Republicans of playing politics as they block votes on a jobs bill and a measure to remove a liability cap on oil companies that cause disasters. Well today, in his weekly address, the president called for a change in attitude on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we need is a willingness in Washington to put the public's interest first, a willingness to score more political points so that we can start solving more problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But are members of the president's own party listening? The DNC is taking aim at the GOP in a new television ad. Joining us right now from Washington, CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser.

OK, mixed messages incoming from the leader of the Democratic Party, the president of the United States and the DNC. What's going on?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIR: Yeah, because the president not only head of the whole country, he's also the chief of the Democratic Party, but, as you mentioned, the Democratic National Committee out with a new ad, they say is going to start running this weekend.

Look Fred, I don't think they can resist themselves and here's why. The Democrats got basically an early gift from Congressman Joe Barton from Texas. He's the ranking Republican on the Energy Committee and it was Thursday that he created a firestorm, a political firestorm when he was questioning Tony Hayward, the chief of BP and he basically apologized to BP and he called that $20 billion fund that they're putting aside a shakedown from the Obama administration.

So, here's the Democratic response in a new ad, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Now, at President Obama's direction BP set aside $20 billion for recovery on the Gulf Coast.

But if Republicans were in charge, this is the guy who'd be overseeing BP.

JOE BARTON, (R) TEXAS: I apologize.

ANNOUNCER: He apologized to BP and called the recovery fund a "tragedy."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: The DNC says they're going to try to run this throughout the week, they're going to run it as long as they can. They're raising money off of this, Fred. And you can see from the ad there, it's not just directed at Barton. What the Democrats are trying to say here is that the Republican Party and big oil are kind of in lockstep and that's the message they want to try to get out to voters. We'll see how successful they are, of course, in November, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, and meantime, one of the Republicans is saying how do they respond to this?

STEINHAUSER: Well, specifically on Barton, we've seen, and our Dana Bash, who is doing some great reporting on the Capitol Hill on this -- a lot of Republicans were even criticizing Barton behind the scenes and even two publically said that he needs to step down from his leadership role on the committee, because they warned him not to give the Democrats kind of a talking point and he obviously did.

He's apologized and he's rescinded his apology to BP, of course, but as for the ad itself, Republicans say, you know, this is not the case, they're not in lockstep with big oil and they also criticize the president for bringing up politics. Take a listen to Senator Wicker of Mississippi who gave the Republican address, this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN ROGER RICKER (R), MISSISSIPPI: In his speech Tuesday night, President Obama made it clear that he intends to exploit this crisis to push his liberal agenda for a cap and tax scheme. This is a disservice not only to the victims and their families, but also to the millions of Gulf Coast residents who are struggling in the wake of this spill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, this is not only an environmental disaster, that's for sure, but of course this day and age, this is now political football, a political controversy. Fred, we're going to hear a lot more from Democrats and Republicans, this issue obviously not going away and will be a factor in the midterms, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, thanks so much. Paul Steinhauser, good to see you this weekend. All right, onto central Asia, now. Aid is on the way to victims of the ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan. The United Nations says relief supplies should be arriving in the city of Osh, today, but without a distribution system set up there could be some time before these items are actually handed out. So, violence, which erupted last week has displaced thousands in the former Soviet Republic.

And in northwest Pakistan, officials say, a missile attack on a militant hideout killed at least 13 people. They say its suspected a U.S. drone fired two missiles in the attack. The Pentagon has not commented. The attack was in a village near the capitol of North Waziristan, one of the tribal regions boarding Afghanistan.

And windows have been blown out, trees knocked down and thousands without power. I'm talking about what's happening in the country. Heavy rain and high winds are to blame. Details and today's forecast, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Searing heat, and humidity for much of the South today, especially very true, across the Gulf Coast, along the oil- plague beach side, there. Reynolds Wolf is here.

And it's really hot and it's really bad, but the conditions are just all over the place.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it really is. The thing that's crazy about it too is I mean, it's a tough enough job walking along the beach and picking up the tar all over the beach, but then when you have temperatures like this in the 90s popping up in New Orleans back to Houston, then you have the hot humidity, it feels like 105 out there.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy.

WOLF: And remember a lot of the guys that are cleaning this up, the men and women cleaning up the beach, they're not wearing shorts and a shirt and drinking a beverage.

WHITFIELD: Right they got these like HAZMAT-type outfits.

WOLF: Exactly. So, I mean it's a really tough time and it's going to last that way through a good part of the weekend into next week.

Something else that we've been talking about, Fred, though, are the rough weather that we've seen in parts of the Great Lakes and in the upper Midwest. We are talking, ov course, about the storm system that is now pulling its way into portions of the southeast. But take a look at this video as to what it did in portions of Chicago. Straight-line winds caused all kinds of damage around Chicagoland.

You know, how they have the beautiful tree-lined streets in the suburbs. Well, some of those trees are now laying sideways and clogging roadways, the chainsaws are going to be out, they're going to be cleaning up everything that they can. And power outages are going to be widespread, not just in parts of Illinois, but back into portions of Michigan, Hundreds of thousands without power this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: Fred, that's the story.

WHITFIELD: This is already a very brutal summer and we're not really officially in summer yet.

WOLF: I know. And we're really not officially into, well, at least the brunt of hurricane season. That's yet to come. So it could be a busy time.

WHITFIELD: Right, that too. Oh, gosh. A lot in store. All right, thank Reynolds, appreciate it.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right BP, well, they're promising to hand out $20 billion to people hurt by the oil spill, but you can bet on plenty of problems when the claims start powering in. Our legal experts are weighing in on this. There they are, Richard and Avery, they're ready, they're chomping at the bit. We're going to hear from them, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories, right now. Four members of one family died at a railroad crossing in rural Louisiana. The 18- year-old driver was seven months pregnant and also dead, her three brothers. They were 16, 13 and 12 years old. Investigators say the car drove into the path of Amtrak City of New Orleans which was heading Chicago. No one was hurt on the train.

And a little pill some people are calling the female Viagra, gets a thumbs down, at least for now. It is designed to boost sexual desire in women, but there are concerns about side effects and an FDA panel is unsure whether it is actually effective. The panel has told the drug maker to come up with more conclusive data. The FDA usually follows the panel's recommendations.

And there are growing concerns about another whooping cough outbreak in California. Five people have died in the past few months, two of them infants. Whooping cough peaks in August and September and California's last big break was five years ago when seven people died. More top stories in 20 minutes.

All right, BP as you know by now, has agreed to set aside $20 billion to compensate Gulf Coast residents and businesses hurt by that oil spill. And it's bound to raise all sorts of legal questions now. Let's discuss some of this with our attorneys. Civil rights attorney and law professor, Avery Friedman, joining us from Cleveland and criminal defense attorney and New York law professor, Richard Herman joining us from Los Vegas. Good to see you, gentlemen.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, of course there is a lot of relief, I'm sure that we're hearing from people who live along the Gulf Coast who say, OK, this money is set aside, this means that when I file a claim, I'm going to get something.

So, give us an idea, Richard and Avery, Richard maybe you first -- this deal came about because the lawyers on both the White House and the BP side came together, came up with this measure which then tells me there are probably likely to be some sort of contracts or some kind of record keeping of who gets what and how much if you are a victim of the gulf oil spill. What could people expect to get a payout?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well Fred, it came up because basically the White House basically threatened to yank the drilling leases on the rigs, and that would put BP out of business. Having said that, they have 3-1/2 year to fund this $20 billion fund, 3-1/2 years. It's not like they wrote a check and it's funded now.

So, that's a problem. Having said that, we don't know the extent of damage that's done in the gulf. So say next year someone was to get a payout for one year's lost income, we don't know if it's going to be five years, seven years, 10 years for the eco system to regenerate. There's a host of problems

WHITFIELD: Which leads us to, so say you get a payout and it is based on what your one year lost income is, Avery, and now in year two or year three you still are, once again, losing income, it's impacted from that oil spill. Did you likely sign some sort of release that you would not pursue any further compensation from BP? If you get one lump of sum, say next year or maybe in 3-1/2 years, does this keep you from ever getting anymore?

FRIEDMAN: No. Actually, I am thrilled about what's come up. Between the White House and BP, primarily the White House, they got Kenneth Feinberg, who's like the A-Rod of lawyers. This guy administered the 9/11 program, Virginia Tech, Agent Orange, he cut the salaries when TARP money was passed out. There is nobody better in this country.

And the fact is that while it's not a law, it is a process. If it doesn't work, people still have the right to go to court. I am thrilled, Feinberg hit the streets, he's down South, right now. There should be something operating in the next 30 days. I am very optimistic about people being taken care of right off the bat.

WHITFIELD: You would have the right to go to court if you were still unhappy with what's being offered from BP, but it means you go to court not because you accepted what claim money has been doled out, right?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the whole idea of this is you look back at Exxon Valdez and it took 20 years for people to be compensated. And the fact that this program, this mechanism has been put together, I think it's enormously important. Millions, well not millions, but I think hundreds of thousands of people on various levels will be cared for, now.

HERMAN: Fred, the biggest problem here is this. Who is going to administer this program and who's going to ensure that the little guy, because that's who's suppose to be protected here...

FRIEDMAN: That's exactly why Feinberg is the guy selected. This guy is not going to tolerate a delay? He doesn't have a three judge panel.

HERMAN: No, no, no.

WHITFIELD: You don't buy that, Richard? You don't think that...

HERMAN: No, I don't buy it, Fred. I think that politically this is the funds are going to be doled out to people with political connections and I don't think the funds are going to go to the little people, the little shrimpers and the oyster farmers that need it now. They're shut down and not in business.

FRIEDMAN: I don't believe that at all. This program is geared to take care of those people. If anyone is going to get it done, this guy's going to get it done. He did it 9/11, he did it in Virginia Tech, he's going to make it happen in this case.

WHITFIELD: I wonder if before we even got to this juncture, are you all in agreement or do you dispute what Congressman Joe Barton initially said, before he apologized for his apology, you know, to BP, but he was saying, you know what, this is big government getting in the way. No private company should be brought into the White House and this kind of deal being made. Is this bad precedent? Was there anything wrong with the executive branch overextending, you know , it's reach -- Richard?

HERMAN: Well, the president said someone has to do something, I have to step in as the leader of this nation I've got to step in and he did. I mean, I don't fault him for that. And he's being praised for forcing the hand of BP. Some people are criticizing him. I don't know that it's going to go the way everyone thinks it's going to be and that is the problem here, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, yeah, I mean, I am actually -- I don't understand how this nation isn't cheering for what the White House did here in making this first step happen, how anyone can justify what Joe Barton said and did. I mean, even Republicans are embarrassed with his apology. Let's see what happens, remain optimistic. I think we're going to see some good things coming out of this program.

WHITFIELD: All right, Avery, Richard, thank so much. We're going to see you again. We're going to talk about a case that we talked about before there was a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on texting and if you should be texting, feeling comfortable with private information on your employer doled out device.

HERMAN: You took our advice, you changed yours, right? You got your personal one, right?

FRIEDMAN: And get all those hot messages out of there.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. Now, keeping it clean because you know, before I was all over the place.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Thanks to you guys and your intervention.

All right, Richard, Avery, we're going to talk about that and a host of other cases coming up as well.

OK. And we're checking up on today's World Cup action and looking back at a call that may have cost the U.S. a victory. A live report from South Africa, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, let's talk World Cup soccer, now. A controversial call at the World Cup has a lot of people talking, today. The U.S. ties Slovenia 2-up yesterday. But some say the Americans were robbed of a victory. For that and more we turn to Pedro Pinto in Johannesburg.

OK, so how'd it all unravel for the U.S.?

PEDRO PINTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's definitely one of the main talking points, here, and especially around the American camp. Today, Bob Bradley, the coach, during a press conference said, "It is a good goal." He wants to move on but he did send one last message to the referee who made that bad decision. And objectively, Fredericka, it was a bad decision.

There was a lot of pushing and shoving inside the area, but there normally is with a free kick and Bradley added if the referee was going to call something, he should have called a penalty kick for us, because in his view, a couple of the American players were actually being held by Slovenian defenders.

However, you understand why the American players and the coach are frustrated and irritated. Can you imagine, they were to down 2-0, had such a great comeback in the second half, they thought they had got the winning goal and then they were denied by a bad refereeing decision.

I would be surprised if this referee got another chance to call another game at this World Cup, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh really? So, it may be all on the line for the ref?

PINTO: Well, sometimes what happens is that FIFA goes back, analyzes and FIFA is the world -- football world governing body. They analyze the performances of referees, and if they feel there was a bad performance, they don't get another chance.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy.

PINTO: It's not they're not sent out or kicked off or anything, they just won't be scheduled for another World Cup game further down the line.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, that's tantamount to being kicked out. you know, get to finish with the World Cup. So, now, what about this -- you know, it's a big bummer for him, I know. So, how about this star French player, apparently sent home -- why?

PINTO: This doesn't happen every day. I'll tell you what happened. France are performing very poorly at the World Cup. There have been reports, rumors about unrest inside the French squad, inside the French camp. At half time in the game between Mexico and France, one of their star strikers, star forwards coming off the field apparently insulted the manager. I really can't translate what he said from French to English because I'm afraid I would be kicked off CNN.

WHITFIELD: Oh no, that bad.

PINTO: So, I'll refrain from saying that. But it was that bad. After that, he wasn't in training today. He was substituted in that game and he was kicked off the team and sent packing by the French Football Federation.

WHITFIELD: How (INAUDIBLE).

PINTO: This all started with bad blood between certain players before the game, it escalated because France wasn't performing well. And this player has a history of being kind of a black sheep in his past and he let his temper get the best of him and insulted the manager, paying the price. He's heading home early.

WHITFIELD: Come on, at this level, you're supposed to be the model of sportsmanship, right? To blow it over something silly.

PINTO: That is right. And -- yes, as a professional, you cannot afford to do this ...

WHITFIELD: No.

PINTO: ...on the highest stage possible, which is a football World Cup. You're absolutely right.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Pedro Pinto, thanks so much, appreciate it.

All right, back in this country, let's talk some bad weather. More strong storms may be on the way for parts of the Midwest and Eastern Great Lakes because -- oh my gosh. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf here in the weather center. Yesterday, unbelievable sight. WOLF: It was insane and it's been just the craziest severe weather season so far. We've had, just over the last couple days, tornadoes in parts of the upper Midwest and then in Chicago, in the western half of the Great Lakes, we certainly had some strong storms.

We got some video to back that up. Let's show you what we have right now. People in parts of Chicago may not be able to see at this point because we have so many of them without power at this time. But there's the effects, straight line winds, widespread tree damage, crushing many vehicles.

Not only did we have some problems in parts of Illinois, but even over into Michigan, we had some problems there, too. Again, the same severe weather rolled on through, caused all kinds of wind damage with that. There were some fatalities, in fact one person killed -- a motorist killed when a tree fell across their car. Those just due west of Detroit.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, a teacher fired for getting pregnant before getting married. We'll catch up on that and more in our Legal Briefs segment coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

And we all know that long flights can be a pain, but did you know that they can actually be bad for your health? Here's Ayesha Tejpar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AYESHA TEJPAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long plane flights can be dangerous to your health.

DR. JON HYMAN, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: The real issue is just prolonged immobilization and reduced activity.

TEJPAR: Sitting in cramped seats for a long time can put passengers at risk for DVT, deep vein thrombosis. It's a condition where a blood clot forms in a vein deep inside the body.

HYMAN: If a DVT breaks loose and goes to your lungs, it can become very, medically dangerous and even lead to death.

TEJPAR: There are ways to protect yourself. First, ditch the booze.

HYMAN: Staying hydrated is one thing. If you're taking a long flight, you want to be drinking a lot of fluids like water.

TEJPAR: And there are exercises you can do.

HYMAN: Periodically pumping your foot and ankle up and down will help increase the blood flow in your legs and that helps basically squeeze some of the blood around your body so that it's not just sitting.

TEJPAR: But remember, this isn't just limited to flying. HYMAN: A one-hour flight is safer than a five-hour car ride if you're sitting in the back seat cramped up.

TEJPAR: Ayesha Tejpar, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, a look at our top stories right now. Officials in Pakistan are reporting a suspected U.S. drone attack in the Taliban stronghold of north Waziristan. They say the drone fired two missiles on a militant hideout today. Thirteen people were reportedly killed and six others were injured.

And $1.3 million, that's what Michael Jackson's estate and the company that produced the singer's memorial service will be paying to the city of Los Angeles. The money will be used to reimburse the city for putting extra police on the streets, trash pick-up and traffic control.

And a fairytale wedding, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria married commoner -- that's what they call him -- Daniel Westling just hours ago at a Stockholm cathedral. Westling was her personal trainer at the gym and now, he is her prince. It was -- I'm laughing at Richard and Avery because they're laughing. I can't wait to find out why.

It was a star-studded event with 1,200 guests.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: You guys, this is bad. Royalty from around the world attended. The new prince ...

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: It was a big day.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Oh, this is bad. You guys are just terrible. OK.

FRIEDMAN: We didn't say anything.

WHITFIELD: You didn't have to. I'm looking at you guys.

HERMAN: Personal trainer. I'm sure he was training her.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm going to let you talk amongst yourselves.

FRIEDMAN: It's Richard's fault. Richard's the commoner. It's his fault.

HERMAN: Yes, I'm the commoner.

WHITFIELD: Oh gosh. And we don't even have, you know, legal cases that need any laughing about. So, I got to pull it together here. FRIEDMAN: That's right. They're very serious, Fredricka. Very serious.

WHITFIELD: These are serious, very serious. And the wedding was beautiful, but we move on.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Anyway, good to see you guys again. Avery and Richard.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ...

FRIEDMAN: Come on, get serious.

WHITFIELD: ... on texting. I know, let me get it together here. On texting. So, you know, folks get their cell phones, their BlackBerries, all that from their employers, and they think you know what, I can just go ahead and send any kind of message I want to, but the U.S. Supreme Court says no, you cannot. This is not an issue of privacy anymore.

Avery, you first.

FRIEDMAN: Actually, it didn't. Let me explain why. What the Supreme Court did -- I was actually looking for the answer to that question, Fredricka, that they would answer it. What they did is they sidestepped it, they ducked it. What they said is that the police department in Ontario, California can look at text messaging and because they had the right to do that ...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: ...they didn't violate the fourth amendment to the constitution. So, they kind of ducked the issue. The practical reality is that the government -- if you're one of 20 million public workers, the government's going to be looking at what you're texting good and bad.

WHITFIELD: That's right. So, keep it clean, right, Richard?

HERMAN: Fred, the practical reality is if you're going to be texting your personal trainer, you better make sure ...

WHITFIELD: I knew you were going to bring that back.

HERMAN: You better make sure that your instrument you use is a personal one and not a business issued one.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, yes, that's right.

HERMAN: Because your employer -- this is going to be a broad -- it's going to have a broad effect here, Avery. I know you said it's limited here. WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: I agree. No, no, you're right, Richard. Legally speaking, very narrow, practically speaking, very broad.

WHITFIELD: OK, Faisal Shahzad. Everyone has come to know his name. We're talking about the man who's suspected of trying to blow up a vehicle in Times Square. And now, he is indicted on 10 counts, including weapon of mass destruction, conspiracy and attempt to commit international terrorism. So, surely Richard, this means this is heading for civilian court, because remember, there was that discussion. Would this be a military tribunal, would this be civilian court. So, civilian court it is, right?

HERMAN: Oh, it's the southern district of New York. It's, you know, a few blocks away from Times Square and he's indicted on 10 counts. Six of them have a maximum of life in prison, two have a minimum of life in prison. So, this guy, he ain't going nowhere.

WHITFIELD: So, there wouldn't be any opening, any door to be opened for him for a plea deal, et cetera, to try to reduce, you know -- plead guilty and reduce the penalty or sentence. Would that be ...

FRIEDMAN: Well, I mean, what's going to happen is that -- I mean, for the defense team, they'll raise it, trying to argue we have intelligence for you. He's 30-years-old. He should be out of jail by never.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. Let's talk now about a teacher of a Christian school and ...

FRIEDMAN: Love this case.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I know you do. Ms. Jarretta Hamilton, 39-years- old, about to get married and she gets pregnant apparently what, three weeks before ...

FRIEDMAN: Three weeks before, right.

WHITFIELD: ...you know, walking down the aisle and the school that she was -- in which she was teaching in says we got a big old problem with this. Avery, can they do this? Can a school, private or even public say, you know, we want to know exactly when you conceived and thereby based on your answer, we could fire you?

FRIEDMAN: The answer is yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes because it's a private school?

FRIEDMAN: And I think a lot of people are shocked by that because there is no statute that prohibits it. She's out there fornicating or procreating or whatever the heck she's doing before she gets married. This is a Christian school, private school. There is no law, she's gone.

WHITFIELD: Oh. Richard ... HERMAN: You know something ...

WHITFIELD: ...no recourse that she has?

HERMAN: That's not true, she has ...

WHITFIELD: Even if it's not like -- what if it's not written somewhere? You know, some ...

FRIEDMAN: It doesn't matter.

WHITFIELD: ... contract, no?

FRIEDMAN: It doesn't matter.

HERMAN: That's the problem. The policy of the school was vague, it was not expressed. They didn't say you can't have pre-marital sex. They're touting morals and family values, but they didn't specifically say this. She came to them and said look, I need some maternity leave, six weeks.

And based on that, they said well, our budgets don't really apply for that, so I don't -- wait a minute, when did you conceive? They looked for this out. They found -- she answered them honestly in her -- the questioning. They went ahead and told all the parents, all the faculty. Who acted outrageous in this scenario? Her or the school? They need to read up on this.

FRIEDMAN: Wait, wait, wait. (INAUDIBLE) whether they acted outrageous. The question is whether they acted unlawfully. There's nothing unlawful ...

HERMAN: They did.

FRIEDMAN: ...about what the school did.

HERMAN: In excess of 50 employees, they can't. She is to be treated like anybody else.

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely not.

HERMAN: And she's going to get her job back and get a pay day here.

FRIEDMAN: The only way she'll get her job back is if the case settles. That's it.

WHITFIELD: Oh interesting. OK, well, talk about ...

FRIEDMAN: We'll see.

WHITFIELD: Talk about outrageous, who was acting more outrageously in Seattle when you had a case of two jaywalkers and then a police officer and the two came together and the next thing you know, the young jaywalkers are actually arrested. So, Richard, apparently Seattle has a very strict rule here against jaywalking and it could mean arrest or fine or both and that's kind of what lead to this melee.

HERMAN: What's that movie, "Sleepless in Seattle"? I mean, this is like "Dummies in Seattle." What are they doing arresting people for jaywalking? I'd love to see that in New York City. This is unbelievable. But look, this officer was bound, he tried to stop this person, she ignored him. He tried to effectuate an arrest. Her friend jumps in, pushes him, he turns around, punches her in the face.

You know, I watched this video over and over again. Her legs never buckled, she never went down, this punch was not loaded. He continued to try to effectuate the arrest there.

WHITFIELD: So, you mean it was OK?

HERMAN: I don't think anything is going to happen to this police officer. I don't think anything's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: Under the law of what's called continuum of force, continuum of force, there is not excess of force in this case, believe it or not, Richard's right, there's probably no claim. Maybe "Sleepless in Seattle," but from our perspective here, "Hot in Cleveland." It's going nowhere.

WHITFIELD: All right.

FRIEDMAN: Going nowhere.

WHITFIELD: Richard, Avery, thanks so much. Always good to see you and thanks for giving me a really good laugh today. I really needed that.

FRIEDMAN: That's why we're here for you. That's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: You delivered.

HERMAN: You pulled it together good there, Fred. You pulled it off.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I just kind of threw it all to you so I could pull it together.

FRIEDMAN: Perfect, perfect.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, Avery, thanks so much. Great to see you. Have a great weekend.

FRIEDMAN: See you soon.

HERMAN: Have a good day.

WHITFIELD: All right, a lost and found story with an incredible twist. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, you're going to love this. A man loses his camera in the ocean. Well, maybe you don't love that part. But what happens next you're going to love. Then, it turns up more than 1,000 mile away thanks in part to a turtle who actually used the camera to record part of its journey. It may not sound very true, but it actually is.

Our Josh Levs is here to tell us all about it. The turtle tale.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like Disney a little bit.

WHITFIELD: I know, it's cute.

LEVS: Let's get to this video first.

WHITFIELD: It could be a good Disney flick.

LEVS: It could be a good Disney flick. It could be.

WHITFIELD: Let's work on a script.

LEVS: Let's look at this video first because I want everyone to see the video that everyone's talking about. You know, when you look at it closely, you realize -- and more than two million people have watched this on YouTube. When you look at it closely, you realize that you're actually watching the journey of a turtle through the ocean.

And so, a lot of people were trying to figure out what's this all about. And what it's ultimately about is a man finding a camera that was lost so far away. And I believe they're joining us. Do we have -- who do we have with us there? Do we have -- OK.

So, here's what we're going to do. We're going to start off with the man who found the camera who's joining us right now. Paul Schultz is on the phone with us. And Paul, here's what we have. I want to talk to you about this. You were at Key West. You were looking out for tar balls, right?

PAUL SCHULTZ, U.S. COAST GUARD (via telephone): Yes, that's correct.

LEVS: And you were walking along and suddenly, you saw a camera in the water. We actually have some video of where you found it. Let's take a look at that. Talk to me. You see this camera, what did you do?

SCHULTZ: Yes. I was just walking along the shoreline there. The bright red color of the camera caught my eye. And I looked down, just went down and grabbed it. It was a camera in a water-proof housing just floating there right up against the rocks there. LEVS: And we're seeing here some pictures that were ultimately found on that camera. And so, you were walking along the beach, you see this camera, you get on the web. You say I really want to know whose pictures these are, right? You reach out on the web, what happens next?

SCHULTZ: Well, I was led to Aruba based on several clues in these pictures. A -- one of the schools in the pictures had a sign on the wall that was written in Dutch. So, I was lead down to the Dutch Antilles.

LEVS: Wow, OK. So, I know you got in touch with a lot of people and ultimately, they got the word to the man whose camera it is. His name is Dick Debrewin (ph) and he's in Aruba and he had been taking all these pictures.

Now, before we get to him, talk to me about when you're looking at this video, this thing with the turtle is the first thing everyone asks me about. You've studied this video, what is going on with the turtle here? What happened exactly during that 1,100 mile journey from Aruba over to Key West as the camera was traveling?

SCHULTZ: Well, this video occurred two months after he lost the camera and four months before I found it. So, I can only go based on what I'm seeing there. My hypothesis is that this turtle was trying to eat what he thought was a jellyfish and messed with it for five minutes trying to eat this thing.

LEVS: So, he was trying to eat it and in the process, he -- this turtle turned on the recording device on the camera.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

LEVS: Wow, this is unbelievable. All right, now, joining us from Aruba is the man who lost the camera, Dick Debrewin who is a member of the Royal Dutch Navy. Let me mention this. Paul Schultz is with the Coast Guard here and Dick Debrewin, the man who lost the camera, is with the Royal Dutch Navy.

And Dick, I know this camera really mattered to you, you had a lot of pictures on here that meant a lot, you had pictures of your family on here, you had pictures that -- of what you had been working on. Talk to us about the moment you lost it. What were you doing under water?

DICK DEBREWIN, ROYAL DUTCH NAVY: I was cutting the chain from an anchor and (INAUDIBLE)

LEVS: Whoops, you just went out. I'll try to tell everyone what you were telling me just before -- try that again. What were you doing down there? Tell us.

DEBREWIN: Yes. I was cutting and (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: OK, you keep going out. I'll just tell everyone. You were working on trying to cut the chain from an anchor that was under water. And this was from a U.S. naval vessel I believe and you all wanted to lift it up. It was under water from World War II.

DEBREWIN: Yes.

LEVS: You wanted to bring it up to the ground and make a memorial, right?

DEBREWIN: Yes, yes, yes.

LEVS: So, tell me something. Your camera slips out of your hands later and what does your friend say to you?

DEBREWIN: My friend, the one from the cruiser (ph) he joked to me that somebody will find the camera in Panama or Costa Rica.

LEVS: OK. Yes, we're not hearing you. I'll just tell everybody. Your friend made this joke that don't worry, somebody will find it in an island, someone will find it nearby. Paul thought it was gone -- rather, Dick thought it was gone forever. But in fact, the camera turned up 1,100 miles away.

WHITFIELD: Amazing.

LEVS: And now, it's getting back to him, Fred. They're getting it back to him after using the web to discover who it belonged to. Beautiful thing.

WHITFIELD: That is amazing. And I'm sitting here -- as I'm looking at the video, because you know, you're seeing the bubbles, the water, and I'm like OK, this turtle thought it was a jellyfish or something that it was eating. Thought it was food.

LEVS: Tried to eat it. Tried to eat it and in the process, it may have helped carry it in a certain direction.

WHITFIELD: I love it.

LEVS: But ultimately, it washed ashore. It went all the way from Aruba to Key West.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh. That is cool stuff. All right, Thanks so much. Very fun journey we all took with the turtle.

LEVS: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right, now how about a very grizzly journey now, a grizzly bear in fact is on the loose after killing a man in Wyoming. Our top story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Arizona's immigration controversy heats up again. The Obama administration plans to sue over the state's recent legislation. And it's the way Arizona residents found out that has governor Jan Brewer so angry. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealed the plan during a television interview in Ecuador and Brewer called that outrageous. Officials closed part of Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming yesterday to search for a killer grizzly bear. The bear attacked and killed a 70-year-old man. The Shoshone National Forest is located just east of Yellowstone National Park.

Checking these top stories, police investigating the disappearance of a seven-year-old Oregon boy are seeking information about the child's stepmother now. Terri Horman told investigators that she last saw her stepson at a Portland elementary school two weeks ago.

Well, yesterday, police passed out questionnaires asking people who may have been at the school and if they saw the stepmother there that day. Sheriff's spokeswoman insists the investigation is not focused on her, on Terri Horman and police are not in a position to name a person of interest.

And of course, stay with CNN throughout the day for the latest breaking news. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.