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Pres. Obama Supports Mosque; 8 Killed at Off-Road Race; The Mosque Already Near WTC Site; N.Y. Islamic Center Controversy; Pakistan Flood Disaster Far from Over; Pill Works Beyond Morning After; U.S. Military Returns to Tarawa; Market Offers Awesome Back-to- School Tech
Aired August 15, 2010 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN, everything you need to know for your week ahead, including the president pulling himself and his party right into a growing controversy over a mosque near Ground Zero. He explains his comments only to CNN.
Horrifying moments as an off-road race goes out of control, caught on tape. Eight people are dead. Now a federal investigation.
Hundreds of dead marines from World War II buried in mass graves. Never identified. Never found, until now. Decades later, their loved ones and America will know what became of some heroes of the South Pacific.
Good evening, everyone. It has dominated the headlines all weekend, and it may continue to do so in the week ahead. President Obama taking sides on the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero. Overshadowing his own trip to promote Gulf Coast recovery. Here's part of what he had to say on Friday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.
But let me be clear, as a citizen and as President, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion, as everyone else in this country. And that includes -- that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and ordinances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And on Saturday, the president addressed those comments in an exclusive interview with our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: In this country, we treat everybody equally. In accordance with the law. Regardless of race, regardless of religion. I was not commenting, and I will not comment on, the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right the people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about. And I think it's very important that, you know, as difficult as some of these issues are, that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, this is definitely an emotionally charged issue, and we are really going to dig deeper into it this hour. Later in the show, the interview you have all been tweeting me about. A 9/11 firefighter and an interfaith leader and Muslim who advised President Obama. Both men on opposite sides of this mosque proposed near Ground Zero.
One year from now, the U.S. is set to begin reducing its troop levels in Afghanistan. But it ultimately depend on the security situation on the ground. General David Petraeus, the man now in charge of winning this war, spoke about the target earlier today on NBC's "Meet The Press."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES AFGHANISTAN: That's what July 2011 really connotes. It is to all the participants, those in Kabul, some of us in uniform, again, our civilian counterparts that we've got to get on with this. That this has been going on for some nine years or so. That there is understandable concern and some cases frustration and that, therefore, we've got to really put our shoulder to the wheel and show during the course of this year that progress can be achieved. And again, one manifestation of that is out there that you have this date.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A big challenge for Petraeus is to defeat the Taliban without civilian casualties. He recently issued new guidelines to troops to avoid engage in enemy fighters if there are civilians present.
In the Mojave desert, a popular off-road truck race turned tragic when one of the vehicles careened into spectators.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Frightening moments caught on tape there. Witnesses say the white truck lost control after a jump and flipped over on to people standing along that course. Six people died at the scene. Two died later. At least nine others were hurt. Four of them seriously. Racing officials advised spectators to stand well back from the course. Clearly, people were not heeding that advice. The young man who captured the tragic event on video tells CNN he had his own close call just moments earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JONATHAN DAVY, WITNESSED FATAL CRASH: About two minutes before, I started filming, there was a close call with myself and some friends that were on the left side where I was filming. And I actually was a lot closer than, you know, what it shows on the video. And I got pushed back. It was -- I got shaken up. I turned to my friend. Man, that was close. And that's when I decided to film what was going on and that's the only video I have of the whole race was just that -- the crash. And it's very unfortunate what happened. And I mean, way too close for comfort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The driver of the truck that crashed posted this message on Facebook. It said, "So incredibly lost and devastated. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and friends involved. Thank you to all my friends for sticking with me even through these tragic times. I love you all."
And coming up, we're breaking down the heated debate on whether to build a mosque just blocks away from Ground Zero. It seems everyone has something to say about it. Opposition, support, even indifference. But comparing it to the civil rights movement?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, I have to tell you, this seems to me a little bit like telling black people 50 years ago you can sit anywhere on the bus you like but just not the front.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The explosive controversy you don't want to miss. That's straight ahead.
And a new birth control pill is likely to stir some strong debate. You've heard of the morning after pill. Well, you might call this one the week after pill.
And seeing this outside your window might make you wonder if you forgot to have your morning coffee. Zebras on the run in a neighborhood.
And don't just sit there. We want you to be part of the conversation. Send us a message on Twitter or Facebook. Check out our blog on CNN.com/Don and look for us on FourSquare. You can check in there as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In tonight's "State of Our Nation," in all the controversy over the proposed Islamic center and mosque in Manhattan, you may not realize that there already is one just blocks from Ground Zero. Masjid Manhattan has been around since 1970 before construction was even finished on the World Trade Center towers. Well, today, our Susan Candiotti paid a visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Here we are on the corner of Church and Warren Streets in lower Manhattan, and about four blocks in that direction is Ground Zero. You can see where that crane is, that's where construction is going on right now. And about halfway between there and here is the proposed site of that controversial Islamic center.
What most people don't know is about a half block from where I'm standing is the site of another very small mosque that has been here for about 40 years in the neighborhood, without one whiff of controversy. I went over there to kind of check things out.
(voice-over): This man worships at Masjid Manhattan and he thinks the new mosque should be built.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people got a bad idea of us because of what happened between the 9/11 and all that. They don't represent our religion. They don't represent the Muslim. We want to show to all the people that our religion can be like other people. We can mix with all others like Christian or Jew. Every religion got its problems, but there seem to be more eyes on us right now because of these things.
CANDIOTTI: His mosque has not taken a formal stand on the controversy but says it opposes terrorism and promotes peace.
LUCAS GONZALEZ, LOWER MANHATTAN RESIDENT: It's never been a problem. People at the mosque have always been very respectful.
CANDIOTTI: Lucas Gonzalez has lived next to the mosque since before 9/11. Unlike nearly 70 percent of Americans and more than half of New Yorkers in recent polling, he approves of the proposed cultural center.
GONZALEZ: It's been hard for us to rebuild. And as it goes up slowly, I think that there's some hope there that we can sort of rebuild and come to terms with what's happened to us and the differences that have set us apart.
CANDIOTTI: As time goes on, will both sides simply harden their positions? Or is there -- can there be a compromise?
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, tonight, two people closely impacted by this debate weigh in. Eboo Patel is a Muslim and the executive director of the Interfaith Youth Corps in Chicago. We also heard from Tim Brown. He is a retired New York firefighter. He survived September 11th and is filing suit over the center. Brown said he's aware of the other mosque in the World Trade Center area, and he has something interesting to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TIM BROWN, RETIRED NEW YORK FIREFIGHTER: That mosque is actually, if you look on their Web site, they have disavowed themselves of any relation or association with Imam Rauf's group. And we don't have a problem with them.
Imam Rauf is not the person he portrays himself to be. He has said publicly that he wants to leverage 9/11 for his own advantage.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Well, just to explain to our viewers -- Imam Rauf is -- Feisal Abdul Rauf is the imam who is behind the mosque, who wants to build this mosque near Ground Zero. He was also -- they said he was going to be sent overseas to try to bridge relationships between Muslims and Americans and many people are against that.
So I understand that you're concerned about that. Let me ask you this. I was going to go here later, but I'll do it now.
If Imam Rauf was not involved in this situation, would you feel differently about it? Would you support this mosque?
BROWN: Well, probably not. You know, our issue with it is that this building is being built on a cemetery of our loved ones. I lost 93 of my friends. This building was actually impacted directly by the landing gear of one of the hijacked planes that was slammed into the tower by radical Muslim terrorists.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Let me ask you, so what did you think of the President's comments on Friday?
BROWN: Well, I think he -- I think he misses the point. They're trying to couch this as a religious freedom and trying to portray us as bigots. And nothing could be further from the truth.
The family -- what happened to the sensitivity going from the Muslim world to the families? That's been brushed aside, and we're supposed to be sensitive to the Muslim world on this.
LEMON: OK.
BROWN: It's upside down.
LEMON: All right. Mr. Patel, how did you view the President's comments on Friday?
EBOO PATEL, EXEC. DIR., INTERFAITH YOUTH CORE: You know, we expect our leaders in America to stand up for our highest principles and one of the priest principles of America is that we're a nation of people from different backgrounds living in equal dignity and mutual loyalty. Presidents from Washington and Jefferson to Clinton and Bush have stood up for that. President Obama stood up for that as well. I applaud him for that. This situation, though, don't you think it's a bit different considering what happened on 9/11? And the people behind this mosque have said that there is a need for it in lower Manhattan. So that's why it's being built there.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What about 10, 20 blocks midtown Manhattan and considering the circumstances behind this. That's not understandable to you?
PATEL: Don, you know, in America, we don't tell people based on their race or ethnicity or religion that they are free in this place but not that place.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I understand but there's always context. Mr. Patel, there's always context. I don't think anyone is saying against -- against religious freedom or the freedom of expression or any of that. But there's always context.
This is an extraordinary circumstance, and you understand that it is very heated. Many people lost their loved ones on 9/11. And if --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: -- if building the mosque is going to cause a controversy like this, when it's supposed to be building relations between Christians, Jews, Muslims, Americans, it seems to be doing the exact opposite. So just considering the context here; that's what I'm talking about.
PATEL: Don, I have to tell you, this seems to me a little bit like telling black people 50 years ago, you can sit anywhere on the bus you like, but just not the front.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I don't think --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I don't think that black people were behind a terrorist plot to kill people and drive planes into a building.
BROWN: That's right. That's a completely different circumstance.
PATEL: And American Muslims were not behind the terrorist plot either.
LEMON: OK. Go ahead, Mr. Brown.
PATEL: The vile terrorists who -- the vile terrorists who attacked the United States on 9/11 deserve one name and one name alone. That is vile terrorists.
And the American Muslims who are police officers and firefighters, who coach Little League and serve on the PTA deserve another name, an honored name. And that is fellow American.
BROWN: Let me tell you a story about a woman named Janet Casio who lost her son Paul.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I hope it's short, Mr. Brown, because we're running out of time. If you can do it quickly.
BROWN: She went in and spoke at the Landmark Preservation Commission here and very passionately against the mosque. When she walked out and went to her car she had a heart attack. This is what is being done to the families of 9/11. And I'm -- I'm ashamed that people are saying we're not sensitive to the Muslim world.
LEMON: OK.
BROWN: Where is the sensitivity back to us?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: OK. A lot of you have been weighing in on this. Getting a lot of traffic on Twitter. I want to read some of your responses again because they have been very passionate.
Here we go right now. Here's one from Anne Marie. She said, "Let's not indict every Muslim for 9/11 or every German for holocaust, or every American for Nagasaki. Only the guilty," she says.
"Who decides which extenuating circumstances count? How come one religion is more valid than others?"
You express what many of us feel about the mosque. I'm not against building one, but why there?"
"Thank you for explaining exactly the point about the mosque. Clearly and summarized correctly. And the Republicans are manipulating Americans, putting Americans against other Americans, attacking Latinos and now the Muslims, and on and on."
So I guess it depends on your particular perspective and lens as to how you feel about this controversy. Keep your comments coming. We appreciate them.
You know, the proposed Islamic center and mosque just two blocks from Ground Zero really has everybody talking. Now even President Obama has joined that debate. But is it politically dangerous for him to do so?
And one of those Arizona prison escapees still on the run two weeks after busting out. Tonight, new developments in that case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: As we have been reporting to you here on CNN, the White House was hoping everyone would focus on President Obama's trip to the gulf coast this weekend. But his comments supporting the right to build a proposed mosque near Ground Zero really stole the spotlight. Most Americans do not agree with the president on this issue.
In a recent CNN.Opinion Research Corporation Poll, more than two- thirds of people were against the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero. Only 29 percent of those surveyed supported that plan.
CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston and senior White House correspondent Ed Henry weigh in on how the White House is dealing with the backlash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They are certainly nervous, but they are trying to keep a stiff upper lip publicly. Because they're saying, look, this president wanted to weigh in in a principled way and doesn't really care about the polls. He sees the polls obviously are pretty heavily weighted against support for this mosque.
And I think it's pretty clear that the mosque is not going to be the central issue in the November elections. It's still going to be jobs and the economy. But I think there is some nervousness, not just for the White House but probably more on Capitol Hill among Democrats that this could play into a narrative that Republicans are pushing that, you know, the White House has been arrogant and Washington is pushing policies on you. Now that may be an unfair narrative, but it's a narrative Republicans are pushing. And this may play right into that.
LEMON: Listen, Mark. Many people are wondering why the president even got involved in this. It's a politically dangerous debate for the president, isn't it?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: It is, Don. And it's very dangerous certainly in this time. The summer, things are very quiet. Not a lot is going on. So whenever you have an explosive issue like this come to the forefront, it really spreads out wide and far. And you know, just talking to House Democrats tonight, they are very frustrated by this. You know, they are saying to themselves, why did the president bring this up? All that he is doing to us right now is forcing us to have to weigh in on this very thorny issue.
So House Democrats right now as well as Senate Democrats are saying to themselves, Mr. President, I wish you hadn't weighed in on this issue.
LEMON: Mark, I imagine the Republicans are going to use this come November.
PRESTON: Yes, Don. And what we've heard just this evening is that House Republican leaders are telling their candidates back across the country to really hammer home on this issue. Again, this is a very explosive issue. And at a time when Democrats are trying to localize these elections to try to talk about things that they've done back home, Republicans are trying to nationalize it. They are trying to bring the president into the debate. With the president with an approval rating in the mid-40s right now, it only helps Republicans to continue to talk about this issue.
And, Ed, Mark talked about this a little bit about the president. He could have skirted this issue without saying anything at all. And many Democrats are wondering why some are angry. Is there -- did you get any sense from the administration, from the president as you were traveling with him, why he did this?
HENRY: Yes, they basically felt that for a couple of weeks, White House aides had ducked it by saying, look, this is a local issue. But the president in private was telling his staff, I'm told, that we couldn't duck it any longer basically. This is a serious national issue. It's not just a local issue. Number one.
And number two, he had a forum to address it. Friday night he was hosting a celebration around Ramadan. Previous presidents have done the same. Democrats and Republicans. And I'm told the president just felt in private that he would look like a coward if he went to this very event and duck what was such a critical issue.
LEMON: I want to ask you. What about his comments. He made exclusive comments to you yesterday. Was it -- I don't know. Did he sort of -- did he put his foot in his mouth? I hate to ask that, but --
HENRY: You know, the White House is insisting he didn't. But I found it very interesting that when I pressed him on this, his major point was trying to make a distinction on Saturday that, look, I was not commenting Friday about the wisdom of this particular project when in fact, and I saw you have been playing the full context of what he said Friday night. He went on and on. He didn't just talk about the broad principle of religious freedom. He really did indicate on Friday night and suggest that he was endorsing this project saying, look, this is a bedrock principle. Even if you don't like it, you kind of essentially have to let it move forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Mark Preston and Ed Henry there. Thanks to both of them.
Devastating flooding that's killed more than 1,000 and left millions of people homeless. Hard to believe, but we're now learning that the situation in Pakistan is getting even worse. Reports of disease now spreading.
Also ahead, U.S. Marines return to one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's basically a promise by the United States government that they will do everything in their power to bring their fallen warriors home. And that's the way we roll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A tiny patch of sand in the middle of the pacific called Tarawa. Their goal to find U.S. Marines who died there more than 65 years ago.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A major humanitarian disaster could emerge this week in Pakistan. Weeks of monsoon rains have devastated the country. U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon toured the area today and pleaded with the international community for help. Thousands of people are dead. Millions are homeless and destitute. They need food. They need shelter. And with growing but unconfirmed reports of cholera, they may soon need something else. Lots of medicine.
CNN's Reza Sayah reports from the capital of Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): These floods hit more than two weeks ago. And over the past several days, it's become clear that things are not improving, they are getting worse. And that is exactly why U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon made a visit to Pakistan on Sunday.
It was a busy day for the U.N. chief. He flew into the federal capital of Islamabad escorted by the interior minister, Rehman Malik, who briefed him on the situation on the ground using maps. He showed the U.N. chief the flood zone that extends from parts of northwest Pakistan, all the way to central Pakistan. The U.N. is saying 1/5 of Pakistan is under water.
Once Mr. Ban landed, he met with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. He then went on a helicopter tour of some of the flood zones and he capped off the day with a news conference where he described the devastation he saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Thousands of towns and villages have simply been washed away. Roads, bridges, buildings, crops -- billions of livelihoods have been lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAYAH: Alongside the U.N. chief at the conference, the much maligned Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari who's been sharply criticized by the local media here in Pakistan for being absent two weeks ago when these floods hit. Mr. Zardari with this message for the media:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT ASIF ALI ZARDARI, PAKISTAN: I would appeal to the press to understand the magnitude of the issue. The magnitude is so spread out that we've requested China to drop food for 40,000 or 25,000 people, which are beyond our reach. We cannot reach those mountains. The magnitude of the problem the world has never seen such a disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAYAH: So, both President Zardari and U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon making a very urgent and public appeal for the international community to step up aid. Now, Pakistan anxiously awaits to see how the world responds.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Those monsoon rains in Pakistan have really been relentless. And they are not over yet. I want to check in with our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras to talk about the weather in Pakistan. But it's hard to put into words, really, just how serious this is. The magnitude of this is huge.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. Historic, really. And I've even heard the term of biblical proportions being used. That's how bad this is. Some people are calling it a 100-year flood. But that's really kind of an ambiguous situation.
Now here's some video of the situation. What's been going on. Most of this has been in northern and central parts of Pakistan. About one-fifth of the country is now under water and dealing with some of that flooding. And to put that into perspective for you that's like the entire state of Florida being under water. That's how widespread this is.
The water continues to remain high. The peak of the water is trying to surge its way downstream now. And even if we don't get a single drop of additional water, we're going to have water standing probably for at least another two weeks. And in this river there is about 12 times its normal size.
Now there are some new concerns here at this hour. And I want to show you an area it has occurred and this is on Google Earth. Here you can see Pakistan and we'll zoom in. And if you take a look at the river and the terrain here as we zoom in more, you'll see that it's very, very flat. So it takes a long time for that water to all get within the river.
Now this is what we call a barrage. It's basically a dam to you and me. And there you can see they have a very complex irrigation system. Literally millions of people rely solely on this river for their supply of drinking water as well as their irrigation. Now the water is kind of getting backed up in this area, not flowing out the way that it was designed to. So we're very concerned that a secondary crest is on the way. And that could really just inundate this entire area. So we'll be watching this very closely. And of course, those monsoonal rains are expected to continue over the next few days as well as weeks. You know, we're really basically only about halfway through the monsoon season, Don.
LEMON: Oh, boy. We're going to be covering this here on CNN next week; especially, CNN International will be following this as well. Again, expected to get worse, sadly.
Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.
And to find out how you can make a difference and help the flood victims in Pakistan, visit our Impact Your World page. Just log on to cnn.com/impact.
The "morning after" pill stirred strong feelings and heated debate. Now get ready for the reaction to a pill that can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex. We'll talk about it.
And going back to school and doing it in style. I'm not talking about the latest clothing trends here. It's all about the coolest new gadgets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. A new pill will no doubt make waves in the weeks ahead and stir up an ongoing debate over emergency contraception. The Food and Drug Administration just approved a pill called Ella that offers women more time to prevent pregnancy than just the morning after. Ella works for up to five days after unprotected sex. That is according to its maker HRA Pharma.
And to get a full picture of how Ella works and how it differs from what's already available, we have Dr. Sujatha Reddy. She is an obstetrician and a gynecologist and a clinical assistant professor at Emory University's School of Medicine.
Thanks for joining us. You doing OK today?
DR. SUJATHA REDDY, OBSTETRICIAN/GYNECOLOGIST: Thanks. I'm doing well. Thank you.
LEMON: Great. How effective is Ella, doctor? Does it work nearly 100 percent of the time?
REDDY: It almost seems to work 100 percent of the time. I wish there was something that was 100 percent effective. But when compared to the old "morning after" pill, it seemed to prevent more pregnancies. You would expect pregnancy rates to be anywhere from 5 percent to 7 percent. And here we had pregnancy rates between 1 percent and 2 percent. So it was highly effective.
LEMON: OK. So, people know, you know, this -- the "morning after" pill, which is called Plan B. What's the difference between the "morning after" pill and this new "5-day" pill?
REDDY: Demographic, I think of that, to help people look at it. What we see here is that the old "morning after" pill worked for up to three days and the sooner you took it, the better because it's efficacy or how well it worked went down in those three days.
With the new Ella pill, we know it works for up to five days and it doesn't matter in that five days when you take it. It works just as well on day one as it would on day four. The other main difference you see there is that the old "morning after" pill is available without a prescription if you are 17 and older, but the new pill is going to be prescription only.
LEMON: Would you recommend this new emergency contraception to your patients?
REDDY: You know, I would. I think it's great that women have one more option if there is, you know, an unintended event that occurs. You have one more option and you have that option a little bit longer than you did in the past. So I would recommend it and prescribe it.
LEMON: So what happens if you take Ella and then you become pregnant and then the pill -- if you do become pregnant, like it doesn't work? Does the pill then impact the fetus or the baby?
REDDY: It doesn't seem to, but that also is one reason that they are, I think, recommending that you get a prescription, because you can go see your health care provider and have a pregnancy test before you take the Ella pill, because we don't really know the effects, but it seems to be OK.
LEMON: Have you -- have you seen in your practice any abuse or do you know about in studies any abuse of the "morning after" pill and could that happen with Ella?
REDDY: You know, I personally have not seen that happen. And we don't seem to think that will happen with the new pill. It didn't happen with the old one. So I don't think that would happen.
LEMON: All right. Doctor, thank you very much. We appreciate your time on this Sunday.
REDDY: Thank you.
LEMON: Up next, a stunning development in the so-called Craigslist murder case. It's one of our top stories tonight.
And we're looking ahead to the stories you'll be hearing about this week, including an olive branch gesture. South Korea's president suggests a reunion with its enemy to the North.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's take a look at some of your top stories here on CNN. An autopsy is scheduled tomorrow for a former medical student charged in a murder tied to Craigslist. Police say Philip Markoff apparently committed suicide. He was found unresponsive in his Massachusetts jail cell this morning. Markoff is charged with killing a masseuse who had advertised on Craigslist.
A warden and a security official have resigned at an Arizona state prison where three inmates escaped last month. Two of the fugitives have been captured but inmate John McCluskey is still on the run. He was serving a sentence for attempted murder. U.S. marshals are once again focusing on the Canadian border and western Montana in their search for McCluskey and a female accomplice.
And something for the markets to consider on Monday. China is now the second largest economy in the world. That's according to "The New York Times." The most recent quarterly economic figures put China slightly ahead of Japan for the first time ever. The United States is still the largest global economy with a gross domestic product of roughly $14 trillion. Just to keep that in perspective for you, that's five times larger than China and Japan combined.
Now a look at the stories that we will be -- that will be topping the news in the week ahead from Washington to Wall Street to Hollywood. And we start tonight at the White House.
HENRY: I'm Ed Henry at the White House where this week the president will be kicking his campaign machinery into high gear. I'll be hitting the road with the president as he campaigns and raises money for Democrats in Wisconsin, California, the State of Washington, Ohio and Florida, before taking the first family to Martha's Vineyard for a vacation.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. And coming up next week, a briefing from one of the NATO commanders in northern Afghanistan. Not a lot of focus has been in that part of the country recently. But what had been peaceful is now violent, and the Taliban are making a push there. The commander was going to brief reporters on exactly why the situation is changing and what's being done about it.
Also the Pentagon keeping a very close eye on Wikileaks. The company is threatening to release another 15,000 documents very, very soon. The Pentagon has warned Wikileaks not to do it, but Wikileaks' founder says they are going ahead with that release.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser with a look at a busy week ahead on the campaign trail. On Tuesday, competitive primaries in Washington state and Wyoming. Look at a tough Senate battle in Washington State and a tough Republican gubernatorial fight in Wyoming.
Former President Bill Clinton on the campaign trail on Monday. He's helping out Congressman Kendrick Meek who is in a tough primary battle for the Democratic Senate nomination with billionaire investor Jeff Greene. And another possible future presidential hopeful will be at the Iowa state fair on Wednesday.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Ahead this week on Wall Street, major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, all reporting their quarterly earnings. And investors are going to be looking for any more information from HP after the CEO of that company Mark Hurd stepped down in the wake of a scandal earlier this month.
And the housing market will take center stage on Tuesday with the latest housing starts and building permit reports. Wall Street is hoping to see a turnaround for that beleaguered housing sector.
And then on Friday, we will get the state-by-state unemployment report. That is critical.
It's all coming up. We'll track it all for you on CNNMoney.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson. And here's what we're watching this week -- the final box office results in Monday. Will the nerds beat the big stars? "Scott Pilgrim Versus the World" takes on Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables," and Julia Roberts' "Eat, Pray, Love."
And "Jersey Shore's" Snookie is expected in court Wednesday to face charges of disorderly conduct.
"Showbiz Tonight" live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern and still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m.
LEMON: All right. Thanks to everybody here domestically in the United States.
Now to tell us what's going on internationally -- Azadeh Ansari. I know that the international desk will be following what's happening in Pakistan very closely. But we want to start -- there's also other news, right? And we want to go to South Korea first, right?
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Absolutely. South Korea. Well, today in a speech marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule, President -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak came out and proposed a plan to reunite South Korea with North Korea.
Now this is really unheard of. This is huge. So we're going to be watching this story going on to next week to see what the international community has to say about his comments today. And also we know that tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula in general after the sinking of the South Korean ship back in March, so.
LEMON: That's going to be an interesting one to watch.
ANSARI: Very interesting.
LEMON: This thing is really -- Azadeh Ansari, so we'll get Iran. Tell us about what we're going to be doing. You'll be covering Iran.
ANSARI: Sure. Spin the map here.
LEMON: Spin the map. ANSARI: Spin the globe, I should say.
LEMON: Let's just -- tell us about Iran. Go ahead and talk about it and then I'll get it up for you.
ANSARI: Sure. Well, what is going to happen at the end of this week is that Iran's first nuclear power plant is going to be loaded up with reactor fuel. Now the power plant is in located in Bushehr, Iran, which is on the southwest coast on the Persian Gulf.
So again, a big story. This site has been under construction since 1975. The Russians picked it up in 1995. And we'll wait and see what happens there, so.
LEMON: OK. And then again -- and then also Australia. I can't get another one -- get this thing --
ANSARI: Australia.
LEMON: A little bit of trouble with the map tonight. There it goes.
ANSARI: Fourteen million people are going to come out for this run-off election. Now, the election is between incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her opposition opponent Tony Abbott. And when I say 14 million, I mean 14 million, because in Australia, they have a compulsory voting system. So everyone is required to register to vote and to turn out to vote. And if they don't, they are fined.
LEMON: All right. Oh, boy. All right. Thank you. They're very interesting stories, but I have to say Pakistan, Pakistan, Pakistan.
ANSARI: That's the big story.
LEMON: We'll be following that closely. That is the big story. Watch that story next week. Thank you, Azadeh.
You know, it's one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II and we're not talking about Normandy. A tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where today a recovery mission is under way to bring home the remains of our servicemen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tarawa is a tiny dot in the South Pacific. It's also the site of an epic Marine Corps battle of World War II. Defeating the Japanese who were dug in in Tarawa took three days. But the cost of victory was staggering. Hundreds of dead Marines were buried in mass graves and never recovered until now.
CNN's Ted Rowlands takes us there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PITETI TENTOA, TARAWA RESIDENT: This is where we found it, inside the hole here.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): About a year ago, Piteti Tentoa was digging a hole with his son right next to his home.
TENTOA: We dig the hole for making a garden. And while we digging the hole and we would find a bone.
ROWLANDS: Peter lives in Tarawa, the site of one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history Peter says there was no doubt in his mind he'd found a U.S. Marine.
It is a very big American boy when we look at it. Very long bone in the legs like an American. And he has a can hanging on the side.
ROWLANDS: The World War II battle of Tarawa claimed more than 1,000 Marines in just over 72 hours of fighting with the Japanese. After the war, the U.S. government tried but couldn't find all of the U.S. bodies that had been buried on the island.
Now more than 65 years later, the U.S. military is back on Tarawa looking for those lost Marines.
JPAC is the military's unit responsible for finding and identifying lost soldiers. For the past week, the JPAC team has been digging and sifting areas where they think there may be remains, which they were doing when Peter showed up.
CAPT. TODD NORDMAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: He came over and, you know, basically hollered at us over the fence and got our attention.
ROWLANDS: Peter took Marine Captain Todd Nordman and his team inside his tiny home and showed them what he had.
STAFF SGT. JORDY ANTHONY, U.S. ARMY: And once we went there and checked them out, it was -- it was eye-opening.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Peter had kept the remains in a box on this shelf above his bed, along with a skeleton. He also found a helmet, ammunition belt and a canteen.
TENTOA: We looked out there for months and months before your people, the American team, come and look for them.
NORDMAN: His respect that he gave the remains was pretty incredible, and honestly it gave me goose bumps.
ROWLANDS: Then Piteti gave them something else.
STAFF SGT. KURTIS WITT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: The captain turned around and this guy handed him a projectile.
NORDMAN: I, you know, instantly said, you know, you don't need this in your house.
ROWLANDS (voice over): The crew took the bomb away. The remains were bagged and labeled and will be analyzed for identification. Piteti says after taking care of the remains he feels connected to them and told us he would like to meet the soldier's family some day.
TENTOA: They will be very happy and see the body of their boy or their father or their brother coming back home to America.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The U.S. military is planning on spending more than a month here. They are digging on six separate sites. This is the second of those six. It's estimated that there could be as many as 500 U.S. Marines still buried here.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Tarawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. So forget getting those cool jeans, new shoes and stylish backpack for the new school year. It's all about the gadgets. Our tech guru Katie Linendoll shows us the cool new stuff.
And meet the new neighbors, but be warned, they are a bunch of animals. Zebras on the loose.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is the first day of school tomorrow for lots of kids around the country. Sorry, kids. And the technology that's available to them right now is going to make you say "I wish we had that when I was in school."
Well, tech whiz Katie Linendoll shows us the cool stuff you might want to pick out -- pick up and put in your backpack for school.
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH WHIZ: Yes. This is made for those 7:00 a.m. classes that shouldn't exist in the first place. This is the "Skull." Now as you can see here, it sources its power from this thing right here. It's called the "Bone Crusher."
What you do is you put this between your mattress and your box spring. It will actually shake your entire bed. You pair that with these LED lights that are right inside the alarm clock and 113 decibels. Now let me tell you -- I'm going to set it off for you for a second.
It is really loud and really obnoxious. And this thing goes crazy. But what's awesome is, I've mentioned that it has 113 decibels. An average alarm clock has 80 decibels and a jet engine and a jack hammer have about 130. So you will be waking up for your class no problem.
LEMON: Is that -- that's not the one that shakes your bed, is it?
LINENDOLL: Yes, dude, that's what I was just saying. You're not paying attention. LEMON: OK, OK, sorry, sorry, sorry. You should get a chain and put it around your neck. It's like a Flavor Flav clock.
This next one that you're holding, I see you've the iPad there. It appeals to everybody, right?
LINENDOLL: Yes. I'm a big fan of this one. This is Dragon Dictation. This actually converts everything you say to text. So if you are using a keyboard, this one will increase your productivity by about five times.
So exactly when you are talking, it will record what you are saying and then you can copy and paste that into e-mail, into notes. And a lot of schools are actually bringing this in on desktop computers because, again it increases productivity but also saves you time as well.
So once you're done recording, it will process and then convert everything to text, as I've mentioned. A pretty cool app, and this app is free, by the way.
LEMON: What? So you don't even have to write anymore. My fingers used to cramp from writing notes all the time. That's pretty cool.
OK.
LINENDOLL: Yes.
LEMON: So, we've all been there -- everybody who went away to college or who lived in a dorm or on apartment on campus, hungry, roommates. Where's my food, man? What happened?
LINENDOLL: Yes. People's roommates stealing food all the time. Well, we know the Pop Tarts and Mountain Dew get really expensive. And, Don, you've been waiting for this one. This is the Fridge Locker. And it does exactly what it says. You put it in the fridge and it locks up your food. On the top, it has a combination lock and it also has ventilation. So your stuff is not going to stink.]
But I have to tell you, I saw this infomercial for the Fridge Locker about 4:00 a.m., and they were like, what if someone steals the whole fridge. By that point, I was already feeling a little nutty. Then, the Fridge Locker people brought in a grizzly bear to show that, don't worry if somebody steals your Fridge Locker , the grizzly bear can't even get inside of it.
I'm telling you, I was thinking I was starting to lose it.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. There it is right there. That is so cool.
But I don't know. I mean, a hungry roommate is probably worse than a grizzly bear.
LINENDOLL: But, Don, I bet if you call now, you get one free.
LEMON: Katie?
LINENDOLL: Yes?
LEMON: You are nuts. But you know what? I love it. Can you seriously put a chain on that alarm clock? You know that alarm clock that you showed? That would last me about the first time and then I'd throw it out the door and smash it.
LINENDOLL: Yes. Yes, me, too.
LEMON: All right. Time now for some news you might have missed during the week. No zoos for zebras. Two zebras in Sacramento County, California, they escaped their owner's home and ran through the streets of Carmichael last night. Authorities eventually corralled them. But one had to go to the vet, first because someone hurt it -- or it hurt itself during its Saturday night outing. The sheriff spokesman says the animals are kept as pets.
All right. The start of school signals the annual Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, the largest African-American parade in the country. Has been marching through the city every August for 81 years to mark the new school year. This year's grand marshal was senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. The parade was started in 1929 by the publisher of the "Chicago Defender" newspaper.
Have fun going back to school tomorrow, kids.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here next week. Have a great week, and thanks for watching.
