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Serial Stabbing Suspect Charged; California Same-Sex Marriage Can Resume; Three Kids Fly Solo; Korean War Vet Gets High School Diploma at Age 79; Annual Meteor Shower Puts on Celestial Show for Late Night Viewers; Thunderstorms in Midwest May Affect PGA Tournament; Flooding in Pakistan Continues as Water Heads Downriver, Flooding Larger Cities
Aired August 13, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": All right guys.
Good morning everybody.
He terrorized African-Americans in three states. But now the suspected serial stabber is behind bars.
We've learned 5 deaths and 18 stabbings later, he was captured and let go twice before.
So where's the teachable moment here? Radio talk show host Dr. Laura tells a listener she's too racially sensitive, then turns around and uses the N word.
And BP's bad rap. Now allegations of rape. CNN exposes a convicted sex offender hired to supervise beach cleanup.
It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Kyra Phillips and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We're learning more about the Israeli national accused of roaming three states, stabbing 18 people and killing five of them. Apparently Elias Abuelazam has been caught twice before but set free to only stab again.
It was when he tried to board a flight in Atlanta he was nabbed. And he's due to appear at a hearing in just a couple of hours for extradition to Michigan on murder charges.
Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve live in Washington with more.
So, Jeanne, what are you hearing now?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, he is an Israeli citizen. And as you mentioned he was nabbed as he tried to board a flight to go back to his home country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Authorities believed this man is responsible for stabbings in Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia -- five of them fatal. Elias Abuelazam, a 33-year-old Israeli citizen, living legally in the U.S., was arrested Wednesday night as he was about to board a Delta flight to Tel Aviv.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect was loaded -- located, rather, at the boarding gate of Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport and was called to the front of the boarding area where he surrendered without incident to Customs agents.
MESERVE: The stabbings began in May. The last one was just last weekend. They attracted national publicity because there were so many and so many of the victims were African-American. Seventeen-year-old Etwan Wilson was one.
ETWAN WILSON, SURVIVED ASSAULT: I pushed off of him and ran. Ran to the first house I seen with a light on.
MESERVE: During the investigation, police released a composite drawing and surveillance tape of a green SUV. A tip eventually connected Abuelazam with a car and the crimes and when authorities realized he was en route to Israel, they moved in.
Though Abuelazam recently worked in Michigan, he lived for a time in this house in Leesburg, Virginia. A man who lived just steps away was stabbed and bludgeoned to death last year. The murder is still unsolved. The victim's daughter remembers Abuelazam.
KATHERINE THOMPSON, FORMER NEIGHBOR: Seems to be pretty nice, his whole family did.
MESERVE: Officials in Virginia and Michigan had different responses. When asked if the stabbings were race related.
CHIEF JOSEPH PRICE, LEESBURG, VIRGINIA POLICE: My belief is he selected victims in Leesburg based upon the color of their skin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have any other evidence that suggests it's racially motivated. I'm not saying it's not. But what I'm saying is, is without more evidence, I'm not going to make that statement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: On August 5th, Abuelazam was arrested in Arlington, Virginia. He was driving a green SUV and inside authorities say police found a knife and a hammer. A hammer was used in one of the stabbing attacks.
But he was released because at that point in time police had no connection between the crimes, Abuelazam or the car. And later that day, there was another stabbing in the state of Virginia.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: So, Jeanne, we've heard about this motive. Possibly race. But if that isn't it, is there any other motive that surfaced? MESERVE: Well, you know, yesterday at the press conference in Michigan there were questions about that and officials said they just didn't want to speculate at this point in time. They said at this point that official didn't feel he had the evidence to say definitively that it was race but he wouldn't speculate on what else it might be.
We don't know if this suspect is talking to police. We don't know what else the investigation might have turned up. But as of yesterday at least they weren't commenting on what an alternative motive might be -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jeanne Meserve in D.C. Thanks, Jeanne.
Dr. Laura has earned fame and fortune by giving people advice on her radio show. Maybe she should have employed some of her own wisdom before opening her mouth this week.
Here's her jaw-dropping exchange with an African-American colleague. One was concerned about her interracial marriage. But the conversation turned pretty testy after Dr. Laura used the N word.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LAURA SCHLESSINGER, RADIO HOST: Yes. I think you have too much sensitivity (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and not enough sense of humor. Depends how it's said.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it -- is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
SCHLESSINGER: It's -- it depends how it is said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're not black. They're not black. My husband is white.
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, I see. So a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing up the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: I didn't spew out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) word, (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Right. I said that's what you hear --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope everybody heard it. So what --
SCHLESSINGER: They did and I'll say it again. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what you hear on --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what makes it -- SCHLESSINGER: Why don't you let me finish a sentence? Don't take things out of context. Don't NAACP me. Take --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know what the N word means and I know it came from a white person, and I know the white person means that.
SCHLESSINGER: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Can't have this argument.
You know what? If you're that hyper-sensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That exchange ignited quite a firestorm of criticism. The Reverend Al Sharpton calls it despicable. Dr. Laura issued this apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHLESSINGER: I talk every day about doing the right thing. And yesterday I did the wrong thing. I didn't intend to hurt people but I did. And that makes it the wrong thing to have done.
I was attempting to make a philosophical point and I articulated the N word all the way out -- more than one time. And that was wrong.
I'll say it again. That was wrong.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And take a closer look next hour with the CNN political analyst Roland Martin will join us with some reaction, more outrage and some perspective.
Fifteen hundred agents, new drones, and communication gear will be heading to the border with Mexico. President Obama plans to sign a $600 million emergency funding bill this morning. Two lawmakers returned from summer recess yesterday to give Senate approval.
The security bill is being funded in part by raising fees on personal firms that bring foreign workers into the U.S.
President Obama and his family are leaving tomorrow morning for Panama City Beach, Florida. The weekend trip will be the president's latest visit to support Gulf Coast residents and businesses since the oil disaster.
A recent study estimated that the region's travel industry could take a $22 billion hit over the next few years.
The jury deciding the case of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will have the weekend off. But when it returns to deliberations Monday, there's growing concern that it's deadlocked.
After two weeks behind closed doors, jurors told the judge yesterday that it has reached unanimous agreement on only two counts in the corruption case. Another 22 counts are still in limbo.
Next Wednesday expect more wedding bells to ring in California. A federal judge struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriages yesterday.
CNN's Dan Simon has that raucous reaction from San Francisco.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Barring a reversal from an Appeals Court same-sex couples here in California can resume getting married next Wednesday, August 18th at precisely 5:00 p.m. That was what was in the judge's ruling, Judge Vaughn Walker issuing that ruling here at San Francisco city hall.
He had numerous same-sex couples in line hoping to get marriage certificates and get married without a judge saying that cannot take place until next Wednesday.
We talked to people on both sides of the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It undermines the definition of marriage -- the institution of marriage -- in the same way that a counterfeit dollar bill affects the dollar bill -- the real dollar bill in my pocket.
It undermines the value of that because it takes away and put something false in there as something that's true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's life. And it will happen for us so.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It's like a one step forward and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And one step back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But, you know, like -- it's life. And you've got to take it through its courses. So we're not going to give up.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: We have a statement here from the National Organization of Marriage which supports Proposition 8. It says, in part, "When a lower judge makes an unprecedented ruling that totally overturns existing Supreme Court precedent, the normal thing for that judge to do is stay his decision and let the higher courts decide."
Obviously Prop 8 supporters making it clear that they plan to appeal this ruling and try to keep this ban in place but barring any sort of decision or reversal from the Appeals Court, same-sex couples can get married in California, once again, beginning next Wednesday.
I'm Dan Simon reporting from San Francisco. PHILLIPS: Flying solo, 340 youngsters take to the skies without their parents ever knowing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY NOLAN, FLEW SOLO TO TENNESSEE: Nobody else had IDs but we didn't.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: More on their ride of a lifetime coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: School is still out. Nothing to do. So a trio of Florida youngsters had an idea. Why not hop on a plane to Tennessee without asking mom and dad?
Erin Hawley of affiliate WJXX has their high-flying adventure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN HAWLEY, WJXX REPORTER: Bobby Nolan is just now getting around to unpacking his suitcase.
BRIDGET BROWN, FLEW SOLO TO TENNESSEE: He said Nashville, Tennessee, so that's where we went.
HAWLEY: Tuesday morning 13-year-old Bobby asked his friends if they wanted to hang out. Fifteen-year-old Bridget texted back, "Want to go to Tennessee today?" She saved up $700 from baby-sitting.
BROWN: I don't know. Just wanted to fly and I had the money and --
HAWLEY: She called ahead and asked how much the tickets would be. $238 a pop for a 4:15 flight. So the two plus Bridget's 11-year-old brother, headed for the airport in a cab they found on Bridget's iPhone.
Once at the Southwest counter, it was three tickets to Nashville, please.
BROWN: And he said OK. So if he told us how much it would be and then we paid him and then he put the little -- the flight things on our bags and then he said you better run because you might miss your flight.
HAWLEY: Kids say not once did anyone ask where their parents were or for identification.
NOLAN: We just took off stuff out of our pockets, shoes off, and walked through, and they didn't say nothing.
HAWLEY (on camera): Didn't ask you for any IDs or anything?
NOLAN: No, ma'am. HAWLEY: Anybody asked you for an ID?
NOLAND: Everybody else had IDs but we didn't.
HAWLEY (voice-over): While they flew, Bobby snacked on pretzels wondering not what they do with the $40 remaining once they got to Music City but how his parents would react.
NOLAN: What was our mom and dad think, worrying and all.
HAWLEY: Back home mom and dad knew Bobby had gone to play with the neighbors. Around dinnertime they called him to come home. Straight to voice mail. A neighbor told them a cab picked up the kids around 2:30.
While frantically calling cab companies, the phone rang.
BOBBY NOLAN SR., BOBBY'S DAD: He called to say we're in Nashville and ready to come home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now Southwest Airlines says that their policy permits children age 11 to fly with anyone 12 and older.
Out of Louisville, Kentucky. Check out this surveillance tape. Police want to catch this couple that's robbing pharmacies and stealing prescription drugs. Their MO, the woman in the drive-thru distracts the pharmacist. The partner jumps the counter, rifles the shelves then they bolt with the drugs. Police say this duo usually hits on a Sunday morning.
Mount Holly, North Carolina. A trusted and respected church couple. He's the treasurer, she's the secretary. Well, they systematically stole money from the church of bank account, $360,000. Money they say they only meant to borrow. Investigators say they wrote hundreds of checks to themselves. The church deacon hopes that they can replace that money with lots of bake sales and fund-raisers.
A nice story out of Oregon, Ohio. Better late than never. A Korean War vet who left high school to join the navy back in the early '50s finally got his diploma. A proud day for Philip Shinaver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIP SHINAVER, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE AT 79: Sure, I'm proud I finally got my diploma. I got maybe about 14 days or so until my birthday, I'll be 80 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SPEAKER: Happy early birthday, you know?
SHINAVER: I was kind of afraid they wouldn't get around to giving this to me before I -- before I made it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Shinaver was given his diploma at the school board meeting on Wednesday.
This was perfect for insomniacs or people who like late nights. If you looked up in the sky, you had quite a show. We're going to tell you about it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Our iReporter stayed up really, really late. Or they either got up really, really early to send us these amazing images of the meteor shower. And it's at peak -- at its peak, rather, NASA says could you have seen up to 60 shooting stars per hour. Of course, what you're actually seeing is debris from a comet that shows up in the sky every year about this time. It's one of those celestial shows that you wouldn't have to need a telescope to see. Right, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sorry. Somebody else was in my ear. I --
PHILLIPS: Was somebody talking to you?
MARCIANO: You always have one of my ears. But this one has control a little bit sooner. I saw --
PHILLIPS: Are you ignoring me again? OK, wait. I was talking about the cool meteor showers.
MARCIANO: I did --
PHILLIPS: Did you stay up and see it?
MARCIANO: I did not.
PHILLIPS: Aw.
MARCIANO: But it is something not to be missed at least sometime in your life. It happens every year. So if you missed it this year, like I did, it'll be back same time, same bat place, same bat channel next year.
PHILLIPS: 60 falling stars an hour?
MARCIANO: You can -- you get clear skies, you get away from the city lights, and it can get pretty good.
PHILLIPS: That's a lot of wishes.
MARCIANO: Exactly. Live a pretty charmed life if you caught 60 shooting stars.
All right, listen. A couple of things going on here. We've got thunderstorms that are rolling across the midwest into Wisconsin. There's a great thunderstorm watch out here. Some of these are moving at 50, 60 miles per hour. That's the movement of the cell. So you've got to believe that any sort of downdraft coming out in front of that is going to have damaging winds, possibly over 60 miles an hour. These, by the way, heading towards Whistling Straits. So that's going to be a bit of an issue as far as the PGA championship is concerned.
Speaking of issues, we do have more disturbing video coming out of Pakistan. Unbelievable amounts of rain there in the northern part of the country. And now getting some of that water flowing downriver towards the more populated areas and -- this is the result of that. Just -- flash flooding happening in the cities now, with over 1300 if fatalities and thousands upon thousands of people displaced from that.
I want to show you a high-resolution imagery of the Indus River which, much like our Mississippi River is the main river that unloads all the water that flows that rain and gets it into the ocean. This is what it looked like before all the rain of the past couple of weeks. And this is what it looks like after as far as the width of it concerned. It's, like, flooding in ten miles in either direction. So it gives you an idea of all that water that has to be displaced down to the south.
A couple of showers across the northeast. We mentioned this, the rain and thunderstorms moving across the upper midwest. And then the heat. Let me shrink this down a little bit for you. Come on, guy. Anyway, the heat -- over 100 degrees in spots today. Yesterday for record highs. And we'll see similar numbers, I think, today.
Eventually we're going to start to see things cool off just a little bit. I don't want our friends in the northwest to think we're ignoring them, much like I seemed to be ignoring you earlier today, Kyra, which I didn't really mean to do, as you know.
PHILLIPS: OK. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you in a bit.
PHILLIPS: Let's check our top stories. A serial killer suspect will be going to court in just a couple of hours. Elias Abuelazam is being held in an Atlanta jail now. The Israeli citizen is accused of stabbing at least 18 people in three states. Five of those victims have died.
Work should resume today on drilling that relief well in the Gulf. Stormy weather had forced crews to stand down. BP now hopes to have a permanent kill on the ruptured well in a week.
And despite a Pentagon warning, WikiLeaks is preparing to release 15,000 more documents about the Afghan war. The founder of the whistle blower website says it's redacting information that could endanger people.
Men poured gasoline on Youssif, and then they lit his face on fire. You probably remember that cruel attack on this little Iraqi boy. Now, three years later, you're going to see how he is thriving.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: He was just four years old, playing outside his Baghdad home when masked men attacked him, pouring gasoline on his face and setting him on fire. We brought thaw story of Youssif three years ago. Many of you responded with incredible donations, helping Youssif come to America and get all the surgeries that he need. Now our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has an update on Youssif that you don't want to miss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Really an unbelievable journey for this young boy. Think about this. A young boy, an unspeakable act of cruelty, a war zone. And then, incredible generosity and compassion, which really changed his life and his family's life in ways that I don't think people could have imagined.
His story went on the CNN "Impact Your World" website, and thousands of donations, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised. Enough to bring the family to the United States. They got special visas, they got the free services of a burn surgeon, Dr. Peter Grossman, at his clinic in California. And he started to undergo these profound changes.
When I first met him, it was before his first operation. A five-year- old boy, shy, introverted, badly burned, very much wanting his face to be fixed. He hardly would talk to anybody. His family sort of -- a little bit the same way. But that was all about to change.
Three years later, now, 15 operations he's had. Just a remarkable number of operations. But he's -- his face has really changed in many ways. But I'll tell you, emotionally, first of all, when I met him, he immediately gave me a high-five, he wanted to go play soccer. Just a cute boy who's eight years old, learned English, speaks it perfectly. He's in school there, has lots of friends. It was really good to see that, as a dad, certainly.
And from a medical standpoint, what we're really going to do is show you the before and after images and show you the impact of all these different operations and get into the mind of a burn surgeon and how they try and take care of someone like Youssif.
The images, again, very dramatic. We don't want to show you too much right now because some of it can be tough to look at. But certainly we're going to go through his whole story, his whole ordeal, this weekend. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You can watch "Rescuing Youssif," a Sanjay Gupta, MD special tomorrow, that's Sunday, 7:30 AM Eastern.
The Gulf oil disaster. BP is often seen as the villain. But wait until you hear this latest outrage. A cleanup worker is raped. Her supervisor is charged. And the oil giant faces tough questions about the people working in the Gulf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Yesterday the Dow closed negative 60. We're going to see the numbers come through in just a minute. The opening bell is about to ring. I was just reading about this Chinese company that is celebrating its NYSE listing, and in honor of the occasion, they're going to get a chance to ring the bell here. If you don't know anything about the Kanghui developer, this manufacturer makes orthopedic implants in China. The specialty, products in trauma and spine. So we'll follow the numbers today, see how they turn out.
This morning, there's a new outrage over how BP has handled the Gulf oil disaster. A man who supervised oil cleanup workers in Mississippi is in jail, charged with raping another employee. Now, a CNN investigation uncovers his criminal history and raises questions whether this incident could have been prevented by just doing a simple background check. Special investigations unit correspondent Abbie Boudreau goes looking for answers from BP and the company who hired this guy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): One of thousands of cleanup workers who descended on the Gulf Coast was this man, Randy Charles Robertson. He was in charge of numerous workers on this now deserted Mississippi beach.
(On camera): The problem was all of these people who are coming to town were strangers and the residents here had no idea who they were or where they were coming from.
And apparently they had good reason to be concerned. Robertson was convicted of a sex offender. And he was breaking the law by not telling local law enforcement where he was living.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't understand how they can hire a man like that as our supervisor.
BOUDREAU: Do you think what happened to you could have been prevented?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And that's what makes me a lot of times so angry.
BOUDREAU: Well, this woman came to this town because she was looking for work. She wanted to help clean up the beaches and she needed a job. She has four young children and it was important for her to get hired right away. And that's exactly what happened.
(Voice-over): Randy Robertson was her supervisor and she told us time and time again, I trusted him because he was my boss. I respected him. He was the person who was put in charge of me.
You just weren't feeling well that day and he offered to drive you home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And you thought he was a nice enough person to make that offer, I guess. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He's the boss. So I thought it was all right.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): She says Robertson asked to use her bathroom. And when he came out, she says he raped her. She's represented by attorney Adam Miller.
ADAM MILLER, ATTORNEY: I find it unbelievable because BP and their subcontractors had relationships with all of local law enforcement. They had the opportunity and the ability to clearly check all of these people that they were hiring and bringing in to ensure the safety of the public.
BOUDREAU: If anyone had checked Robertson's background they would have found a lengthy criminal history and he was still on probation for a felony. Instead he was made a supervisor.
(On camera): We are in Pascagoula, Mississippi here to talk to a local sheriff.
(Voice-over): Several weeks before this incident, Sheriff Mike Byrd says he met with BP's local head of security about why BP was not doing background checks on beach cleanup workers.
SHERIFF MIKE BYRD, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: I asked them directly, I said, are you all doing criminal histories and background checks on these people. And his answer -- reply was no, we're not. I said you are kidding me? He said no. He said there's so many of them, we were told to do drug screenings and that was it. And I said, well, that's -- that's not good at all.
BOUDREAU (on camera): But you actually recommended that they get criminal background checks on their employees?
BYRD: Yes, we did. And I told them that we would do that for them. We would do the background checks for them. And they said no.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Robertson worked for a company called Aerotek that hired workers to remove oil from the beaches.
(On camera): You'll come out and talk to us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will come out and talk to you. Give me a little -- like four minutes, OK?
BOUDREAU: So we're not going to shut the door and then never see you again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise I'll come back.
BOUDREAU: OK. He promises.
(Voice-over): So we waited. But they only slipped us a note through the door referring us to the corporate headquarters.
(On camera): Did you realize you were hiring people who are registered sex offenders?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, ma'am.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): This is when the blame game began. First, we spoke with the general counsel for Aerotek by phone who said Aerotek wasn't the one who decided not to do background checks.
Quote, "We are not liable for anything that happens. Once we deliver the people to be supervised by our clients, we don't have anything to do with them anymore."
Miller Environmental Group which oversaw the cleanup and hired Aerotek did not return our phone calls. Then BP, which was paying for the beach cleanups, told us in a statement it normally checks its own employees but, quote, "This was not done for all contractors in this response. The responsibility lies with the employing company for their own staff. The requirement on subcontractors to BP's contractors is one further step beyond BP's scope of control."
MILLER: The buck ultimately stops with BP. It was their site.
BOUDREAU (on camera): Robertson was arrested and he was then charged with sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender. He tells police that the sex was consensual. But now he's being held on more than a $500,000 bond and he is sitting in jail.
BYRD: Yes, he's in jail. But you've got a victim here. What's she going to live through the rest of her life? It's just going to be pure hell for her. That's what it's going to be.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And it could have been prevented.
BYRD: And it could have been prevented, in my professional opinion.
BOUDREAU: And you warned them?
BYRD: Yes, ma'am.
BOUDREAU: How does something like this just change everything for you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess, anxiety, you know. I'm angry. I feel dirty. Scared. I'm scared.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOUDREAU: The victim didn't go to police right away because she was afraid she would lose her job and she couldn't afford to let that happen. She took a couple of days off of work and about a month after the incident she says she was laid off.
Aerotek said she was one of many workers who are no longer need to clean up the beaches and it had nothing to do with what happened to her. She says why did I even bother take this job? Why did I leave my life behind and go to the beach in the first place to help the cleanup? It wasn't worth it. PHILLIPS: Yes.
BOUDREAU: It just wasn't worth it.
PHILLIPS: What about in other towns and the issue of background checks? Is it happening any place else? Is this going to change the standard of all of these folks that need to get checked out?
BOUDREAU: Well, yes. Basically we -- I've talked to several police departments and many of them told us -- especially in Grand Isle, Louisiana, we talked to the police chief there. And he says we found three sex offenders and we closely supervised them.
You know we paid attention to what was going on in our community. And that's what the police chief in the story was saying. I mean, in Pascagoula.
PHILLIPS: So they've actually hired sex offenders but they --
BOUDREAU: Yes. It's not about the sex abuse --
PHILLIPS: Give them a chance, they watch them closely.
BOUDREAU: Exactly. And you bring up a good point. It's not necessarily that they're sex offenders. It's -- in this particular case, this is a sex offender who was not registered. He was not registering himself with the local law enforcement.
And that's a problem. And if they would have done the background check, according to the sheriff, he would not have been hired.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Thanks, Abbie.
BOUDREAU: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, as presidential spokesperson or a media punching bag? Robert Gibbs is the latest White House press secretary to feel the heat. But he sure isn't the first.
We're going to take a look at one of the toughest jobs in America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. A serial killer suspect will be going to court in a just a couple of hours. Elias Abuelazam is being held in an Atlanta jail. The Israeli citizen is accused of stabbing at least 18 people in three states. Five of them have died.
President Obama will sign a new border security bill today. It will spend $600 million in emergency funds on more agents and equipment to secure the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
The JetBlue flight attendant who cussed out an unruly passenger, then deployed an emergency chute, wants his job back. Steven Slater's lawyer says that's his life. But it is up to JetBlue. The company is conducting an internal investigation. Well, not surprisingly, today's "Punchline" is aimed at the JetBlue flight attendant who lost it the other day. Let's go ahead and start with Jimmy Fallon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Man, everybody is still talking about the JetBlue flight attendant guy who flipped out, he grabbed a couple of beers, and then jumped out on the emergency chute.
Love that guy.
Well, JetBlue announced that passengers who were on that flight are getting a $100 voucher for inconvenience over the outburst.
I don't get that at all. I mean -- here's 100 bucks. Sorry you had to see the greatest thing ever.
(LAUGHTER)
FALLON: How about that? That will never happen again. That was awesome.
(APPLAUSE)
FALLON: I know, dude.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you put your foot in your mouth or did you say something that you meant?
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't --
(LAUGHTER)
GIBBS: I don't -- I'm -- I think I have both my feet planted firmly on the floor. I don't think I'm leaving so -- and there's no truth to the rumor that I've added an inflatable exit to my office so.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A little bit of humor there. And a lot of thick skin. There may be no job in this country more thankless than being the spokesperson for the president of the United States. Even when your boss is popular, millions of Americans scoff at your every word.
The job was brutal from the day it was created. George Ackerson went to work for the embattled President Herbert Hoover just as the country was sinking into the depression. He was the first official White House press secretary and he lasted less than two years. The job security is no greater today than it was then. And in fact, the job description is pretty much unchanged. Handle the press, spin the message, and above all, serve as the human shield for the commander in chief.
CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley has dealt with a number of White House press secretaries. She's joining us from Washington.
And for full disclosure, Candy, I said OK, let's talk about press secretaries going back to Herbert Hoover. And you say, Kyra, I don't go that far back.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I can't reminisce about Herbert Hoover. So yes --
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I cannot do that.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Yes, let's make that perfectly clear. But there was a memorable moment that you and I both were talking about. We're going to talk about press secretaries. You know, the good, the bad, the ugly.
And we'll get to Gibbs in just a moment. But how about starting with the shortest stint as press secretary? We could go back to Gerald Ford's guy, Jerald terHorst, and what happened with the pardon. Right?
CROWLEY: Yes. I mean, he signed on and he was -- I think he was from the "Detroit News." It may have been at that time "The Detroit Free Press." I mean he also might have been -- a Detroit paper.
He had known Gerald Ford for some time. Covered him on Capitol Hill. Gerald Ford becomes the president in the wake of Watergate. And then he pardons Richard Nixon and that was -- terHorst quit and said I can't -- I can't work for an administration that pardoned Richard Nixon.
So that was a self-inflicted, if you will, departure. Not some -- how some of them suffer which is just getting tossed out.
PHILLIPS: Well, that's interesting because he obviously spoke the truth and his conscience got to him. Because we always wonder, right, if these press secretaries are telling the truth or not?
We could go back to Scott McClellan who said OK, in no way, shape or form did Karl Rove know about this Valerie Plame issue. Well, that definitely took a different spin.
CROWLEY: Yes. It was -- in fact, it turned out Karl Rove did know a lot about it. Now the question always is, did they know and deceive either by not telling you the full truth or by telling you a flat-out lie or did they not know? And you're always stuck as a reporter because what you want is the press secretary that knows something. You want the press secretary to -- that does speak to the president. Some of them have not. Or at least not on a daily basis and they're sort of given talking points and they go out and sort of repeat the same thing.
But what you want when you talk to a press secretary, is to know that he's got access to the boss. And I think in some ways that's why the Gibbs comment about the professional left got so much coverage and really did Rangel the left because they understand that he does know this president. That he is close to this president that he's been there from the job -- for the campaign.
And that he channels the president in many ways. So I don't think this was Gibbs -- I'm sure it's how Gibbs feels but I don't think that he's the only one at the White House that feels that way about the left.
PHILLIPS: Well, that's interesting. Is that why do you think this is getting more attention and maybe the press corps was going at it a little bit more with Gibbs because they do see these two as close and that Gibbs does have a relationship with the president and so more than likely, he's speaking the truth?
CROWLEY: Yes. Yes it's what -- how the President feels. And it is how others in the White House feel, that they're not getting credit. I mean, they don't expect to get credit from the conservatives. They watched the swing vote; the independents begin to move to the Republican side.
And now they have the left. I mean, the folks they need to have come out at midterm, which is why I'm not sure this was a great time to bring up how angry they are with the left. But nonetheless, they decided to do that. I don't think Gibbs just sort of off the cuff did that; I think it's how the President feels.
And I think -- you know, again, for reporters, I think why they went after him on this was simply that the left went nuts about it. And said, you know, what are you talking about? I mean, we -- you know, the President hasn't done this or this or this or the other thing.
And -- and part of it is that to sort of pent-up demand. If you've had eight years of a Republican White House, which we did with George W. Bush; and then the Democrats, the Democratic White House and Democratic Senate, a Democratic House, where they don't want the whole ball of wax.
They don't want the President to compromise and they don't necessarily want him -- they want him to do what they have been wanting to do for eight years; so there's a lot of pent-up demand. And then, when President has to compromise -- because Washington does quite work like that. Even if you've got everybody on your side, not all Democrats feel the same way about things and a minority can block things.
So they -- they -- they really are stuck here with the left that is very upset that they haven't been tougher and gone for what they really wanted.
PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, always great to have your insight. How many presidents do you go back to, by the way?
CROWLEY: Second -- second term of Reagan.
PHILLIPS: Ok. Oh, next time we'll talk about Grenada (ph) then and that whole nightmare.
CROWLEY: Oh yes. Preposterous.
PHILLIPS: Ok, Candy Crowley, great to see you.
Saving money and lifestyles: South Carolina's grand social experiment to trim the fat is more than just one way, they want to pay employees to actually undergo gastric bypass surgery.
But first, let's flash back to this day, August 13, 1899. Director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London, England. The prolific film maker was known as the master of suspense. His career spanned more than 50 years from movies "Spellbound" to "Psycho" and "Rear Window". Also the show, Alfred Hitchcock presents, we can't forget that. Hitchcock earned five Oscar nominations for best director. And in 1968 the Director's Guild of America honored him with his Lifetime Achievement Award. Happy birthday Al.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Burns, can you make me thin again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guarantee it. One, one, one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll just pay for the blessed liposuction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, we laugh at that right? But this is pretty serious.
The state of South Carolina has a new plan, and it has nothing do with statutes, policies, budgets or jobs; it's about obesity. The Palmetto State wants to spend $2.4 million on weight loss surgeries for 100 state employees.
South Carolina thinks it could save a lot of money later by spending this money now, trying to prevent expensive medical coverage associated with overweight employees. We're talking about possible diagnosis of asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and the like.
So starting in January, on a first-come, first-serve basis the state's 100 heaviest employees will be eligible to go under the knife. That is just about $24,000 a person. The state will follow the recovery and response to see if it's a cost-effective plan. This is in a state that's famous, by the way, for low country boils, and where almost two-thirds of residents are tipping the scales near the obesity level compared to the national average where the obesity rate lags at over 60 percent.
We want to know what you think about this. Do you think the government should pay for its workers to have weight loss surgery? Go to my blog, CNN.com/kyra; we'll share some of your responses next hour.
All right, here's what's we're following in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. First, let's check in with Josh Levs -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. We have got your views, folks, on Dr. Laura's use of the "n" word and the larger controversial conversation. We'll have all that for you at the top of the hour.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Drew Griffin. Can the people of New Orleans depend on their police department to protect and serve? The new mayor says no. I'll have that story.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. Today is "Empower me Friday" and I'll be answering your questions about how to deal with a frustrating medical system. All of that at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: Thanks guys.
Well, she's out of the White House, in at the nation's oldest black publishing company. Next, CNN's Alina Cho talks exclusivity -- exclusively rather to former White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: She was the glamorous face of the new Obama administration. Desiree Rogers brought a fresh style to the White House until a gate crashing incident sent her packing. Now she is talking about her high profile job, her relationship with the Obamas, and her one regret. CNN's Alina Cho has the exclusive interview.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kyra. You know, ever since that infamous gate-crashing incident at the White House, everyone has wanted to hear from the woman who ultimately took the fall for it.
Now Desiree Rogers is talking about her new high profile job, her relationship with the Obamas and her one regret.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: You're still learning your way around the office?
DESIREE ROGERS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY: Yes. I'm lucky --
CHO: Desiree Rogers has been on the job for less than a week and already her fingerprints are everywhere.
How about that cover?
ROGERS: You know what? Isn't he good-looking?
CHO: The September issue of "Ebony" magazine says it all, exclusive interview with Rogers' former boss, President Obama. How did you get this?
ROGERS: First of all, come on now, I think I have a few connections, just a few.
CHO: A big reason why the former White House social secretary has moved into the corner office of Johnson Publishing. She's the new CEO. Johnson owns "Ebony" and "Jet" magazines, iconic brands but ones that are struggling, in an industry that's suffering, too.
Publishing is a new thing for you. What made you think you could do this?
ROGERS: I love these publications. I love cosmetics. I love pop culture. I love the social aspect, this whole idea of, you know, helping to be one of the major voices in the African-American community, helping to unify. Because we're "Ebony," because we're "Jet", we have a responsibility.
You look at the hot pictures of these two. Look at what they're saying. I want to be a gentleman. I want to be polite.
That is cool.
CHO: Ms. Rogers first order of business, fix the books, update the Web site and upgrade Johnson's cosmetic brand, Fashion Fare, a job this Harvard MBA grad calls humbling.
Her time at the White House was humbling, too.
What did you learn from your time there?
ROGERS: All eyes are on everything, and quickly things can get misconstrued, manipulated to some extent because of blogs, bad information going out, and it never gets addressed.
CHO: She just may be referring to this. The infamous gate-crashing incident at the Obama's first state dinner, the Salahis. The photos, the accusations, and Rogers' turn on the Red Carpet in a designer dress. What would she have done differently?
ROGERS: I probably would have walked in the rain in my dress as opposed to walking past the photographers because so much was made of the dress, the walk, and no one ever would have seen the dress had I gone outside.
CHO: Do you regret being a guest at that dinner?
ROGERS: I actually don't. I mean people have made a great deal about this. Many of us, staff, were guests that evening.
CHO: Three months later, Rogers resigned.
What is your relationship like with the Obamas?
ROGERS: My relationship is great. I mean we were friends before. We still continue to be friends. I mean when we're talking about the President and first lady of the United States and Desiree Rogers. I mean this is silly. It's really silly.
CHO: She hopes her lasting legacy will be making the White House the people's house. Not entirely different from what she is doing, shaping another brand.
Where do you want "Ebony" and "Jet" to be in a year?
ROGERS: Top of mind for everyone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Rogers is in no hurry to fix the business. She says she wants to make the right decisions, not quick decisions. She also says it may make sense for "Ebony" to get into books, TV and other forms of entertainment. It is, after all, an iconic brand, Kyra, but it's one that she says needs updating -- Kyra.
