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Controversial Islamic Center Near Ground Zero; BP Seal On Hold; Return to Tarawa

Aired August 16, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the start of a new week but President Obama is nursing the bruises of being a GOP punching bag over the weekend. Republicans tore into him for defending the Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York. Republicans say the president is ignoring the anguish of those who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks and some even vow that his controversial stance will become a political issue in the midterm elections. Over the weekend, the president tried to clarify his position to CNN's senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country's 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)

PHILLIPS: Let's take a closer look with White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne, it's one of those passionately divisive issues that is sure to anger people no matter what you say. So why did the president even take it on right now?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, he certainly didn't take it on before and there was a lot of pressure from the White House, quite frankly to take this issue on. This has been boiling for weeks now. We have been pressuring Robert Gibbs to at least take some sort of stand, a position on this.

He's always push-back things saying it's a local issue. Well, now White House aides are saying that the president - he was confronted by his aides until, look, you know, you need to talk about this and that he initially did want to talk about it but they were trying to find the right time of all this. Part of it, they said it's a local issue, so the local zoning board made a decision on the mosque site. That happened first.

Secondly, they wanted to try to set up a scenario in which he could talk about it on his own terms. The Eid if tar dinner, this dinner for Muslims recognizing the holy month of Ramadan on Friday at the White House seemed like the perfect opportunity and it also was something they could not avoid, quite frankly, to not to talk about that during that dinner.

That's when the president weighed in. Since then, a lot of criticism, some pushback, some fallout here. Even some Democrats, a couple of Democratic lawmakers, I spoke with over the weekend who said, "look, we really wish that the president and the White House had remained silent on this one," even if he is trying to recalibrate, as the White House says, the message here because they're not talking about health care reform. They're not talking about the company getting any better and they are off-message and Democrats fear that that really is going to hurt them in the weeks to come but we'll see whether or not it hurts them in the midterm elections.

PHILLIPS: OK. Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks.

It's day 119 since the gulf oil disaster. And a month since the BP well was temporarily capped. But the job to permanently seal it is on hold. Additional pressure tests are being taken before BP gets the go-ahead to finish the relief well. It will take a few days to review the results and it's up to four more days before the relief well would actually intersects the broken well.

Tourist industry has taken a huge hit in the oil spill. We all know that. CNN's Reynolds Wolf joining us now from Gulf Shores, Alabama to talk about the recovery plans. Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, they are hoping that they're going to finish this week with the relief well and as you mentioned at some point this week, and then proceed with the bottom kill operation. It's an amazing thing, it's almost like performing surgery.

It's not something that they can really rush. You know, as they dig a little bit, they stop, they have to pull back a little bit, reassess the situation and then proceed. What they do hope, as you mentioned, by the time we get to this weekend they can finally finish up with the bottom kill and I tell you, there's really no one that will be happier to see that finally over and done with than, of course, the mayor.

We've got with us this morning Robert Craft, the mayor of Gulf Shores. What is this going to mean for your community? To finally see this thing done.

MAYOR ROBERT CRAFT, GULF SHORES, ALABAMA: It will be wonderful feeling to have the relief and have the world know that it's shut off and the problems are basically over from the standpoint of new oil coming to shore.

WOLF: Now, with the oil coming ashore, I know that you had some that just came up, just a few days ago when tropical depression five came through the area, what does it mean to your business? I know that when the well was capped, you saw people coming back. Is it too late for many communities along the Gulf Coast?

CRAFT: We're clean and ready. The water is clear for swimming. The health department has checked the beaches and the air and the water. Everything is clear and open. We're looking forward to a labor day weekend which is coming up soon pretty soon and is typically a big weekend for us. We hope it will be this year. We know people haven't been here, they'll come back. The weather is going to be good.

We got on that weekend, a John Mayer concert, on the 6th, two weekends later, the 25th, we got Hank Wilson and Reggie Wilson, Hank Williams and Reggie Wilson are going to be here, and then on October 7th through the 11tH, we got our shrimp festival. So we got a lot of different things to do and we're excited about showing the world our pretty clean beaches.

WOLF: You know, your city has been around here for some 50 years and we're just talking just the other day about how, when you look in the past, when it comes to dealing with a tropical storm or a hurricane, there is a template. You are able to see what people have done in the past but when it comes to an oil spill, this is really something new?

CRAFT: Absolutely. Everybody day has been a new day and a new challenge up until now, and the recovery aspect of how we go forward from here will be equally as important. How many opportunities do we get like this to tell a positive story? We normally don't see national media down here unless we have oil on the beach. You guys coming back and helping us show clean beaches and talk about positive for the future is wonderful. We really appreciate it.

WOLF: Absolutely. We thank you about that. You know, one thing you were talking about also when it comes to the oil is that when this tropical system came through and brought some oil up on the beach, in some ways, you mentioned, that can actually be a good thing, can't it? Bringing new oil up.

CRAFT: We know we got some oil, that's been covered up along the beach line with some sand that we weren't able to get up. These churning of the waters pushes that up where we can get it. We want to get rid of it this year. (INAUDIBLE) out of here. The more of these we can get, the better it is for us to get it cleaned up.

WOLF: Absolutely. We thank you so much for your time. I know you have a very busy day ahead of you.

CRAFT: Good being here.

WOLF: Absolutely. That is the latest we got from Gulf Shores, Alabama. People are really looking forward to the well finally being done. Basically, you can say, like putting a steak through a (INAUDIBLE) and finishing it all together.

Kyra, let's send it back to you in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: All right. Appreciate it. Thanks, Reynolds. Apparently we're getting some breaking news here coming from an exclusive interview that secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave, saying that he is going to leave the job and retire, it looks like, sometime in 2011. That's a year before he is supposed to retire.

Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon working this for us. So, Chris, it looks like he was quoted in an article is that right?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I just confirmed with officials here at the Pentagon that those quotes were accurate, that they reflect Secretary Gates' feelings on the subject, that he does want to retire next year, not in 2012.

And the reason for that is he feels that it would be very hard to find a good, solid replacement in 2012. He feels that, you know, nine, 10 months before an election, in which President Barack Obama may or may not be leaving office that it would be hard to find a good, qualified candidate who would want to fill that job for potentially only nine or 10 months. He wants to step back earlier to try to give his replacement more time to work and also sort of recruit a better base of potential replacements.

PHILLIPS: Any word to or are you getting anything yet, Chris, as to why he would want to retire early?

LAWRENCE: Well, he's wanted to get out for a long time now, Kyra. I mean, you know, he's been pretty upfront that he was reluctant to take this job. I mean, he put out a lot of feelers three years ago, back in 2007, really getting it out there that he wasn't interested in the job, would not want to stay on, and he says in this interview that that was because he was hoping that no one would ask him to.

He was putting that out there to kind of dampen the spirit out there, so to speak, and he knew, he says, at the time that if he was asked to stay on, he would out of a sense of duty. So now that he has been in office throughout the first two years of President Obama's term, he's already looking forward to next year, when he can make that retirement official.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Chris, thanks.

PHILLIPS: Let's move on to that off-road race that went horribly wrong. Eight spectators are dead after this gruesome crash and it's raising some questions about race safety. Take a look at this video. It was shot by a guy named Jonathan Davy who actually witnessed the crash.

This is in the Mojave Desert, Lucerne Valley, it happened Saturday night. Spectators lined the sides of the race, dangerously close to the speeding trucks. Now, watch the white truck. It's the one that crashed into the crowd. Kirk Hawkins joining us from outside the hospital, Loma Linda, California where some of the injured were taken. So Kirk, have you been able to talk to any of those spectators? KIRK HAWKINS, REPORTER-KCBS: Oh, we talked to a number of spectators, Kyra. A lot of them are shaken. It's not what they expected to happen and not exactly how they were expecting that Saturday night race to basically end up. There is a total of about six of them behind me at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

But as you mentioned, there were six that died at the scene and another two that were taken to local hospitals and pronounced dead later on in the evening. Now, this a very popular sport. More than 36 million people across the country participate in off road vehicle racing, and a large chunk of that is right here in southern California and a big part of that is because of the fact that we have such a very diverse landscape. We've got beaches, mountains and deserts that are perfect for this kind of thing all within roughly a one-hour drive of the city center and where many of the people live here.

Now, they drive things like motorcycles, dune buggies and even the 4x4 cars that you can get from your neighborhood car dealership. But it's not exactly popular with environmentalists. They say that these cars pollute and also destroy natural habitats in many of these areas that are particularly sensitive.

PHILLIPS: I was reading, Kirk, that the driver actually got mobbed after this happened, and then he went back, I guess, apparently to his Facebook page and issued an apology. Do you know if this is true that he got out of there quickly because they were chasing after him and then he tried to get this apology out nationwide?

HAWKINS:: Yes, that's true, Kyra. The driver was actually escorted. We talked to the CHP and the CHP had to escort him out of that area where the race took place. This a very tight-knit community, and a lot of people participate in this, and he did post a comment on his wall early Sunday morning and it reads "so incredibly lost and devastated" - and this, by the way, is 28-year-old Brett Sloppy.

It reads "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 the tragic times. I love you all." A total of 48 people commented and expressed support for him and what he's going through.

And I have to tell you, you take a look at the victims, there are eight of them, as we mentioned. You look at the names, you look at their ages, many of them in their early 20s, so very young, a lot of lives cut short and this is before many were really able to pursue their lives. Just very young. And a lot of people caught off guard by this.

PHILLIPS: Kirk Hawkins with our affiliate KCBS. Kirk, thanks so much.

Now, Josh Levs, you have been taking a look at the race rules. And I was telling you I grew up in this area, and everybody is always up close to these races. I know you're supposed to stand a certain number of feet back but you just don't.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's part of the problem right now. We are just hearing from Kirk about the millions and millions of people who watch these races, and the reason that it's so important to understand what happened here is this is not just a group of random people who get together and decides to do this on their own. It just happens.

There is an organization behind this. In this case, the organization was Mojave Desert Racing, and they have written rules that go along with it. You can read them yourself at mdrracing.com. And what they do is they specifically tell you what to do and not to do.

And the written rules include do not spectate within 100 feet of the course. They also talk about where to stand. They say do not stand or drive on the course. Spectate only on the pit side of the course. I mean, so these are all written rules about how this is supposed to take place and the expectation is that spectators will know this and hopefully would follow this.

Now, one question a lot of people are raising now - what's done to enforce it? Who is making sure that any of these rules even happen at all? We on Sunday afternoon spoke with an expert about this kind of racing, who talked about this inherent dangers in desert racing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY WEBSTER, "POPULAR MECHANICS": Very few open races are left in the world precisely for this problem, and it's just very difficult to control the spectators. You can give all of the warnings you want but then at the end of the day, they're out there, they're on their own and they do what they want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And that's what he's saying. You know, what else? He went on to say, which is very interesting and it's significant. He says look "these races are not the kinds of race that are making tons of money." So they don't necessarily have the funds out there to hire people to go around all 50 miles of track and check everything to see where everyone is standing, and the reality is in a lot of cases, people do go closer than they are supposed to.

Let's look at this Google Earth image and (INAUDIBLE) I know you have that. What I want every one to see is why it's going on so much in this area. We are going to zoom way into this part of California, where this desert racing takes place. It's east of L.A., east of San Bernardino.

This area is referred to as soggy dry lake. You can see from the terrain here why it is so popular for desert racing. The "L.A. Times" describes this as a mecca for this kind of racing, and so certainly what we're seeing now, authorities in California and around the country where there are similar races happening, looking into what can be done here to try to prevent a recurrence of this kind of tragedy.

PHILLIPS: Josh, thanks.

LEVS: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Two weeks after Pakistan's epic flooding began, the second wave of the disaster is about to hit. We're going to take you live in the heat of the battle where millions of lives are on the line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Desperation from Pakistan's epic flooding is just overwhelming. More than 1,400 people have died. Nearly 900,000 homes have been destroyed and roughly one-fifth of the country is now under water. For comparison's sake, that's roughly the equivalent of Florida.

CNN's Reza Sayah is live in the capital, Islamabad, this morning. So Reza, do you see any signs of improvement?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not only do you not see signs of improvement, Kyra. You see signs that things are getting worse. What you have here in Pakistan is millions of people who have lost everything and are fighting to survive, and if they don't get help soon, they're going to start losing that fight to survive. It's a desperate situation, and that's why the U.N. chief visited Pakistan to try and draw the world's attention to the situation here in Pakistan.

We met with senior government officials, took an aerial tour of what is this enormous flood zone that extends from northwest Pakistan all of the way to central Pakistan. As you mentioned, one-fifth of this country, the equivalent of Florida, under water and with the figure of 20 million people affected. This is definitely one of the worst natural disasters anywhere in recent memory.

Many of those flood victims are children and things are getting desperate for them. Here's a grim figure by the U.N. today. The U.N. saying 3.5 million children at risk of deadly water-borne diseases, the disease, cholera, very much a concern here among relief workers. It's an infectious disease caused by bacteria and infected food and water.

The only way to address the situation is to get these flood victims clean water and food but that's not happening. Look at these figures, more bleak numbers, the U.N. asking for $166 million to get these flood victims clean water and medical attention. Right now, Kyra, they only have $25 million.

PHILLIPS: Reza Sayah, we'll definitely stay on the story. You can also go to cnn.com/impactyourworld, if you want to help the victims there.

Release after nearly three decades behind bars for a rape he didn't commit. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

24 to 27 years I've been locked up. That's what I do. It's the law. It's the way the ball bounced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: What's next for Michael Greene? We're talking to him in about 10 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. China is poised to become the world's second biggest economy, pushing Japan to third place. The Chinese economy has been fueled by exports and its massive population.

Amid increase tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. and South Korea are engaged in annual joint military exercises. North Korea is responding to those exercises with tough talk.

Astronauts are taking a space walk this morning to replace a cooling pump on the space station. Today's work is the third three-part repair job that began more than a week ago.

It's one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II. And you may never have heard of it. The tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where recovery mission is under way to bring home the remains of our service men.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Tarawa is a tiny dot in the South Pacific. It's also the site of an epic Marine Corps battle in World War II. Defeating the Japanese who were dugged in on 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 has this exclusive story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This 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.

PITETI TENTOA, TARAWA RESIDENT: We dig the hole for making a garden, and while we're digging the hole and we could find the bones.

ROWLANDS: Piteti lives in Tarawa, the site of one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Piteti says there was no doubt in his mind he'd found a U.S. Marine.

TENTOA: It is a very big American boy. When we looked at it, very long bones in the legs. It was from an American cap, 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 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He came over and you know, basically hollered at us over the fence and got our attention.

ROWLANDS: Peter took Marine Captain Todd Norman and his team inside his tiny home and showed them what he had.

STAFF SGT., JORDY ANTHONY, U.S. ARMY: Once we went there and checked it out, it was eye opening.

ROWLANDS: Peter had kept the remains in a box, on this shelf above his bed. Along with the skeleton, he also found a helmet, ammunition belt and a canteen.

TENTOA: We looked out there for months and months before, you people, the American team come and look for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His respect that he gave the remains was pretty incredible, and honestly, it gave me goose bumps.

ROWLANDS: Then Peter gave them something else.

STAFF SGT. KURTIS WITT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Their captain turned around, and this guy handed him a projectile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I, you know, (INAUDIBLE) said, you don't need this in your house.

ROWLANDS: The crew took the bomb away. The remains were bagged and labeled and will be analyzed for identification. Peter 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're 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) PHILLIPS: A Texas prisoner set free 27 years after he was put behind bars for a rape he didn't commit. The big question, what's he going to do now? He's talking to us live, coming after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We have breaking news coming out of Colombia right now. Apparently there was a plane crash, and what you're looking at is actually the end of a pretty remarkable story. Apparently, it was struck by lightning when it was trying to land in San Andreas, an island there in Colombia. And 131 passengers were on board. Right now, we're hearing that one person was killed and a number of people injured.

But take a look at that plane. It literally split in two by the lightning as it was trying to land. We're told one person killed and more than 125 survivors.

Our Karl Penhaul, as you know, is based in Colombia, and we're working to get him on the phone to see if he has any more information. Not quite sure where this aircraft was coming from, but it was -- okay, we're going to work to get Karl -- just a few more bits of information in case you are familiar with his airline. You might have possibly known somebody on board this plane. But we are following this story for you, and will bring you more information as soon as we get it.

Well, Michael Greene spent nearly 10,000 nights behind bars for a rape that he did not commit. Now, he's a free man, but after 27 years as an inmate, he has a choice to make. Accept the $2.2 million payment from the state of Texas or sue.

This nightmare began in 1983. Greene was walking home that night when a white woman was kidnapped and raped in his neighborhood. Now, he was a high school dropout and stole cars to make money. So, all it took was a lineup of a group of young men, and he was picked out and put behind bars and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Greene was only 18 years old at that time.

Last month at the age of 45, he was exonerated by DNA evidence. His family overwhelmed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was innocent, let him go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you. We love you. I'm going to be glad to see him because it's been a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Two hundred and fifty-eight prisoners have been freed by DNA evidence, according to The Innocence Project; 40 of them from Texas. Michael Greene is joining me live from Houston. So, Michael, I know a lot of people have been asking you this. How does a feel to be a free man? MICHAEL GREENE, EXONERATED BY DNA EVIDENCE: Beautiful. One word, beautiful.

PHILLIPS: One word. I just can only imagine. Can you even remember -- and my guess is it's gone over and over in your head, hundreds and hundreds of times -- when you were 18 years old and you were arrested and you were told what you were accused of? Do you remember what was going through your mind at that moment?

GREENE: At first, I couldn't believe that it was real in that when I got locked up for the auto theft, I thought, okay, it might be they might -- made a mistake until it was time to go to trial. And then I seen that they were for real about it.

PHILLIPS: And did you say to them -- well, let me ask you this. Did you know the woman that was raped? Did you know anything about the circumstances around her rape, like the guys that were involved that did kidnap her?

GREENE: No. I didn't know anything about it. The night that -- okay. The night it happened to her, they stopped me on the street. They brought her over there. She told them I wasn't even one of the four dudes, and they let me go. Seven days later, I got locked up for auto theft, and here I am again, going right back to the rape.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And so, what was life like for you in prison for 27 years? And I know there's just no way to describe more than two decades within just a couple minutes together, but what was the hardest part? Did you feel the anger build up over the years? Did you finally find peace? Did you realize, okay, this is it, this how I'm going to spend the rest of my life, and I just have to deal with it? How did you cope?

GREENE: Well, my mother was my backbone in coping. She died in 2006. I almost just lost it.

PHILLIPS: And you couldn't even go to her funeral, right?

GREENE: No, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: And your dad died when you were a little boy, correct?

GREENE: I was five years old when he died.

PHILLIPS: Wow. And I know you remained very close with your aunt. That's who you're living with now --

GREENE: Oh, no, not that aunt.

PHILLIPS: No, this is a different aunt.

GREENE: Yes. I'm staying with my Aunt Eunice. My aunt I'm real close with is my Aunt Brenda.

PHILLIPS: You're living with her now?

GREENE: No, I'm still with Eunice, but my aunt Brenda was my favorite aunt.

PHILLIPS: I got you. OK --

GREENE: We used to write all of the time.

PHILLIPS: The one that's right all of the time? Is that what you said?

GREENE: Yes -- no, the one I used to write.

PHILLIPS: Oh, the one you wrote to?

GREENE: Yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: You got strength through writing letters and you were close with your mom until she passed. So, Michael, what's next for you? Are you thinking about school? Do you want to work?

GREENE: Well, actually, I you am thinking about going to college to work computers. Just so happened I started work Friday.

PHILLIPS: You did? You got a job?

GREENE: I started with my lawyer, Bob (ph), in The Innocence Project.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's great. The Innocence Project has been quite a remarkable organization, helping to free so many people through DNA. Michael, when did you find out that something had happened, that you actually might be free? Do you remember how you were told and how you felt?

GREENE: Well, once I came back on bench warrant to Houston last year in February, and they told me they had the genes and those articles to test, and if I felt if DNA is as accurate as they say it is, I knew I would get to go as soon as they get the test back.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Now, tell me, I understand you might possibly accept a financial settlement of a couple million dollars, but would you have to forego that if you decided to file a lawsuit? How are you going to deal with this? What do you want to do? Which way is your heart pushing you?

GREENE: I really haven't even thought about it because I'm spending so much time with my family. But just to say what's happening with it -- no, the money really means nothing. It can't replace my life.

PHILLIPS: Are you angry at the woman that picked you out of the lineup?

GREENE: No, I got over that a long time ago. That's how I got into the law. I used my anger to fuel me to push me through learning the law.

PHILLIPS: Do you forgive her? GREENE: Oh, yes. It serves no purpose in me being angry at her right now. I'd say for about 15 years, I haven't been mad at her.

PHILLIPS: Do you know if she know if is you've been released?

GREENE: Yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: She does know?

GREENE: Because -- yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Did you talk to her?

GREENE: No, but I would like to.

PHILLIPS: What would you want to say to her?

GREENE: I just really want to know why.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

GREENE: Why me of all people? Why did she pick me when I know that she knew I wasn't the one?

PHILLIPS: Well, I will be interested to see if, indeed, you do have that meeting and would like to know what happens within that conversation. Meanwhile, you are working now, and you do want to go to school for computers.

Anything that would you like to say, Michael? We're talking 27 years. You're finally free. Everyone knows that you did not commit that rape. Is there anything that you want to say, maybe, to those that you feel are going through the same thing? Maybe other guys that you met while you were in prison?

GREENE: Well, the only thing I can really say to them is go to the law library. Because nine times out of ten, they will probably find a way to beat their case, and I have met innocent dudes down there. The big problem is really they got robbery cases, burglary cases, murder cases where there is no DNA, so they got to fight.

PHILLIPS: Well, you're definitely a fighter, and now you're free. We look forward to seeing what you do with your life. You stayed strong, and I'm glad you got your faith.

Michael Greene, thanks for sharing your story with me today.

GREENE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Taking you back to the breaking news happening our of Colombia. We just got these pictures in of a plane crash. Split in two when it was trying to land. It was struck by lightning. And here's what's amazing. More than 100 people survived this. Karl Penhaul on the phone with us now from Columbia. Karl, what can you tell us?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Kyra, civil aviation has said that active investigators will be on the ground there shortly, and they will be the ones that will give us chapter and verse on what may have happened. But as you say 131 people on board at the time of this accident, including six Americans. San Andres is very much a holiday island, and many people would be going there on vacation.

One woman did die, and we also understand that two people at least are undergoing surgery or need surgery for head traumas that they sustained, including a 12-year-old, and an air ambulance is on the way to bring them back to the Colombian mainland right now.

Initial reports from civil aviation and from Colombian police suggest that lightning may have had a role in this, that as the aircraft was coming into land, it may have been hit by a lightning strike. But that is something that crash investigators will be looking at. Civil aviation here is saying that there was rain at the airport at the time. Storms were reported to be in the vicinity and that winds were coming from the east at about 15 knots. But certainly nothing here conclusive to point to what the cause of the accident was, but many people pointing out that this could have in fact been much worse than it really was, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It's remarkable to hear of all of the people that survived, considering taking a look at what this aircraft looks now. Karl Penhaul calling in to us from Colombia. Karl, thanks.

Well, many of us want to eat healthier but the food industry doesn't always make that easy. So, how do we know if something is really good for us even if the advertising says us it is. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow introduces us to a new rating system.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): Food companies inundate us with healthy-sounding slogans: reduced fat, whole grain, no sugar added; that means healthier, right? Not necessarily.

DR. DAVID KATZ, NUVAL FOUNDER: The packages all have claims. The claims are often misleading and deceptive.

HARLOW: Yale scientist Dr. David Katz created NuVal. It's a nutrition rating system he claims cut through the food industry's marketing machine.

KATZ: The higher the number, the more nutritious the food, it's GPS for the food supply.

HARLOW: NuVal ranks food from one to 100 using a complex algorithm weighing unhealthy things like Trans Fat against nutrients like fiber. KATZ: Almost everything in the produce, are -- almost everything will be above 90 -- between 90 and 100. You have reduced fat Jif Peanut Butter it gets a seven and the regular Jif Peanut Butter gets a 20.

HARLOW (on camera): So higher fat is actually better for you here --

KATZ: Well --

HARLOW: -- according to NuVal.

KATZ: -- well no, -- not because it's higher fat. The reduced fat version is considerably higher in sodium, it's also higher in sugar. This is pretty good --

HARLOW: This is what I ate growing up.

KATZ: Sure ok.

HARLOW: Twenty six.

KATZ: Yes.

HARLOW: What this gets. No, wait, look at this. This Neopolitan ice cream says it's a 91.

LISA SASSON, NYU NUTRITION AND FOOD STUDIES: To me that is the flaw of the system. Something such as the ice cream, which is -- all probably chemicals and all these additives I don't think really adds to the diet and people shouldn't be getting their nutrients through the ice cream.

And something like raisin bran, yes, the raisins may be sugar-coated but at least it's a good source of fiber.

HARLOW (voice-over): Dr. Katz says the value isn't to compare ice cream to cereal but how similar products stack up against one another.

KATZ: Ok. So let's find Cheerios and Fruit Loops.

HARLOW: None of the major food companies we contacted would go on camera to discuss NuVal. But in a statement, Pepsi told us, quote, "consumers can make more informed choices through fact-based front of package labeling."

General Mills said, quote "Criteria for NuVal are not available to the public making anything informed discussion of it very difficult."

(on camera): Why do you think it is that there seems to be this push back from the big food manufacturers?

KATZ: Not everybody making and selling food really wants people to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. NuVal almost tells that truth.

HARLOW: Junk food is big business for these big American food companies.

KATZ: Right.

HARLOW: If the NuVal system is adopted all across the nation, will it be the end of salty, fatty snack food?

KATZ: You know, I certainly hope it would be the end of junk food.

HARLOW: That is billions in revenue for these companies?

KATZ: Well, but it could be billions in revenue by making better versions of these same foods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And, you know, Kyra, I think the jury is still out on whether or not this is the right system. Look, ice cream scored more than three times higher than Raisin Bran, which we think of as a pretty healthy cereal. But so far, they have scored about 70,000 foods at about 750 grocery stores. And as you saw in the piece, none of the big food companies would go on camera to talk to us about this. It could be in part because it could threaten this $26 billion snack food industry that we have in this country, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's a lot of money to be threatened by, that's true. Poppy, thanks.

HARLOW: I know.

PHILLIPS: The Lockerbie bomber released from prison diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sent home to die but doesn't. We thought his new lease on life was a grave injustice. Wait until you hear what one of his doctors had to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the story just gets more infuriating. I'm talking about the man who cheated 270 people of their lives and is now cheating his own death and justice. Remember this appalling hero's welcome home for Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the terrorist convicted in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: He was cheered on like a rock star for murdering Americans. He was sent home because a slew of doctors said he was going to die of terminal prostate cancer. Matter of fact, they said he only had about three months to live. Compassionate release, they said.

Well, guess what? Various reports are now out quoting one of the so-called experts that was on the panel that led to al Megrahi's release. Professor Karol Sikora (ph) says he is now expressing regret. The dean of the school of medicine at Buckingham University in Engladn says quote, "If I could go back in time, I would have probably been more vague and tried to emphasize the statistical chances and not hard fact." End quote.

Vague, he says, not hard fact. So glad Dean Sikora helped in the release of a cold-blooded killer with such definitive medical calculation. Just one more obvious flaw in an ongoing story of grave injustice.

So, a panhandler approaches you. You want to help, but don't have any cash. So, what would you do? We're going to talk to one New Yorker who did something shocking. She trusted him with her credit card.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PHILLIPS: It's time to lift up our service members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq or Afghanistan. We call it "Home and Away." And we'll let you know how you can become a part of it in just a minute.

But first, we want to tell you about Specialist Alex Daniel Gonzalez from Mission, Texas. He was killed in Mosul, Iraq in May 2008. His uncle Sergio Gonzalez wrote into us. He wants people to know that Alex died believing his sacrifice would pave the way for a better world. Alex had dreams of becomes a police officer in his hometown of Mission, and a park in that town where Alex played as a kid is now named his honor.

Now, it's time for you to honor one of your loved ones. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway. Type in your service member's name in the upper right-hand search field and pull up the profile, send us your thoughts and your pictures. We'll help keep the memory of your hero alive.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A homeless man asks for some spare change. Mary Harris didn't have any, so to the shock of her friends, she gave the man her credit card. The same people were even more shocked when he bought what he needed and came right back. It's a story of trust repaid.

Mary Harris joins us live via Skype from Bridgehampton, Long Island. So, Mary, why did you give him your credit card?

MERRIE HARRIS, GAVE HOMELESS MAN HER CREDIT CARD (via Skype): Well, you know, it's funny because we were standing in a crowd of people, and he was being brushed off by a couple of people. And when he came over to me, I wanted to listen to his story. I didn't want to be someone who was brushing him off or you know -- I feel a lot of times like New Yorkers are immune to the homeless issue, and probably all over the country people are.

And, he started to tell me he was down on his luck, he was down on his last few dollars. He wanted some vitamin water. He wanted some bathing essentials. And I reached to get him some money and I said, "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, I only have my credit card." And he said, "Could I borrow it?" And I handed it to him, and he looked at me and he said, "Would it be okay if I also got a pack of cigarettes?" And then I said, "Sure," and he left. People around me were saying, "That's just totally insane what you did."

And then 15 minutes later, he came back, you know, with his bag of things that he needed. In a way, I feel like I've gotten so many e-mails since this happened of people being inspired by Jay's (ph) story. And I guess the really positive side effect is it has raised so much awareness for kind of the homeless people are and that they aren't all just because they are homeless dishonest --

PHILLIPS: Did you find out more about him, Mary --

HARRIS: -- which may experience.

PHILLIPS: Did you find out about what kind of job he had and what happened to him, and do you keep a relationship with him?

HARRIS: (AUDIO GAP) they were able to find him. I didn't know who he was (AUDIO GAP) -- some of the details of what he looked like. And they were able to find him, and we reunited. And he told me that he had a job in real estate for (AUDIO GAP) issues that I'm not clear on what they are, he couldn't keep that job.

And he just said he just wanted to thank me. He didn't want any more press, and I completely appreciate that. I think it's just great that he is who he is. And I think there's a lot of people like him struggling because of hard times.

I mean, my experience has been in shelters that there's a lot of people who look just like you and I. I have a lot of people who said, he doesn't even look like a homeless man. And I said, you know, a lot of people don't, and it's a sad scenario. There are a lot of adults who need help.

PHILLIPS: It is amazing what you did and what he did as well. I know you're a volunteer and you give money to the Coalition for the Homeless. Definitely want to do a shout out for that. You're the absolute perfect volunteer. You represent everything that organization does. And it's pretty amazing what did you for Jay, and will be interesting to see if we ever hear from him again.

Merrie, it was a great story. Thanks for Skyping in. I appreciate it.

HARRIS: Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

It was one of those things, Tony that we could not pass up. Is that just wild?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That is terrific. That is terrific. She didn't look like she was 20,000 leagues below the sea, though.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: We kept coming back with good audio, so I was like, "Do I waste the time? Do I hang in there?" Definitely happens when you have Skype. You don't always have a perfect connection, but the story was a perfect connection.

T. HARRIS: I tell you, you should get her back and just get her in the studio. Folks need to hear that, and then put it on your blog page. How about that?

PHILLIPS: There you go. Thank you, producer Tony Harris.

T. HARRIS: Oh, you know. Try to do what we can.

PHILLIPS: Have a great newscast. Love you.

HARRIS: All right. Have a good day. Thanks. Love you.