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Online Whistleblower to Publish More Docs; Screening the Cleaners; Pakistan Flood Disaster; Gift of Life Leads to Death; The Stakeout: First Family Heads to Florida; XYZ: Organ Donation

Aired August 13, 2010 - 13:56   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A new hour, a new "Rundown." An alleged rape on the Gulf coast - the alleged attacker -- is a man who supervises clean-up workers. And authorities say a simple background check could have prevented it.

Also, go down there and start fighting. An Arizona sheriff says that is the solution to stopping violence along the U.S./Mexico border. You'll get an earful of that.

Plus, a story that gives brotherly love a whole new meaning. A man gives his dying brother the gift of life, but it ends up costing him his own life. We'll take you on their journey.

We begin this hour, though, with a two-word warning from the Pentagon to the online whistleblower WikiLeaks. When we last visited this controversy, they just posted the largest stash of papers since the Pentagon Papers. More than 70,000 field reports, memos, chiefly from the war in Afghanistan. They were grim, they were largely unverifiable accounts of battles and tactics. Probably shocking mostly in terms of magnitude, not in terms of substance. There weren't a lot of things we didn't really know or suspect that came out of the papers.

But the administration, the military, they were livid. And they're more livid today. Because while the suspected leaker, U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning sits in a jail cell in Virginia, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is about to post 15,000 more documents. He's the guy on the right.

The Pentagon fears these documents are, I quote, are "potentially even more damaging" - far fewer of them, but more damaging - "than the others." That brings me to CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence, who's got two at the top for us. Chris, tell us what we know.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ali, spoke with an official a couple of hours ago. He said yes, even though the first leak was five times the size of this potential new leak, he said these 15,000 documents could cause potentially more damage to the war effort there in Afghanistan.

They're basing that on who they believe leaked these papers, which is private Bradley Mnning, as well as what they've been able to determine from looking through what's already been released. Looking at some of the key words, looking at some of the information in there and then extrapolating it to say, what else is out there.

VELSHI: Chris, it's unclear whether any of this is illegal in the first place, even though these are documents that belong to the Pentagon. This guy, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, says he has more. He says he's putting them out there. The Pentagon says it's going to be really damaging. Can they do anything about it?

VELSHI: Well, if he says he's going to put them out there, if you look at WikiLeaks' history, I would say they're going out there. The Pentagon has been adamant about saying, don't put it these out there after we already told you that the 75,000 endangered some civilians working with the coalition. It would be the height of irresponsibility to put these out.

But they don't really have much of a legal leg to stand on. Our team has been talking to some legal experts who say WikiLeaks is on the Internet, it's not based here in the United States. Its financial assets aren't based here in the United States. And really, they say if all they did was accept these documents and then publish them, they're no different than, say, "The New York Times" or "The Washington Post," who would get information from the source and then put that out there.

The key would be if WikiLeaks got involved in trying to compel Private Manning to bring these documents forth. If there was communication between them, and WikiLeaks encouraged or compelled him, that might be a slightly different case there -- Ali.

VELSHI: Julian Assange and WikiLeaks continue to maintain that they are performing a public service, that they are whistleblowers, although they do seem to be making some concessions.

LAWRENCE: That's right. What they're doing is trying to redact some of the information in this new leak.

They said this 15,000, they're going to go out. But first, we're going to go through it, we're going to try to take out some of the names of people who may be injured by the release of this information. They're about halfway through right now.

WikiLeaks actually has been trying to work through some media outlets like "The New York Times," trying to get the administration to help them. They even publicly solicited money donations, trying to get some money to help them try to go through this process of redacting the names before they put the information out there again.

VELSHI: All right. Chris will stay on top of it for us. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon.

Thanks so much. Good to see you again, Chris.

All right. Border security is getting an upgrade today, a very big one. A short time ago, President Obama signed a $600 million government check. It was really a new spending bill.

Is it tough enough? Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio doesn't think so. He's our "Sound Effect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: This is a critical area, a 2,000-mile border, for terrorism. We are fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Why don't we take care of our own border and help the Mexicans with every resource we have other than just money? Let's send some people over there to help them fight this problem together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Our entire immigration system is broken. It is a patient that needs quadruple bypass surgery. A single bypass surgery of border security alone is important, but not enough to cure the patient of its ailment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Now let me tell you exactly what that $600 million in that bill is going to do.

It's going to hire 1,000 Border Patrol agents and 500 Customs and Immigration officers. Two hundred and fifty of those 500 are going to be targeting drug smuggling alone.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says, by the way, it's going to take about eight months to train the border agents. But look at the bottom line there. It's also going to buy two more unmanned drones to patrol the border. There are seven right now, so that will bring the number of unmanned drones up to nine.

There's also going to be seven new project gun-runner teams. These are teams that work for the ATF to stop weapons trafficking, and five FBI hybrid squads specifically designed to combat violence along the border. That's what that $600 million bill is going to be paying for.

I'm going to take a break right now.

When we come back, we're headed to the Gulf of Mexico, a special investigation. This is tragic. It is a story of a man who was hired to supervise someone else and now is accused of raping her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Nobody says that mobilizing an army of cleanup workers on the Gulf Coast beaches was easy, but the story you're about to hear is shocking, nonetheless. A supervisor on a cleanup crew in Mississippi is in jail today, charged with raping one of his workers. Now a CNN investigation uncovers the suspect's criminal history and raises questions as to whether this alleged attack could have been prevented with a simple background check. Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Abbie Boudreau went looking for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of thousands of cleanup workers who descended on the Gulf Coast was this man, Rundy 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 could have had 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): Rundy 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 go through anxiety. You know, I'm angry. I feel dirty, scared. I'm scared.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU: The victim says she didn't go to the police right away because she was afraid she would lose her job and she couldn't afford to let that happen. So she took a couple of days off work. And about a month after the incident, she says she was laid off.

Aerotek says she was one of many workers who were no longer needed to clean up the beaches, and it had nothing to do with what happened to her --

VELSHI: Yes, I don't understand the response where they said, we're not liable for that. The question here in part is legal liability, but it's also, what's the right thing to do? I mean, I hope there can be some learning out of this thing for when we do have these disasters where we're getting people in from all over the place.

Do you think anybody has learned anything out of this?

BOUDREAU: I mean, ,it's hard to know. I mean, really, this is a story about, where's the compassion?

VELSHI: Right. Put the legal liability aside for a second. What's the right thing to do? BOUDREAU: Exactly. And we just didn't see that from anybody.

And it's sad, because we're talking about a person's life here. And she really truly feels that this didn't need to happen. And the sheriff feels the same way.

VELSHI: Now, you talked to the sheriff in Pascagoula. What did you find with law enforcement in other towns? Have they been able to conduct background checks?

BOUDREAU: Yes. We talked to several police departments in Louisiana, and they were conducting criminal background checks in Grand Isle, Louisiana. They conducted criminal background checks and found three sex offenders that had been working. And again, this is not about whether or not a sex offender should get a job or not.

VELSHI: It's about having full information.

BOUDREAU: Full information. In this particular case, he was a sex offender who was not registering with the local law enforcement. If a background check was done, he would not have been hired. That is the point.

VELSHI: OK.

BOUDREAU: And just one more note. The sheriff would have done these checks for free.

VELSHI: For free, yes. And even though we accept that BP needs to be paying for anything that happened there, the fact is, these should have been done one way or the other. But there wasn't even a cost involved. You wonder how these things fall through the cracks.

Abbie, thanks so much. Good to see you.

Abbie Boudreau with Special Investigations Unit.

All right. How does a Scottish fish farmer manage to feed more than 400,000 kids all over the world every single day?

This week's CNN Hero when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

VELSHI: Love that music.

From a pint in the pub, to the poorest places on earth, this week's CNN Hero turned a beer-fueled brainstorm into a feeding program for hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren.

Magnus McFarlane-Barrow is serving a meal a day to some of the world's hungriest kids. Take a look at how a Scottish fish farmer's single act of kindness took on a life of its own.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGNUS MACFARLANE, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I never expected my life to change in this way.

My brother and I were having a pint in our local pub. We'd seen a news report about a refugee camp in Bosnia and we began saying, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just do one small thing to help. We gathered food and blankets and clothing and drove them out there.

I'm Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, and I gave up my job and I sold my house to try and help the people in Bosnia. Out of that has grown the organization which today feeds around 412,000 children every day in 15 different countries.

We buy the food locally and then we ask that the local community take responsibility for the daily cooking and the serving of the food. By far, our biggest project is here in Malawi where we're feeding about 350,000 people every day.

Our part is to allow those young people to realize their potential through feeding them, through keeping them alive and through getting them into the classroom.

We begun working in Haiti in 2006. In addition to feeding children, we feed the elderly. Since the earthquake, we've been involved in providing health care and rebuilding of the schools.

When I think making these meals (ph) I think of it a series of lots and lots of little acts of love. I have learned every small act of kindness does make a difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: More than 400,000 kids in 15 countries are getting nutritious meals thanks to Magnus. To see how he is helping in Haiti, or to help him deliver more meals, go to CNNHeroes.com.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time now to go "Globe Trekking," as we do every day.

Desperation is growing in flood-ravaged Pakistan and in China.

Let's start in China, in the Gansu Province. More rain is expected today, and that could trigger more deadly mudslides. The death toll has risen to over 1,100 there, with 588 people still missing.

The steady rain over the past few days has hampered relief efforts, and officials now have another fear -- the spread of disease. Water resources have been damaged. Chinese media are reporting that wells have been dug to ensure the water supply, but it's going to take time to get that water sterilized.

Let's move over to Pakistan now, also dealing with flooding. We've been telling you this for over a week.

New flood warnings issued today as the Indus River continues to crest. The death toll is also climbing. Officials revised it to 1,348 people. The U.S. government has dispatched a disaster assistance response team to assist with relief efforts.

Bill Berger is leading that group. I spoke with him about the spoke of this disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM BERGER, U.S. DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM: This is a disaster of, frankly, almost unimaginable proportions. In living memory, there hasn't been flooding in all three river systems at one time, so this is a huge disaster.

Having said that, Pakistan has a great deal of capacity, because beginning back with the earthquake in 2005, and a series of smaller disasters since then, they have a lot of people with a lot of experience in. But you have to realize the magnitude and the scope of this, which stretches from the very northern part of the country all the way down to the south.

And also remember that the government hasn't been unaffected by this itself, especially at the local level. The local authorities are flood-affected victims themselves. So they've been working diligently around the clock to rescue people and to move people, and to get people out of harm's way.

You mentioned other groups that are providing assistance. I was here in the earthquake, and we heard the same kinds of stories. I don't remember then it coming to very much. I don't expect that it will be much now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: When we saw our next story, we just had to bring it to you. It is a story of true brotherly love, the ultimate brotherly sacrifice, and it is a gift of life that led to death. You won't want to forget it.

We'll show you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Two brothers, one heartbreaking journey. One of them suffers from an incurable liver disease. The other is a healthy and perfect live organ donor match. What happens next brings us to a story you will never forget and one that changed a family forever.

Here's Ginger Delgado with our Denver affiliate KWGN-KDVR.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINGER DELGADO, KWGN REPORTER (voice-over): It's 5:30 a.m. in the waiting room at the University of Colorado Hospital. Ryan Arnold and his brother Chad are in good spirits. Their mom and dad and their wives all there for support.

They're quickly prepped for surgery as Ryan prepares to donate part of his liver to Chad, who is overcome with emotion --

CHAD ARNOLD, LIVER TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: Yes, it's very humbling experience.

DELGADO: -- as he recalls the day he learned his brother Ryan was a match.

ARNOLD: He said, "I'm a match." And you feel a lot of things -- relief, gratefulness to God and to him. And I think after that, you wrestle with a lot of guilt.

I really don't want to bring him through this, but he shut me up pretty fast. He said, "Well, you'd do the same thing for me, wouldn't you?"

DELGADO: Chad, who is 38, has PSC, a disease of the liver for which there is no cure. His condition was deteriorating and he needed a liver fast. A living donor was his only hope, so Ryan stepped in.

RYAN ARNOLD, LIVER DONOR: You know, I love Chad. He's my brother, and he's got a lot of life left to live.

I'm healthy, and I know I'll stay healthy. I know I'm going to recover. And I want to see him do the things he wants to do and be able to spend this time with his family, and want to have him around for a long time.

DELGADO: There are few words as the brothers say good-bye. Ryan's surgery is first.

A team of doctors carefully removes 60 percent of his healthy liver while Chad patiently waits.

C. ARNOLD: I think the thing I learned through all of this is God writes the story. It's not my story to write. Ryan is the hero and I'm just playing my part. That's how it's coming to me. And he's just a hero.

DELGADO: Once the organ is removed from Ryan, it's carefully rinsed and carried next door to transplanted into Chad after his diseased liver is taken out.

Doctor Igal Kam performed the surgery on Ryan.

DR. IGAL KAM, TRANSPLANT SURGERY: I think it's this kind of generosity, it's a wonderful thing to see, because he probably will save his brother's life.

DELGADO: But the surgery is risky. While both livers will regenerate and grow back to their original size, if too much is removed or something goes wrong, it's the donor whose life is at risk.

KAM: It's still a very controversial surgery. I think that we are very careful selecting our donors, and I think the chances that this will happen here are very, very low.

DELGADO: While that may be so, it's not what happened this time. Just two days after surgery, Ryan went into cardiac arrest and was placed on life support. He died two days after that on August 2nd.

Ryan Arnold was 34 years old, healthy, active and strong, a husband and father of three little boys ages 1, 4 and 6.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan is the hero in this.

DELGADO: Chad is now recovering at home. He's tired and weak, but doing well. He describes how he first learned of his brother's death.

C. ARNOLD: My dad just leaned forward and said, "You know, I've got some bad news." You know, he was holding back the tears. And he just said, "I got some bad news. You know, Ryan's gone, but we still serve a good God." I think I couldn't have said it better.

DELGADO: Ryan gave Chad the gift of life.

C. ARNOLD: It is the ultimate sacrifice, but he would do it again.

DELGADO: A gift which lead to his own death. Because of that, Chad refuses to place the blame on himself.

C. ARNOLD: It's a story about a man who is deeply convicted by his faith, and because of that, what he did for me was sort of a normal thing that he did for people.

DELGADO: While there's a huge scar on the outside, there is also one on the inside. Chad is committed to living his life the way Ryan lived his, with faith, compassion and humility.

C. ARNOLD: He would get a glitter in his eye and he'd always say that, you know, "We can do this." I can do this because I know that's not only what he'd want, that's what he'd do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK, we just told you about a man who died after donating part of his liver to his brother. An autopsy was done, but an official determination of Ryan Arnold's cause is still pending.

I want to read you this statement that the hospital gave out. It reads, in part, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ryan Arnold, a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend. We, too, came to know him and the whole Arnold family as a wonderful group of generous souls. Ryan's passing is heartbreaking for his family, the University of Colorado Hospital and the entire community.

"We will learn everything we can from this to keep making the phenomenal gift of transplant safe for organ donors as well as recipients. We will continue working to improve this vital, life- changing program which pioneered liver transplants 40 years ago. Ryan's passing will not be in vain."

Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, joins us with more on this.

We were talking earlier, you and I, and I had not made the distinction between kidney transplants, which are much more common and I guess safer than liver transplants.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is safer to donate a kidney than to donate a part of your liver. And liver transplants just aren't as common. From '96 to 2006, there were about 3,000 of them, that's not all that many for a 10-year period of time.

And it's just -- biologically, it's more dangerous to give away a section of your liver than to give away a kidney.

VELSHI: So is there -- there's a higher proportion or a higher chance of death? How regular is this? How common is this?

COHEN: Right. Take a look at these statistics, these come from the U.S. government. What they found is that for every 1,000 living liver donors, two will die. That is not an insignificant number, obviously, and the rate is much lower for kidneys.

If you want to look at complications, for every seven living liver donors, two will have complications, and that ranges from the minor to the major. But again -- and donors know this going in, they know that two out of seven people like them will suffer some form of a complication.

VELSHI: Well, what kind of things go wrong?

COHEN: You know, all sorts of things can go wrong. It might be that the donor was not properly screened. I mean, that's always a possibility even thought they do their best to screen.

It might be something like a surgical error occurred while they were taking the liver out. It maybe that they took too much of the liver out. Maybe the nicked the spleen or damaged the spleen while they were in there.

There's a whole bunch of different things, so they're going to figure this out so it doesn't happen again.

VELSHI: The reporter talked about that. She said that one of those things could be -- you could take out too much of the liver. Is it normal that 60 percent of the liver come out?

COHEN: That's on the high end. We're told they take anywhere between 25 percent and 60 percent. So it's certainly not unheard of that that happens, but that is on the higher end.

VELSHI: And in a successful case, it would regenerate in both the donor and the recipient?

COHEN: Correct. Given the right amount of time and circumstances, that's right.

VELSHI: As a recipient, you're still at greater danger in all of these things. You're risk as a recipient is usually greater than you're risk as a donor, right?

COHEN: Well, because you're sick to begin with. So you're sick to being with, so any time you have anything happen -- you're sick to begin with --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: And there's a chance you could reject the organ.

COHEN: Right. Chance that it doesn't fix the original problem.

The difference is that the donor was healthy going in, healthy going in. So you're doing harm to someone who's healthy to begin with.

VELSHI: What a remarkable story. It creates a whole bunch of conflict in people because we are all thought to -- many people want to be organ donors and they think, that's a no-brainer in some cases, but there are complications to this thing.

COHEN: Right, it has to be seriously considered.

VELSHI: All right, thanks, Elizabeth, we appreciate it.

Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent.

Let me bring you up to speed with some of the top stories that we're checking at this hour.

The website WikiLeaks is about to release another 15,000 pages of classified U.S. military reports on the Afghan war. Today, the Pentagon says based on its investigations, this next document dump could be, quote, "even more damaging," end quote, than last month's.

South Carolina's surprise Senate candidate Alvin Greene has just been indicted. According to court officials, it's for, quote, "disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity." This is all tied to Greene's arrest last November on the University of South Carolina campus. He was accused of showing porn to a student. Greene shocked the state when he won the Democratic Senate Primary in June.

Arizona authorities are hoping money really does talk. They're offering a $35,000 reward for tips leading to the capture of an escaped inmate and his fiancee. The latest credible sighting of these two was a week ago today in Billings, Montana. John McCluskey and Casslyn Mae Welch are considered armed and extremely dangerous.

All right, we're going to take a break. When we come back, the first family is headed to Florida this weekend for a trip that is business and pleasure. Ed Henry better be packing his sunscreen and Speedos cause he's tagging along. I'll bring you the details in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Can we just take a shot of Ed Henry right now? He's got people. I didn't know this. He's got people -- I thought he just gets out there and he's a working journalist. He's supposed to be on TV at 2:43. It's 2:42.

Look, he's got two people. There are two people getting Ed Henry ready for "The Stakeout." This is how seriously he takes this thing. He does not want to be winging it, running out of the press briefing like he otherwise would. He's actually got people.

I don't think he can hear me because -- no, he doesn't have the thing on. Don't put his mike on, because in case he doesn't know he's on TV, he might say something he doesn't want to say on TV.

This is the last time you'll see him dressed like that. He won't need people for what he's going to be wearing over the next few days. The first family is going to Florida. Ed's always ready to go, so all he has to do is rip off all that clothing, he's got his Speedos on underneath and he can take care of things in Florida.

We had you on TV a minute ago, you didn't know it. I was fascinated that you had people helping you out. And you had a guy helping you out --

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I have people. We have Khalil (ph) over here. He's my guy, he's my lead guy over here.

VELSHI: Yes, he was definitely helping you out.

HENRY: And you have got Jeff (ph) back there as well.

Ali, you've got other friends like Richard Quest. I have friends, too, so, you know?

VELSHI: That's how it's going to be. All right, then, why don't we just stick to business.

HENRY: I thought this was a tease. I thought we were doing a tease --

VELSHI: No, this is it. We're on TV. This is "The Stakeout." Did you forget?

HENRY: All right, all right. Let's do it.

VELSHI: Let's do it.

HENRY: Your guys told me it was at 2:46. Isn't it like 2:42 now? What happened?

VELSHI: It's 2:43 every day, Ed.

You going to Florida this weekend?

HENRY: I am. It's going to be really interesting because the president's going to Panama City and he's getting a little flak because it's only about a 27-hour trip. We're going Saturday, he's coming back Sunday.

And he got criticism originally for not going to the Gulf and telling people to vacation there and yet he was not vacationing there. He was vacationing in Maine and then going on to Martha's Vineyard. And so then they added this quick trip and now he's getting criticism for not staying too long.

But I was just talking to some folks down there, a professor, for example, who rates all of the nation's beaches who said Panama City is one of the best by the way. He said he thinks, look, is this going to be a photo op? Sure. But on the other hand, the president going even for 27 hours is going to raise the visibility of these Gulf Coast beaches.

And this professor was telling me that actually Panama City is one of the top ten city beaches in the country. They got very little if any oil. And in fact, it's so steamy down there, I'm told that the water is about 87 or 88 degrees.

VELSHI: Wow.

HENRY: So everybody's wondering -- it's actually a little hot, I suppose. Everybody is wondering whether the president is going to jump in. I mean, that's the big question -- Is he going to take the presidential plunge or not?

VELSHI: It's so hot in the south right now that 87 degrees would feel cold.

Ed, just put your finger to the right side of your tie for a second and run it down on the right side. Thank you very much. This is CNN, big news operation.

HENRY: We did it in a hurry.

I was watching you before and they had a picture of one of the stories you were talking about covering half of your head.

VELSHI: Really?

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: I could see -- things have really taken a turn ever since Richard and I started this "Q&A" segment. I can see where this is going.

HENRY: Look, you fired the first shot, buddy. All right?

VELSHI: When you go to beach with the president -- I saw you in Hawaii on Christmas Day, you were with the president. And unfortunately, there was breaking news that day with that guy who attempted to -- a bomb to set his underwear on fire.

HENRY: "The Underwear Bomber.''

VELSHI: And you were there and I guess you didn't know you were doing a lot of news, so you had some kind of crazy shirt on that day.

What do you wear when you follow the president to Florida? Are you really going to be in Speedos as the blogs are saying?

HENRY: Well -- as the blogs are saying? Well, actually, Robert Gibbs suggested that a little while ago cause Dan Lothian was pressing Robert Gibbs about whether the president is going to get into the water. And Robert seemed to be getting a little impatient with all the questions and also seemed sort of amused that everybody was wondering whether the president was going to swim, to take his shirt off.

And finally, Robert Gibbs basically said, are you guys going to bring your swim trunks? And Dan shot back, well, I'm not going to be there, but you know, I would get in the water if I was going to be there. He didn't mention that I will be there and Robert said something like, well, you could bring a Speedo or whatnot.

So maybe that's my orders maybe I have got to go buy a Speedo.

VELSHI: When you were getting married, I was in Toronto with Dan Lothian for the G-20. You know, I thought I'd figure I'm going to travel with you guys and sort of experience the White House junket sort of feel. Dan is in the gym all the time.

HENRY: The guy is -- he's a monster. He came in a few days ago. There was a big fight at his gym in the locker room and he was trying to stay out of it. Because he stays focused. The guy is in the weight room constantly and he is an inspiration to us all.

VELSHI: I, of course, was enjoying the free buffet.

HENRY: This is not a junket, though, by the way.

VELSHI: This is work.

HENRY: We're going down to Florida, we're going to be working. As you noted, on Christmas Day, we were in Hawaii and I was on the air with you for hours.

VELSHI: No, that is -- that's a good point because I was going to why do you actually have to go with the president on a vacation to Florida, but you were there and we were finding out from you what the president knew, what was being discussed about this terrorist attack, this terrorist attempt. So I guess there is that.

HENRY: There is.

And you know, in all seriousness for a second, because we like to joke around a little bit, you know, people always raise this about, why do you go to Hawaii, why do you follow the president around? You know, sometimes he gives a speech that seems kind of routine where he's saying the same thing he said maybe the week before.

But you remember back to George W. Bush on 9/11, that was just a quick trip where he was doing an education speech. A lot of people are like, he's not going to have any new policy, just going to be reading a book to some students. Next thing you know, the World Trade Center goes down, the Pentagon is attacked. And all of a sudden, where the president is matters a lot, what he says about all of that.

And so, yes, obviously we're hoping this weekend will be very quiet. You know, we joke about vacationing with the president, but as Robert Gibbs was pointing out a couple of days ago, the president and the folks who follow him are never completely off because at a moment's notice, you have to jump right in.

VELSHI: Did you ever ask Gibbs the question, are you going to be swimming?

HENRY: You know, now that Robert Gibbs has challenged me, I think I'm going to have to swim. If the president swims, I'll have to swim.

VELSHI: You don't have one of those Speedos, though, right?

HENRY: I don't, and I'm not getting one.

VELSHI: Despite what the blogs say.

HENRY: I don't want to hurt the business in the Gulf Coast by wearing a Speedo. I want to make sure the Gulf Coast comes back.

VELSHI: Very good.

HENRY: I want the Gulf Coast to do well.

VELSHI: Ed, always a pleasure to see you, my friend.

Ed Henry at "The Stakeout" at the White House. You'll see him this weekend in Florida. You have a great weekend. See you next week.

HENRY: Thanks, I'll see you next week. We'll be traveling with President Obama next week, so we'll do "The Stakeout" from the road.

VELSHI: Very good.

"Wordplay" coming up next. You can run, but you can't stay, when I come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Today's "Wordplay" was born just a few blocks from where I'm standing at the Fulton County Courthouse. That's where the alleged serial stabber Elias Abuelazam told a judge today that he'd willingly go back to Michigan to face trial for murder. The process and our word of the day is extradition. The suspect was fuzzy on the details so here's the clear version.

It's in our Constitution, Article 4, Section 2, "A person charged in any state with treason, felony or other crime who shall flee from justice and be found in another state shall on demand of the state from which he fled be delivered up." Simple as that.

The stabbing suspect waived extradition, meaning he won't force authorities in Michigan to persuade a court in Atlanta to send him back involuntarily.

What's any of this got to do with a Christmas tree? Only the root word, tradition. From the Latin, to hand down, deliver or entrust.

We trust the suspect will learn a lot more about U.S. legal traditions before his case is over.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: We are going to take a quick break. We brought you a heartbreaking story this hour about a man who died after donating part of his liver to his brother. I want to say something more about the ultimate form of brotherly love and about organ donation in my "XYZ" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time now for "The XYZ of It."

Twenty-five minutes ago, we brought you the story of two brothers, Ryan Arnold, the picture of health, 34 years old, and his brother, Chad, failing with a deadly liver disease and only days to live. Chad needed a healthy liver and without a moment's hesitation, his kid brother, Ryan, a husband and father of three, gave 60 percent of his liver to his brother.

For Chad, the surgery went well, he's home recovering. But in a very rare occurrence his very healthy brother went into cardiac arrest and died a few days later.

There's no question that living organ donation comes with high risk and this situation has a lot of people talking. Organ donation is a controversial topic. I'm not here to tell you to be or not to be an organ donor, it's a very personal choice that affects family, religion and personal beliefs to the core and like anything, something you should do your own research on. I did and I made my own decision to become a donor.

What I can tell you is this, right now at this very moment, 108,000 people are candidates on the waiting list for organs in this country and the chances of dying during living donation is usually extremely rare.

After Ryan died, his brother Chad was asked about the gift he received. He simply said, Ryan gave without hesitation. It's the ultimate sacrifice, he'd do it again.

That's my "XYZ." Now here's Don with "RICK'S LIST."

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much for that, Ali.