Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Fidel Castro Back in Spotlight; Palin to Campaign for Georgia Candidate; Targeting Asians in Arizona; Medical Mission Ends in Death; Immigration and the Constitution

Aired August 08, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Americans executed in Afghanistan. Held today in church services as hometown heroes. We learn more about their remarkable lives and shocking deaths.

Changing the Constitution to crack down on illegal immigrants and their children. We'll take a hard look at the controversial idea. And hear some top Republicans who are backing it.

And Fidel Castro back in the spotlight after years of laying low. We'll tell you what he said during an extremely rare speech.

We are learning a little more each hour about the American medical workers killed in Afghanistan, and all 10 people were ambushed, killed execution style in a remote region of the country. Six were Americans, we now know one of them was a dentist from Colorado. Another was an optometrist from New York. Allan Chernoff joins us live from New York right now. Allan has more on the story of Tom Little, a very sad story. Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just unbelievably tragic, Jim. The fellow from upstate New York originally lived in Afghanistan for 33 years with his wife. They together raised their three children there. So this is not somebody who just came on one mission. He and his wife repeatedly had engaged in these trips, providing eye care to the Afghans, free of charge.

His wife, Libby, says they felt that they were providing god's work to the Afghan people. And again, they often did encounter danger. In fact, they had done many of these trips to remote areas of the country. They described those trips, as their children's vacations when they would go hiking 40, 50, 60 miles just to get to a certain location to provide aid. And yes, sometimes in the past, they had been stopped. Let's have a listen to Libby here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIBBY LITTLE, WIFE OF TOM LITTLE: It's a huge loss for Afghanistan, we had a wonderful midwife. We had a doctor, we had a dentist. We had Tom. We had Afghans trained in those areas. And their hearts were just to see hundreds and hundreds of patients. There was one day Tom used to call me twice a day. And he said it is pouring sheets of rain. We've never seen rain like this before. And there are hundreds and hundreds of people coming to this. We can see more and more coming over the mountains. And they're all there. And there's no place for them to go.

There's no cover and he said, you should go back. You know, because you're just going to be drenched. And they said, where do we go? Nobody ever comes up here. And it was true. It's been five years since we've been up there. And that's a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Libby just happens to be in upstate New York right now because she and Tom have been expecting their first grandchild. And to add to this tragedy, Tom had been training younger workers who actually could take over and continue his work in Afghanistan. Jim.

ACOSTA: And Allan, our Jill Dougherty was on earlier in the afternoon and she had mentioned that this part of Afghanistan is so dangerous that some NGOs, non-governmental organizations won't even go there.

Did Mrs. Little have anything to say about that? And you know, there are some a accusations and you have to consider the source, the Taliban here and other Afghani officials who say that these folks may have been proselytizing out there. Any truth to that?

CHERNOFF: She says absolutely none whatsoever. Yes, they were working with a Christian organization, but she said they absolutely did no proselytizing at all. They would not hand out Bibles, nothing of that sort. They were there to provide aid and she says they were there to do god's work.

ACOSTA: And so many Americans doing the same sort of thing out there in Afghanistan, trying to put a humane face on westerners who are trying to make that country a better place. And of course, this couple was very much a part of that.

Allan Chernoff, thanks for that, such a tragic story, appreciate that. Thank you.

CHERNOFF: Indeed.

ACOSTA: Two Arizona convicts on the run for eight days may be in Montana. U.S. marshals say information indicates that Tracy Province and John McCluskey could be hiding in Yellowstone Park and they may have separated. The two escapees considered armed and dangerous also are suspected of killing two people in New Mexico.

Police there say evidence links them to two bodies found in a burned- out camper in Santa Rosa. The victims believed to be a couple from Oklahoma. Meantime, McCluskey's mother is in jail, accused of helping her son get away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK HEPPLER, FAMILY'S FRIEND: Blood's thicker than water. And you're going to stick behind your son if it's your son. Even it means going to jail.

JACK WASHBURN, STEPFATHER OF ESCAPEE MCCLUSKEY: Charles McCluskey, if you're watching this, give yourself up. It's a matter of time. You'll never realize what you've done to me and your mother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: A third escapee Daniel Renwick was captured a week ago in Colorado.

U.S. forces are no longer in charge of combat operations in Iraq. They formally handed over that responsibility to Iraqi forces at a ceremony yesterday. The ceremony included mock drills. There are currently 64,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, President Obama wants to whittle that number down to 50,000 by the end of the month. Today, eight Iraqi police officers were killed in separate bomb attacks. More than 40 people were injured.

An anti-war group is holding a rally for a soldier accused of leaking tens of thousands of top-secret military documents. That's right. We're talking about the WikiLeaks case and Code Pink organizers planned today's rally outside the U.S. Marine base in Quantico in support of U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning.

Manning is the 22-year-old intelligence analyst accused of leaking documents to the web site, WikiLeaks. He could be court-martialed. And the rally's organizers say they're also helping to raise money for Manning's defense. A counter protest supporting the prosecution of Manning is also expected.

Cracking down on illegal immigration by changing the constitution? It's a controversial idea that's being backed by top Republicans. We'll look at that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. Here's a hot topic - changing the constitution. That's what some top Republicans want to do, to crack down on illegal immigrants and their children. We get more now from CNN congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A leading Republican, who once supported comprehensive immigration reform, is now proposing to change the Constitution. So children born in the United States to illegal immigrants won't automatically become American citizens.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: There's thousands of people coming across the border to have their children in American hospitals, illegally. It makes no sense to me to award citizenship when someone breaks the law to get here.

KEILAR: Senator Lindsey Graham's proposal got more attention when the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell said he supported congressional hearings on the issue. Other Republicans agree, including Arizona's John McCain and Oklahoma's Tom Coburn. Coburn points to why the citizenship clause of the 14th amendment was adopted, so that southern states, following the civil war couldn't deny citizenship to freed slaves.

There was never an intent by our founders, nor if you take a reading, that just because you were here and you have a child born here and you were here not as a resident, that your child would become a citizen. So I think it's an interesting thing to look at. I'm not sure that I'm going to embrace it. But I might. I think we need to look at it.

KEILAR: But Republicans are cautious as they wade into this contentious debate. Saying it's not just about illegal immigrants who have children in the U.S., but so-called citizenship tourism when foreigners come to the U.S. legally just do give birth.

GRAHAM: If a tourist comes to visit the United States and have a child, that child is an American citizen. If you go to France or England on vacation and you have a child there, you're not a British or a French citizen. It makes no sense to me to sell tourist visas so people can have babies in this country and earn citizenship that way.

KEILAR: Democrats say this is just election-year rhetoric. And when Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, was asked about Republicans who want to change the constitution, he made his point by quoting a conservative columnist who opposes the idea.

SEN. HARRY REID, MAJORITY LEADER: They have either taken leave of their senses or their principles.

KEILAR (on camera): Of course, it's very difficult to change the Constitution because it requires approval by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, as well as ratification by three-quarters of the states. Because of that, it's seen as very unlikely to happen.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: For two viewpoints on immigration and the 14th amendment, we turn to Tom Tancredo of Colorado. He founded the House immigration reform caucus when he served as Colorado's representative to Congress. He joins us now live from Denver. And Michelle Waslin is a senior research analyst at the Immigration Policy Center. She has worked with LARASA and immigrants' rights groups in Illinois and she joins us from Washington. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

And let me start with Congressman Tancredo. Because I wanted to just talk about the 14th amendment for just a moment. Just to simply put it up on the screen and read this to our audience. This is how it reads - "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Congressman Tancredo, that sounds pretty cut and dry. Isn't it?

REP. TOM TANCREDO, COLORADO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, of course, there's the clause that you mentioned, that is very important in this discussion. "Under the jurisdiction thereof." We recognize that people who come here, let's say as ambassadors, foreign diplomats, whatever, they have children here, no one considers them to be citizens of the United States. We don't claim it, they don't claim it. There are certainly exceptions to this idea that anybody born here is, is automatically a citizen of the United States regardless of the citizenship status of their parents and status in the country.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Yes, let me ask you this but how serious a problem -

TANCREDO: (INAUDIBLE)

ACOSTA: Because, you know, NPR reported earlier this year citing data from the National Center for Health Statistics, that of the four million live births in the United States in 2006, only 7,670 were children born to mothers who said they do not live here. So is this really a drop in the bucket?

TANCREDO: Well, of course, what you've just described is not a person necessarily who is an illegal alien. They're just a person who says they don't live here. They could be here on a tourist visa. But what you have, of course, I'm trying to think now whether it was fair, it might have been friends of immigration, American immigration reform, who have identified at least 220,000 people born here last year, to parents who were not legally present in the United States.

So there's a wide, wide disparity I guess when you get the reports from different organizations. But please understand this - that from my point of view, calling for a constitutional amendment is not necessary. It should not be done. And I'll tell you why. It is something that should be adjudicated at the Supreme Court. It has never happened. We have never had a Supreme Court ruling on this particular concept of -

ACOSTA: Well, let me get to Michelle Waslin on that. Because I mean, do you think that the congressman is correct, that this is ripe for a constitutional challenge? And can you imagine the Supreme Court citing against the 14th amendment?

MICHELLE WASLIN, IMMIGRATION POLICY RESEARCH: No, I can't. In fact, the Supreme Court has decided in favor of birthright citizenship several times. Look, this is nothing more than an attack on the Constitution.

TANCREDO: Not for illegals.

WASLIN: - on fundamental American values and it's a distraction from the very real immigration problems that we have. Furthermore, denying birthright citizenship would be expensive, impractical. It would affect every single American, not just illegal immigrants. And it's again, it's a distraction. This would not be effective. This would do nothing to resolve the very real problems that we have with illegal immigration in this country.

ACOSTA: And Michelle, you said just there at the end of your statement there, that there's a real immigration problem in this country. What should be done about it? I mean what is your, you represented LARASA, and some of these other groups who come to the defense of the illegal immigrants. What is your solution?

WASLIN: Look, our immigration laws haven't been changed for about 20 years. What we need is a well-functioning legal immigration system for the 21st century. We need a system that works for American families. That works for American businesses that takes full advantage of the economic opportunities of immigration. We need an immigration system that's in tune with our American values. We do need to legalize the undocumented immigrants that are living here in this country. And then we need to enforce these laws.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: That's not going to wash with a lot of Americans, right, Michelle? That's not going to go over well to take all the folks who are here now illegally and just presto, they're now legal.

WASLIN: You know, actually, if you look at polls, the majority of Americans do support comprehensive immigration reform, that includes legal status. People understand that we can't just deport 12 million people. We can't rip apart American families. We need a real solution. And that solution includes legalizing those people that are here.

Look, if we legalize undocumented workers, that means that these workers will all be working in the formal economy, they'll all be paying payroll taxes. And we also have a study that shows or numerous studies that show that when immigrants have legal status, they earn more, they pay more in taxes, they consume more. It's good for our economy.

ACOSTA: All right. Let me get to Congressman Tancredo. Congressman, would you make this retroactive? Because according to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are about four million American citizen children who have at least one parent who is illegal in this country. Would you make this retroactive and go after those children who are already in this country right now, in our schools and our communities?

TANCREDO: Well, I do not know to the extent to which something like that actually could happen as a result of new expo facto laws. If you are going to actually pass a Constitutional amendment, I guess you could throw that in there but just challenging this whole thing at the Supreme Court -

ACOSTA: Would you like to see that?

TANCREDO: (INAUDIBLE) Illegal alien children living in this country.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: I would ask you, would you make it retroactive? Could you answer that question? Would you make it retroactive?

TANCREDO: If I was writing the constitutional amendment?

ACOSTA: Yes, sure.

TANCREDO: Sure, I would put that. Absolutely I would put that in there. Of course.

ACOSTA: And how would you go about rounding up all of those children to deport them to their country?

TANCREDO: This should never have happened. This should never, ever have happened. We should never have been interpreting the 14th amendment so bizarrely. It has nothing to do with illegal immigrants. It was for slaves.

ACOSTA: So how would you go about doing that? Let me just ask you that question, if you don't mind? That is a key question in all this. How would you go about rounding up those children to deport them from this country? That's what you're talking about doing.

TANCREDO: Well, you don't have to deport - round up, deport, you say all these things as if, you know, that's the only way to actually deal with this issue. You are looking at, especially when we're talking about the people who are working here today. All you really have to do is enforce the law.

All you have to do is pass e-verify. Mandating e-verify. The only people who could be employed in this country are the people who are legally present in this country. That's really all that's necessary because you know what happens when you do that, people go home.

ACOSTA: Right.

TANCREDO: They go back to the country of origin and then they can, then they can apply to come into this country the right way.

ACOSTA: So you're saying the process of attrition really, I mean, through the arresting process as police stops are made and that sort of thing. If there are children in the car who are in the country illegally under a revised 14th amendment, you're saying, that's how the children would be apprehended and taken out of the country. I'm just trying to get a handle on how you would do this.

(CROSSTALK)

TANCREDO: We're not taking a child alone. These are children of parents who are here illegally. If the family is here illegally, yes, that's how they end up going out of the country is being either deported or going home voluntarily. It's not about the child. You're talking about a child of two people who are both illegally present in the country. So you don't take the child away from the family. But you know what?

ACOSTA: You take the whole family, exactly.

TANCREDO: That family is here illegally and they have to, they have to actually, you know, it is the law. I know you may not like it, it is the law.

ACOSTA: And Michelle, you know, there are a lot of folks out there who completely agree with Congressman Tancredo. He's mounting a campaign for governor based very much on this issue in his state of Colorado. But I asked him about some of the practical challenges there, it would be difficult, but there are a lot of folks who would like to see that happen. What do you have to say about that?

WASLIN: Well, I think that a lot of people don't understand that this would be changing the U.S. Constitution, changing the 14th amendment, which is the cornerstone of all of our civil rights law, due process, equal protection under the law. That's an assault on fundamental American values.

Furthermore, this is not just something that has to do with illegal immigrants or some wealthy tourists that are coming here to have children. This is something that would affect every single one of us. You know, right now, we have a very simple way of proving citizenship in this country. If you're born here, you're a citizen.

But now imagine that my birth certificate is no longer proof of my U.S. citizenship. What this means is that for every child born in the United States, every child, we would have to determine that child's citizenship status.

ACOSTA: And to determine -

WASLIN: - their immigration papers of their parents and possibly grandparents.

ACOSTA: You'll be looking at their parent's citizenship, once a child is born in the United States.

WASLIN: That's right. It would require a large bureaucracy.

TANCREDO: Michelle, we do it all the time.

WASLIN: Birth registry. I think that this is a big government quite frankly solution to a nonproblem.

ACOSTA: All right. Well we'll have to leave the discussion there. Obviously, the discussion is not going away any time soon. So plenty more opportunities to talk about this. Congressman Tom Tancredo, candidate for governor in the state of Colorado, we should also mention and Michelle Waslin, an immigration rights advocate in Washington, D.C..

WASLIN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

WASLIN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Time for the latest and greatest videos online. Talk about a segue here, Josh, we're going to lighten things up with our Josh Levs has those. We talked about this every day, Josh, here around the news room. This one of our favorite segments.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's probably because there's so much hard news that we dig into. We look forward to it as our dessert here. And we know that you do as well. You know just lighten up a little bit.

Check this out. This little guy, kittehkitteh. That's what it's name is, poised to take over the internet. I'm telling you. Coming up, you're going to hear this little cat scat. Plus, buses of the future that you drive under. Literally, you actually drive under these buses.

And so that's not enough - we, right here, you and me, Jim, we are bringing back a hilarious old movie preview. All of that is up next in "Viral Video Rewind."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. As promised here, plenty of videos are generating buzz on the internet. You need to go to your computer, if you have the time. But if you don't, our CNN's Josh Levs will show them to you right here, right now. Josh, this is my favorite subject of the day.

LEVS: You know what.

ACOSTA: Favorite bit of the day.

LEVS: and they do have the time. Because one of the ways we get all of these videos is people send them during the week. And then when we get past all the news -

ACOSTA: Exactly.

LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) we say let's look at fun viral videos. This little character, I'm telling you, is going to be huge, kitteh kitteh from kittehkitteh.com. This is one of the big videos of him right now.

ACOSTA: Are you pronouncing that correctly? Are we sure?

LEVS: I don't know how you say it k-i-t-t-e-h.

ACOSTA: I think that's right.

LEVS: This is kitteh kitteh -

ACOSTA: Oh, my goodness.

LEVS: He's dreaming right now of being a fighter pilot. And they make these videos. As if that's not fun enough.

ACOSTA: These have good production values.

LEVS: They're doing a lot of these things. This guy's going to be huge. They also have a video of him scatting. Listen to this next video.

ACOSTA: Oh, wow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a scatman -

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: What they're actually doing is having him sing there to "Scat Man" by Scatman John was John Paul Larkin who died in 1999. And he was beloved. So this little kitteh kitteh is doing that.

ACOSTA: Proof yet again that there's some people out there with way too much time in there hands.

LEVS: That's so freaky. You just said that. Fredricka Whitfield says that every week.

ACOSTA: That's because I watch.

LEVS: Right, exactly. OK. Now, speaking of what you watch - yesterday I showed you this, right? These street stunt guys, in England -

ACOSTA: I love these guys.

LEVS: And they're really impressive. They do these street stunts on tape. They're jumping around on buildings. A lot of people tweeted me afterwards, apparently it's called par course and it's like a thing in England that never quite caught on here but people watch this like crazy. (INAUDIBLE)

ACOSTA: The Brits are a little different. I mean, you know, honestly - let's just say that.

LEVS: You saw this. It reminded you of -

ACOSTA: It did. This reminded me of the 1980s classic, "Gymkata."

LEVS: I had no idea what that was. All these people sent me this video which is the preview to the movie "Gymkata." Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's all he needs. Combine the discipline, the timing and the power of gymnastics, with the explosive force of karate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Karate.

ACOSTA: Exactly. I love how the pommel horse was there right in the middle of that fight scene. Conveniently placed in the middle of the fight scene. That's what makes that movie a classic.

LEVS: You know, every super hero needs a sidekick, maybe his sidekick brings the pommel horse. ACOSTA: Exactly. But those guys were doing almost the exact same moves. And it was just having an '80s flashback. It's essentially what was happening there.

LEVS: Maybe they were inspired by the art of "Gymkata."

ACOSTA: I think it was.

LEVS: I thought you just like it because of your name Jim Acosta, Gymkata.

ACOSTA: No, this was a real movie that actually came out and apparently is still very popular on youtube. I was amazed to see that trailer had what 250,000 views.

LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) 250,000 views, after you said it yesterday, everyone started tweeting us.

ACOSTA: That must have been it.

LEVS: OK. Now I mentioned before the break, cars that drive underneath buses.

ACOSTA: Yes.

LEVS: Underneath. Look at this.

ACOSTA: Wow.

LEVS: This is wild. This is a project out of China. A group out of Shinzhen (ph), future car parking. And there's a web site in gadget that reports that this group Washe (ph) is going to start planning a track board in Beijing at the end of the year. Basically, you get on this, you drive under it.

ACOSTA: No more buses holding up traffic, stopping at the bus stop right in front of your car.

LEVS: I'm also going to tell you, one of our producers here looked at this and said to me, that's just an accident waiting to happen.

ACOSTA Well, possibly so. That's true.

LEVS: But anything to speed up traffic, especially in Beijing. Do you know how crowded it is? Traffic is notorious.

ACOSTA: I tell you. Yet another example why we need to keep our eyes on the Chinese. They're building those high-speed drains and now they have the buses you can drive under? I mean, come on. -

LEVS: China with the technology is actually pretty incredible.

ACOSTA: It is. It is pretty incredible.

LEVS: And we're bringing back now, the number one most popular video from yesterday, that you love. This is real. This shark, six-foot shark -

ACOSTA: This is not another bad '80s movie. This is real stuff right here. This is real life.

LEVS: It happened in New Jersey this week. The six-foot shark basically swam up and all of the beachgoers had gotten out of the water first and they ended up clearing off the beach. Officials shut it down for a little while. And the beach cleared out and then the shark seemed perfectly fine. Just kind of went for a swim away.

ACOSTA: If I may make another obscure reference, it sort of reminds me of the "land shark" skit from "SNL" back in the 70s. Do you see? That shark is almost on dry land there.

LEVS: Oh, boy.

ACOSTA: Remember the Dan Akroyd skit -

LEVS: No (INAUDIBLE)

ACOSTA: I'm dating myself.

LEVS: That's OK.

ACOSTA: Blabber man. Flowers man. Anyway.

See he's almost on dry land. That's almost a land shark.

LEVS: I'm happy to see that all the people and the shark are perfectly fine.

ACOSTA: I'm just sad that it's making me come up with all of these obscure references that are doing nobody any good.

LEVS: I'm starting to like this. Now, whatever the reference was, I'm going to have it for next week. Here's where you can see all the links, it's all at Facebook, joshlevs@CNN, also at Twitter, joshlevscnn. Send us your favorites and some of those will make the viral video rewind next time around. Jim.

ACOSTA: That was an epic viral video rewind, because it had "Gymkata" in it. We should do that every week.

LEVS: I should actually see the movie.

ACOSTA: You should rent that. There will be a quiz later.

Take a look at this hair-raising video. This might go viral, too. Wild hair styles rule in the new reality TV show -- I thought my hair was bad, "Hair Battle Spectacular." In the next hour; we'll talk to one of the program's hosts. You'll want to buckle your seat belt for the next guest who is coming out.

And he's going to show you more over-the-top designs. So stay tuned for that. Plus questions in Cuba, Fidel Castro is back on the national stage. Does that mean he's planning an even bigger comeback? We'll check out the possibilities next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: There's another piece of video that caught our eye this weekend, Fidel Castro stepped back into the spotlight. He returned to speak at the national assembly of Cuba for the first time since health problems forced him to step aside. That was four years ago. His reappearance has fuelled speculation about Cuba's future now and joining me to talk about it is Thomas Bilbao, executive director of the Cuba study group in Washington. And we should mention here that Thomas and I have talked Cuba before. And so this could go on all afternoon. I'll just warn our viewers here. Thanks for joining us, Thomas. I wanted to ask you, when you saw the video yesterday, it must have taken you aback as somebody who studies the Cuba issue very closely, studies the issue of whether or not the United States should change its policy toward Cuba. When you saw Fidel step out there, what did you think?

THOMAS BILBAO, EXEC. DIR., CUBA STUDY GROUP: Well you know, it was a it's been a long time since anyone saw Fidel Castro especially in a role like this, it's been four years since he spoke to the parliament or in public in Cuba. And really, it reminded people, which I think was the main purpose of him doing it, reminded people that he's still around, that he's recovered from his ailment and that he's, he's still part of Cuban society, if not part of the government.

ACOSTA: And I guess that is the big question, right? Because he ceded power to his brother, Raul when he was very ill and Raul has essentially been running the country and has been I think you would agree making some incremental changes in the economy. Others would like to see vast changes toward democracy in Cuba, that hasn't happened, obviously. Does this mean that Fidel Castro is perhaps coming back to the scene? May perhaps be more in charge than he has been in recent years? Or was this just sort of a chance to look at the old Fidel?

BILBAO: I think the most important part of Fidel's speech yesterday was actually what he didn't say. He chose to focus on international affairs and made no mention of any of the domestic issues that are plaguing Cuba and that frankly are the main concern of the people. And that would suggest that he's indicating that his brother, Raul, and Raul's government are in charge of the day-to-day managing of the government. And that he's going to continue to participate as a commentator or observer as he's done on issues mainly dealing with international affairs. So I think for those of us who follow Cuba and everyone who is concerned with seeing progress and reforms happening in Cuba, I think it's a good indication and that if he really wanted to derail any of the reforms his brother has begun to put into place, he could have done so just by having very subtle language that would undermine any efforts to reform.

ACOSTA: And he didn't do that. We heard from Fidel, something that we've heard from Fidel lately in the news, which is he has this theory that the United States is somehow going to launch a war against North Korea or Iran or a combination of the two. And I suppose that will have some folks in Cuba sort of scratching their heads and certainly has people in the United States scratching their heads.

BILBAO: Yeah, it certainly does. In fact it sounds like a conspiracy theory right out of your favorite movie, "Gymkata." It seems as if Fidel is focusing on international affairs. And in this case, something that seems quite far-fetched. And may try to be an effort to, to distract Cubans from the real problems that they're facing. And I think that that's, that's ultimately going to be ineffective, because I think the average Cuban is more concerned with their personal freedoms and their economic freedoms and the ability to prosper and take care of their families inside Cuba rather than any hypothetical war that Fidel suggests may or may not happen in the future.

ACOSTA: And Thomas, you saw in recent weeks, Raul Castro has made the decision to go ahead and free some political prisoners there. Many of those political prisoners have already made their way to Europe. They are leaving Cuba. And Raul Castro has also, if I'm not mistaken, announced some recent economic moves where he may be laying off scores and scores of government workers in that country, what looks like a privatization of the Cuban workforce. Does that perhaps show a path towards normalization for these two countries?

BILBAO: Well I think that Raul is doing at least, is taking steps to do what they need to do in order to rescue the Cuban economy, which is in shambles, largely because of the failures of the Cuban economic system and the Cuban revolution. But regardless of whether the Cuban government takes steps or not, the United States government should unilaterally take steps to improve the effectiveness of our policies. The truth is that the reason that Raul decided to release the political prisoners was largely due to pressure internally within Cuba from Cuba's only civil society. So to the extent that the United States can take unilateral steps to embolden civil society, to give them greater strength to push for reforms, I think it will ultimately benefit not just U.S. interests, but also the cause for freedom in Cuba.

ACOSTA: Just going back to the video we saw over the weekend, was this really just a glimpse of Fidel in his twilight? Is that essentially what we saw, you think, this weekend?

BILBAO: I think, I think what we saw was an effort of Fidel to rescue whatever he thinks remains of his legacy and make sure that the last images that the world sees of him aren't him in a jumpsuit recovering from an ailment. But rather as you saw there in his olive military guards, interacting or giving advice to the Cuban government. So it may be an effort on his part to try to rescue what remains of his legacy.

ACOSTA: All right, very interesting perspective on that. Thomas Bilbao, always good to talk to you and always good to talk about Cuba, we appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.

BILBAO: Thanks for having me, Jim. ACOSTA: The CNN Election Express is on the move. Paul Steinhauser is with the bus out there in Colorado. Always good to see the bus and always good to see you, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR : Thanks, Jim. We parked the bus. We're in the Colorado National Monument in Fruitwood, Colorado, just outside Grand Junction. I've got to tell you it's a pretty picture behind me but with two days to go until the primary here, it's anything but pretty. It's getting pretty ugly, details, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. Now to politics, nail-biting and divisive primary races in Colorado are getting even more intense. With Election Day just two days away, the CNN Election Express is in the state right now. On board our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, who joins us live from Grand Junction, Colorado. Paul, good to see you there. And a lot of folks have been talking about these primaries. It is the big story, I think, wouldn't you agree in politics this week, not only the Democratic primary, but the Republican primary for the Senate in Colorado, also contentious.

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, both races are very contentious. You're right. On the Republican side, you've got the former lieutenant governor and a district attorney from one of the counties out here in a race that's gotten pretty ugly. And on the Democratic side, you've got the sitting senator right now, Michael Bennett, who was just named to this post about a year and a half ago, when Senator Salazar stepped down to become interior secretary. He's faced a challenge from the former house speaker out here Bill - Andrew Romanoff and that race has gotten pretty ugly. Take a listen to just a taste of what you're hearing on television with some of these campaign commercials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Denver post speaks out, calling Andrew Romanoff's TV attacks sleazy, misleading and below the belt. We don't need another politician willing to grossly distort the reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Newspapers uncover the truth about Michael Bennett. Bennett worked for right wing billionaire Phil Anschutz. In a corporate takeover they pushed companies into bankruptcy and looted a billion dollars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Commercials like that flooding the airwaves out here in Colorado in both of those contest contests. Bennett as the sitting senator of course he has the backing of President Obama and the national party. But Romanoff, the challenger has the backing of former President Bill Clinton. Either way whoever wins on the primaries here, the Republicans think they have a shot at winning seat back in November.

ACOSTA: Obama versus Clinton, is that what the race is boiling down to? I won't go there Paul I won't go there. But one of the other story lines that's run through the entire mid-term season, almost since earlier this year is the presence of Sarah Palin. She's gone into various primary contests around the country and hand-picked a winner. And in some cases, you know, like Nikki Haley down in South Carolina, that person has won and she's got one in Georgia.

STEINHAUSER: She's backing one of those mama grizzlies in Georgia. The runoff election on the governor's side is on Tuesday, down your way. You're going to see Sarah Palin tomorrow campaigning there for Karen Handle, the former secretary of state, who came in on top in the primaries but didn't win 50%. What's interesting is Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee are back being the other person notice race, the former Congressman Nathan Diehl. Palin really has been a force to a degree in these Republican primaries, Jim.

ACOSTA: I want to get back to the subject of the former President Bill Clinton. I was watching the fancy farm stuff out of Kentucky over the weekend, and Jack Conway brought up Bill Clinton. It was sort of a sparring match between him and Rand Paul. So Bill Clinton is still a popular figure out there.

STEINHAUSER: He's going to be there on Tuesday to campaign for the Democratic Senate nominee there Joe Sestak, the Congressman. The white house and Democratic Party want to see a lot of Bill Clinton between now and November. They feel he can really help Democratic candidates, especially in states with a lot of moderate to conservative voters, so I think you've seen a lot of Bill Clinton and you're going to see a lot more. Jim?

ACOSTA: I envy your seat on the CNN Election Express, it will be a great ride all the way to November. Paul Steinhauser, our deputy political director, right here at CNN. Keeping us up to speed on all of it. Make sure you keep the speed down, though, while you're out there. Paul, we appreciate it.

STEINHAUSER: Come on and join us, Jim. Come on back.

ACOSTA: All right. Will do. Thank you, Paul, appreciate it.

Arizona's immigration law, no doubt has sparked a lot of debate and fear. Not only among Hispanics, we'll take a look at another group that's worried about the impact of that law.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: In Arizona, much of the illegal immigrant debate has focused on Mexican Americans, but there's another group making its way across the border -- Asians. Our Sandra Endo takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is hot spot. The U.S. border in Nogales, Arizona where border patrol says more and more Asians are illegally trying to get into the country. They're paying smugglers up to 70 grand per person with a long risky pathway into America. Compared to the couple thousand dollars officials say Latinos pay for the short journey.

THOMAS W. RUDD, U.S. BORDER PATROL: They're trying to exploit the areas where is we might not have the technology, we might not have the infrastructure, and we might not have the personnel.

ENDO: Just look at the terrain. These valleys it easier for illegal immigrants to hide while they're on the run and harder for border patrol to catch them. That's why the Nogales border is a prime target especially for Asian immigrants who want a tried and true method into the states.

RUDD: They're doing anything and everything they can to come across. But that's what makes us better. We have to stay a step ahead.

ENDO: Using fencing, hidden sensors and cameras at the border, it's a game of cat and mouse. Despite a judge blocking the controversial provisions in the immigration law, the legal wrangling continues. And the fear of being considered illegal permeates though Asian-American communities. Phoenix resident Jim Shee who's half Chinese and half Spanish says he's already feeling targeted. In April, the 70-year-old man was stopped twice by Phoenix cops, once because he says an officer told him he looked suspicious.

Do you feel like this was because of the new law that passed?

JIM SHEE, PHOENIX RESIDENT, PLAINTIFF: I'm certain it was.

ENDO: What went through your mind when he asked you for your papers? What did you think that meant?

SHEE: I could have been an illegal person or and undocumented person.

ENDO: So Shee is fighting back. He joined an Asian American group as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Arizona's law. While the law would mostly affect illegal Latino immigrants, homeland security figures show there are roughly one million illegal Asians coming into the United States, many coming through the southern border. Jim Shee and his wife were both born and raised in Arizona, but now feel paranoid in their home state. Marian is Japanese-American and became quite familiar with discrimination during World War II.

MARIAN SHEE, PHOENIX RESIDENT: In Arizona may be targeted specifically more against Mexicans and Mexican Americans. The Asian Americans are also going to get caught into the situation.

ENDO: That's why people like Miss Lee say they have to be prepared. A few years ago, she came to the states illegally, but now she's documented. Still, she says she's afraid, she barely speaks any English and her face, well, looks foreign to many.

This is what you carry with you all the time now?

I want to make sure I have it, she says, I have no choice.

Sandra Endo, CNN, Tucson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Remembering a past entangled in slavery and presidential politics, one family reflects on their contribution to history in their powerful connections to George Washington's home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: You may know lot about the father of our country, George Washington, but how much do you know about the slave family who worked on his estate at Mount Vernon? Their descendants are holding a family reunion this weekend and our CNN photojournalist Doug Schantz went with them as they visited the former plantation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA WOOD, MOUNT VERNON ESTATE AND GARDENS: Washington lived here for about 40 years. He called Mount Vernon home. During that 40 years he was away fighting the Revolutionary War, he was up in Philadelphia and New York for the presidency.

The slaves were really running this plantation.

ROHULAMIN QUANDER, FAMILY MEMBER: It was George Washington's home and our home, too. The Quander family is celebrating its 85th reunion and Quander ancestors were in service to George Washington from the 18th century while he was off at Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill. Our ancestors were here, in the fields, tending the animals, so this is very much a part of our legacy as it was of his.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The memory of those who have gone before us, we will always remember to honor.

QUANDER: Slavery is over and we have moved on and it's time to be about the business of, of making America all that it can be.

GUY LARRY MITCHELL, FAMILY MEMBER: This is greatest nation in the world that you can go from slavery to president of the United States. That is huge.

QUANDER: So we need to take the strengths, the significance of what George Washington stood for, what the founding fathers stood for. We need to turn it to our own advantage and see how we can use that. We need to see what all of the ancestors, what was so especially strong about them that can be to the benefit of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: All right. Our top stories at the top of the hour, scathing condemnations today for the killings of ten medical aid workers in Afghanistan. The Taliban are claiming responsibility for the attack, which the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan calls cowardly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL EIKENBERRY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: Militant extremists Taliban have claimed responsibility for these killings. We do not know whether they are responsible or whether they're simply taking credit for the cowardly and despicable acts of others. The Taliban has called this group of medical aid workers, spies and proselytizers. They were no such thing. These were selfless volunteers who devoted themselves to providing free and much-need health care to Afghans in the most remote and difficult parts of your country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)