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"Bonnie and Clyde" Captured; Tracking the Fugitives; Confusion over President's Religion; Bedbugs Are Crawling Out of Beds and Into Offices, Hotels, and Stores; US Soldiers Return Home to Fort Benning From Iraq

Aired August 20, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's going to do it for us today. Thanks so much for being with us here on AMERICAN MORNING. Continue the conversation on today's stories by heading to our blog, CNN.com/amfix.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And thanks for having me. And "CNN NEWSROOM' with T.J. Holmes starts right now.

Take it away, T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, guys. Good to see you all this morning. Enjoy your weekend and talk to you soon.

And hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Kyra Phillips.

We've been talking a lot over the past several years, always talking about American troops going off to war. We're getting more and more stories now about them coming home. Especially from Iraq.

That is some great news. Check that out. Great news for the soldiers and their families. This is what some of all that joy and relief looks like. We'll be telling you more about this throughout the morning.

Also, we're talking about a different look at the drug war. Look at that guy. Does that look like a drug kingpin to you? Well, he's allegedly a big player in a big case. And again, he doesn't necessarily fit that dealer stereotype.

Also, bed bugs, well, they're not just confined to beds anymore. They are showing up in stores and in movie theaters even. We'll tell you where these nasty little things are really posing an invasion right now.

But let's start first here with that three-week run from the law that has now ended. An Arizona prison escapee and his alleged accomplice now in custody. The search for John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch. It has stretched all the way to the Canadian border. But they were caught at an Arizona campground just 300 miles from the medium security prison where McCluskey was serving time on an attempted murder conviction. This is the self-described "Bonnie and Clyde" pair. They're suspected in the killing of another couple earlier this month. Authorities had been warning that the couple would not surrender without a fight.

Today we're learning how close it may have come to a shoot-out.

We're going to get the latest now from David Gonzales. He's the U.S. Marshal for Arizona, joining us now on the line.

Mr. Gonzales, thank you for being here, sir. And I suppose just how sure were you guys that this thing would have to end violently but instead it didn't?

DAVID GONZALES, U.S. MARSHAL ARIZONA (via phone): Well, we were -- I mean, we were hoping that it didn't end violently but based on their background, the crimes they committed, what they were facing, we were sure that we would be facing a shoot-out at the very end. But thank goodness it ended peacefully.

HOLMES: And tell us how were you able to end this peacefully.

GONZALES: Well, you know, we had shut down all their support groups throughout the United States -- fugitive cases. We -- we get their acquaintances and their family, their friends, their prison inmates they served time with. And we just close them and shut them down. Interview them. Do search warrants. And those types of things.

What it did is it -- it put in a situation that they had no place to go. And as you know the case went cold. And we knew they could pop up anywhere and they popped up here right back out in Arizona near the New Mexico border.

HOLMES: And they popped up. Did you catch them by surprise at this campground and run up on them so quickly that in fact they didn't even have time to arm themselves?

GONZALES: Yes, what happened is, as a very alert park rangers was doing a check on a campground area, saw the -- a vehicle that looked suspicious. He noted the plate number. The plate was a stolen license plate from New Mexico that was stolen at a time and the location where the couple was killed, we believe, by this couple.

He contacted the local sheriff's department and -- starting putting two and two together. And the -- the -- excuse me, I forgot the county there -- the -- excuse me, the Apache County Sheriff's Department that went in with their SWAT teams and took them down.

HOLMES: What did they say? How did they react when they were and when they realized they were finally caught?

GONZALES: Well, as a SWAT team approached them and they used very good tactical positions, Casslyn Welch had a gun in the small of her back. She tried to go for the gun. And she saw that she -- for whatever reason then dropped it.

McCluskey was outside of the tent. Had a dome tent there, he was laying down. They took him under arrest. And he made statements that he had the opportunity or had the time he would have grabbed the gun and fired on the deputies. And he also mentioned that he should have killed the forest service ranger while he had an opportunity.

HOLMES: All right. Well, last thing here, sir. Where are they now? Where will they be headed? When might we see them in court?

GONZALES: Well, they are in jail in, you know, at Apache County, on the eastern part of the -- of Arizona. We also have New Mexico State Police coming in to look at the scene, to determine and getting the evidence from the murder. And it will be determined whether they'll be going to New Mexico or stay here in Arizona. That will be worked out the next couple of weeks.

HOLMES: All right. David Gonzales, U.S. Marshal for Arizona. Sir, we appreciate you hopping on the line this morning with us. Thank you so much. And congratulations getting these two off the streets.

Let's talk with Josh Levs now.

Josh, it's been an interesting three weeks as we all tried to kind of map where this -- where these two had been and, again, it is funny. They are caught in Arizona. Not too terribly far from where he initially escaped. But, I mean, the search went up to Montana and all parts across the U.S.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and in the meantime it was some of the drama that played out. Let's do this. We've been getting some video throughout this entire event, ever since the original escape.

Here's what I want to do. I'm going to go to some of these video. You're going to see some words appear on your screen. They're going to talk you through some of the key days throughout all of this.

But I want to start off with actually is when this first thing happened. It actually brings us back to July 30th. Because what happened at the time then was that three inmates escaped. You had McCluskey, Tracy Province and Daniel Renwick who broke out and allegedly with the help of the woman you're seeing there on your screen, Casslyn Mae Welch.

So she's alleged to have been a part of the escape from that prison. To have helped with that effort.

Then the next key date here, August 1, that's when one of them was captured. That's Renwick was captured. And what happened was that there was this police shootout in Rifle, Colorado. So you had one of them captured then.

And then you go ahead a few more days to August 4th and that is when two burned bodies were found in a camper in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. And police went on to say at that point that they believe that evidence was linking McCluskey and Province to those deaths.

So now in addition to the escape, you had these bodies that were found. And this was part of the new concern there. Another key date after that brings us up to August 16th when you had another one that was captured. Province captured, arrested in Meeteetse, Wyoming.

So what's been going on throughout this whole process, basically, is a series of steps in which the police have not only been searching for the two people you're seeing right there but the other two as well, trying to round them back up, put them away and prevent any further deaths.

All of these people were in jail for a reason, for very serious crimes, and that, T.J., it is good to say now that one has been completed with this latest capture there.

HOLMES: It's done. Good to have these two off the streets. The authorities would say.

Josh, we appreciate you.

LEVS: OK.

HOLMES: Well, do you know what religion President Obama is? He is a Christian. Yes. But nearly one in five Americans believe he's Muslim. That's an increase of some seven percentage points from March of last year.

Also more than two in five don't know what religion he is. That's according to a new Pew Research poll. Even though President Obama has said over and over again he's Christian, this Muslim myth persists.

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham -- he's the son of Billy Graham -- has actually prayed with the president. But listen now to what he told our John King last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING, USA": The president came, I believe, it was back in April. He came to see your father. You joined that meeting. He came to see you as well.

And my understanding is that you prayed with the president at that meeting back in April.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: Yes.

KING: Do you, sir, have any doubts about this president's Christian faith?

GRAHAM: Well, first of all, I think the president's problem is that he was born a Muslim. His father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim. His father gave him an Islamic name.

Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the Prophet Muhammad and he has renounced Islam and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe the president is what he has said.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So why is there so much confusion over the president's faith?

Our Tom Foreman tracked down the researcher behind the poll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't become a Christian until many years later when I moved to the Southside of Chicago after college.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The polls showing a growing number of Americans believing Barack Obama is Muslim caught even the researchers off-guard.

(On camera): Were you surprised by the results of this?

ALAN COOPERMAN, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Yes. I was. But I was less surprised by the increase in the percentage of people who think Barack Obama is a Muslim than I was surprised to see that even among his supporters -- groups like Democrats or African-Americans -- that the percentage who think he is a Christian has dropped. It's dropped by substantial numbers.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So why did that happen?

The president has suggested his name, a Muslim father and childhood in Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim country -- are part of the problem and political realities have fanned the fire.

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: God (EXPLETIVE DELETED) America, that's in the battle for killing innocent people.

FOREMAN: First in the heat of the campaign, even as he successfully courted Christian voters, candidate Obama suffered a very public break from his longtime Christian pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who was denounced by many as a radical.

Then there was his infamous comment about communities devastated by high unemployment.

OBAMA: And it's not surprising then they get bitter. They cling to guns or religion.

FOREMAN: Suggesting to some that he has never clung to religion and couldn't identify with anyone who has.

Second, as president he reached out to the Muslim world with visits to Egypt and Turkey. But pundits have suggested he's not been as aggressive about maintaining relations with older, more Christian allies.

(On camera): And third, the vast majority of people who say the president is a Muslim told Pew they learned that through the media and the Internet. And YouTube is filled with video clips offering alleged proof.

(Voice-over): A popular one comes from a campaign interview with ABC News in which he seemingly confesses.

OBAMA: You're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.

FOREMAN: Some sites stop it right there. But the whole clip reveals that's not what he meant at all.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Your Christian faith.

OBAMA: My Christian faith.

FOREMAN: Still the president and his family are almost never seen anywhere near a church. And even though the White House is once again saying that he prays daily and talks with ministers and takes his beliefs very seriously, as the president's political popularity drops, America's faith in his faith is falling, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Of course the issue of faith is much bigger than just the White House.

John Roberts asked the president's spiritual adviser about what these poll numbers say about how America perceives the Islamic faith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL HUNTER, SPIRITUAL ADVISOR TO PRES. OBAMA: Americans in general are ignorant of the Islamic faith. And ignorance belies itself to fear. There are a lot of people -- I get e-mails every week of -- Christians that are fearful of Muslims and the Islamic faith.

And they have a total misunderstanding. And because of that -- again, because it's not well defined in their mind, they fill in the blanks or even worse allow those who are hostile to differences to fill in the blanks for them.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A lot of people come down on different sides of this issue. We're -- coming up next hour we're going to be having a conversation about it. We're asking the question that "TIME" magazine is asking. Does the country have a Muslim problem?

You're going to hear the term Islamophobia thrown around a lot as well. Is this country Islamophobic, if you will?

Bobby Ghosh who wrote that article in "TIME" magazine going to be along with us. Also Reza Aslan from the "Daily Beast" and also the Muslim mayor of a New York suburb will be along as well.

Meanwhile, in just a few hours, Christian, Jewish, Mormon and Muslim leaders coming together in California to support the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero. Sixty interfaith leaders say they want to confront the rapidly expanding epidemic of Islamophobia at the event scheduled to begin some three hours from now.

Opposition to the project near Ground Zero topped 60 percent in a number of recent polls.

What about you? What do you think? Do you think America is Islamophobic? We want to hear from you right now. Sound off on our blog, CNN.com/TJ. Going to be reading some of your comments in the next hour.

A former pitching star, Roger Clemens, says he looks forward to fighting charges that he lied to Congress. Clemens was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington yesterday.

The case stems from his 2008 testimony before a House committee that he never used steroids or human growth hormones. Clemens now facing charges of obstructing Congress, making false statements to investigators as well as perjury.

Clemens's attorney says the pitcher expected this indictment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSTY HARDIN, ROGER CLEMENS'S ATTORNEY: Roger did not use steroids. He didn't use HGH, and he didn't lie to Congress about it.

Roger has known from the very beginning that if he chose to publicly deny the accusations in the Mitchell report, that this day would come.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Clemens retired from baseball back in 2007 after a 24-year career. He was the first pitcher to win seven Cy Young Awards.

Thirteen minutes past the hour now. Coming up, bed bugs. Not just for the beds anymore. They are creeping into offices, stores, schools, theaters as well. And even CNN's office in New York.

Infestations are up across the country. How can you avoid this nasty little problem? Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC - "I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN")

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You don't want this under your skin. Bedbugs. They're crawling out of the beds, literally, and into office buildings and other places. Infestations are way up. Nearly one in five exterminators now say they've been called to an office building to wipe out the tiny little bloodsuckers. That's up from about 1 in 100 exterminators who answered that call back in 2007.

But we're not just talking about homes or offices. It's stores, hotel rooms, dorms, nursing homes, movie theaters. One in Times Square just reopened after a customer reported a bite. Our Mary Snow braved this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Consider them the vampires of insects, creeping out a lot of people. And they're keeping dogs like Champ here very busy in New York.

TIMOTHY WONG, M&M ENVIRONMENTAL: We're going to go find the bees. OK? Find the bees? OK, let's go.

SNOW (voice-over): "Bees" are the buzz word for bedbug at the pest control company Champ works for. On a recent job at a senior citizen facility, he picks up a scent.

WONG: Good boy. Yes. Show me the bees. Good boy. OK, buddy. Come on.

When he finds the bee, basically, he finds a scent of a bedbug. And it must be a bedbug in here, either a live bedbug or viable bedbug egg. And the scent is emitting out from one of these crevices. And so, he picks up on that.

SNOW (voice-over): Timothy Wong owns M&M Environment Pest Control and says dogs like Champ cut the time of finding bedbugs from a day to 30 minutes. And Wong has had to build a division just for fighting bedbugs.

WONG: I'd say about five years ago, we would probably get about one call for bedbugs. Today, we get about, probably close to on an average day, about 75 calls just on bedbugs alone. So it's changed a lot.

SNOW (voice-over): The bloodsuckers have spread far beyond beds, crawling into some ritzy address necessary New York City. Although they haven't found any, Fifth Avenue's famous Bergdorf Goodman department store acknowledges it's hired a dog to patrol for bedbugs. An Abercrombie & Fitch store had to get rid of them, and Victoria's Secret says after proactive testing at one of its stores, it had to deal with them.

And now, so does the Time Warner Center, which houses CNN's New York offices. And while everyone is trying to get rid of bedbugs, bug expert Louis Sorkin actually welcomes them.

SNOW (on camera): You're the only person I've known to stay you actually like bedbugs.

LOUIS SORKIN, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: I like them when they're in containers. I wouldn't like them home.

SNOW (voice-over): Sorkin shows us what a bedbug looks like after it's drawn blood. And to keep his specimens, he allows them to bite him, picking up a container with thousands of them to his arm.

SNOW (on camera): Do people think you are crazy? SORKIN: Some probably do, yes. But doing this, I'm working on their behavior. By learning how they do certain things, it actually helps to get rid of them in places.

SNOW (voice-over): After a few minutes, besides his red arm, he shows us how small the bugs are. As he looks for ways to get rid of them, he says for many people, these bugs also leave a psychological mark.

SORKIN: Every little bite they get or think they get or every little thing that crawls is a potential bedbug, which then really stresses people out.

SNOW (on camera): This is a problem across the country. And one of the things that Louis Sorkin gets asked about is what to do when you're staying in a hotel. He advises bringing a flashlight to check the bed, and he says don't only check behind the headboard, but also check the straps on the luggage racks before put any bags down. For more on the story, you can go to cnnmoney.com. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Coming up on 21 minutes past the hour. They're coming home from war. And they are back in the arms of their loved ones. We'll show you how the shifting mission in Iraq is being felt by thousands of families across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: This morning, thousands of US troops are in Kuwait and in between missions. They are part of a drawdown of the US combat operations in Iraq. The last combat brigade pulled out Wednesday night as the US forces transitioned to what's called an assist and advise role.

Many of the American troops are headed home and for the first time, they're not worried about being sent back to Iraq. CNN's Brooke Baldwin has the celebration at one homecoming at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., I'm here in Freedom Hall at Fort Benning in Georgia. It may be empty right now, but last night it was full of families waiting 11 months for their soldiers to come home, for their husbands, wives, their moms and dads who've been in Iraq, and we were here for that magical moment. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING)

BALDWIN (voice-over): These are men and women from the Third Infantry Division Third Brigade. They have been deployed to Delta Base in eastern Iraq since last October, functioning, essentially, as I'm told, in an advise and assist capacity, helping bolster Iraqi security forces, partnering with police, and helping out the provincial reconstruction process. BALDWIN (on camera): I want to introduce to you Sergeant Jason Sunday. Sir, a pleasure. Thank you for serving our country and the lovely -- the lovely Emily Sunday, who I see your eyes are still kind of glistening. Just a minute, sweetie. You're eyes are glistening, you're standing next to your husband. It's been 11 months. What's going through your head?

EMILY SUNDAY, WIFE OF RETURNING SOLDIER: I just feel really blessed. God has blessed us with an amazing marriage and family and I'm just really thankful to have him home.

BALDWIN: How was the trip home?

JASON SUNDAY, SERGEANT, US ARMY THIRD INFANTRY: It was long, but well worth it. Just glad to be back in Georgia and next to my wife and kids. And hopefully, I don't have go back home any time soon.

BALDWIN: Show me your poster, tell me your name, and how old are you?

THATCHER SUNDAY, SON OF RETURNING SOLDIER: My name is Thatcher Sunday. I am nine years old. And my poster says "Welcome home, Dad." And it has my dad's name, Jason. And on the back, it says "Sunday," because that's our last name. And it has an American -- it has the American flag on it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: These 200 soldiers may be home, but not too far from mind, the 3,000 other Third Infantry Division, Third Brigade soldiers who are still in Iraq. But I am told that they will all be coming home by the end of the month. So that means 17 more flights home here to Fort Benning, and 17 more ceremonies, T.J., just like this one.

HOLMES: Looking forward to seeing the rest of those ceremonies as well. Coming up, the FBI cracking down on they man they call an internet drug kingpin. But can this guy -- that's the drug kingpin? Seriously? Our special investigative unit reporter, Drew Griffith, tracked him down. Drew is joining us here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We are at the bottom of the hour here now. Issue number one, the economy and your money. Looking so good this morning. Stocks set for another lower open. Yesterday's big sell-off when the Dow tumbled from 144 points. The Trifecta of week economic reports hurt investor's confidence Thursday.

We learned unemployment lines getting longer and economic outlook is weakening and so is manufacturing. No new reports are due out today. Reverse of that negative sentiment. So, very early going, the Dow taking a look, down 26 points and 27 (ph) points you're seeing behind me now. We'll keep an eye on the numbers throughout the day, of course.

Midterm elections draw a bit closer, Americans remain divided over how the government is spending their money. One of the debates is about tax cuts. According to the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, fewer than a third of all Americans believed the tax cuts should continue for everyone. It's over half the cuts should continue only for families making less than $250,000 a year.

18 percent said the tax cuts should be extended for no one. Needs to be more consensus on the topic of the health care bill, though. 40 percent of Americans are in favor of those reforms, but look at that, 56 percent opposing those changes.

We got a major new development in a story first brought to you two years ago. Our Drew Griffin first brought to you two years ago back then. Now, Drew is telling us through our special investigations unit, they have traced illegal prescription drugs he bought online. No questions asked, to a pharmacy in Utah. That pharmacy stayed in business.

But now, the FBI stepped in, and Utah officials have some questions they need to answer. Drew joining us this morning. I remember this story so well because I was amazed you were able to just go online, buy some stuff and they came to you, no problem.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and you still can, you know. Up until now, these internet based pharmacies, T.J., have been really getting away with it. Selling just about anything to anybody online. Little fear of getting caught, but this FBI investigation could start to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Griffin (voice-over): He hardly looks the part of an illegal drug dealer. He drives a run-down Mercedes-Benz and can barely walk. But according to the FBI, 80-year-old Dr. Robert Morrow could be a major player in a nationwide illegal internet drug trade.

Hi, doctor. Drew Griffin with CNN. How are you?

A drug ring that according to government documents spans from Utah across the U.S. and overseas. A drug ringing that has been operating for years.

We want to find out if -- it has been alleged you've been signing internet prescriptions for people who have been --

DR. ROBERT MORROW, FEDERAL DRUG SUSPECT: I don't want to talk about it. Get off the property. Get off my property.

GRIFFIN: Can you explain how that happens?

According to a government investigator, Dr. Morrow's signature appears on thousands and thousands of prescriptions filled this year alone. The government alleges he's paid to write them by the owner of two pharmacies. The Roots Pharmacies. In both Utah and Suburban Chicago, and those pharmacies are at the heart of the illegal prescription drug investigation.

According to the FBI, Utah pharmacist, Kyle Rootsaert, is near the top of the operation. On August 5th, FBI agents served two search warrants on those pharmacist owned by Rootsaert. One served here in Suburban Chicago where agents seized boxes and boxes of records. The federal government says illegal prescription drug abuse is staggering.

Listen to this. It's now a bigger problem than heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine use combined.

JOHN HORTON, PRESIDENT, LEGITSCRIPT.COM: And these rogue internet pharmacies that say all you have to do is fill out a form, you never have to see the doctor, and we will approve your order immediately and send you addictive medications are helping fuel that problem in a big way.

GRIFFIN: No charges have yet been filed. The FBI isn't commenting. The attorney for Roots Pharmacy owner, Kyle Rootsaert, tells CNN he hasn't had a chance to talk to his client about the search warrant affidavits. Keeping them honest, we wanted to know why and how the operation had been allowed to operate for so long. Two years ago, as part of a CNN investigation, I bought Prozac and the addictive muscle relaxers, Soma, online, no questions asked.

And I tracked the drugs right back here to Roots Pharmacy in American Fork, Utah.

We want to ask you about selling these drugs over the internet without prescriptions.

We also confronted Kyle Rootsaert. He ran from our cameras and took off in this brown pickup truck.

Excuse me, Kyle. We'd like to talk to you about the internet drug business you're running out of this pharmacy.

But it now appears Root is on the run.

GRIFFIN (on-camera): This is where we actually confronted the owner of Roots Pharmacy. You can see just yesterday we're told that sign has been taken off this door.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The state of Utah filed a petition more than a year ago to revoke the pharmacy's license, but a hearing still hasn't been held. Even so, the pharmacy had been operating full blast, filling 200 to 300 prescriptions a day, according to the FBI. This little second storey pharmacy, a half hour south of Salt Lake City, was a major distributor of dangerous prescriptions, which brings us back to Dr. Morrow.

He also has a history with the state of Utah. He lost his license to dispense controlled drugs from 1999 to 2002 because he was illegally prescribing drugs. He paid a $1,000 fine. He was part of an operation, experts tell CNN, that was worth close to half a million dollar as month and an untold number of pills.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Drew, we talked about one ring here. But even if you shut one down, aren't there just -- a huge amount of these out there.

GRIFFIN (on-camera): That's what's insidious about the reporting that we've done. You order online. And you not only get your drugs, but you get solicitations from literally dozens and dozens of other sites who are now begging you to order with them, sending you coupons. Imagine, if you're a drug addict, sitting at your computer you're getting these ads.

This is the problem that's -- not only addictive drugs. It's addictive advertising that comes through these internet websites. There are hundreds of them.

HOLMES: And we talked about -- that was so fascinating we are asking you about -- while the piece is running there. Some of these companies, you need to find one guy to use his name and you think you're getting around it legally if you have a doctor kind of signing off on it.

GRIFFIN: Yes. But you never, you know, you never see the doctor. We've talked to people living in the state of Washington whose prescriptions were signed supposedly signed by a doctor in Long Island. I ordered drugs that came from both Tennessee and Utah by doctors I'd never heard or seen before. So, these doctors are letting their names be used for these prescriptions. They never see or review any of this material. There's nothing to review.

HOLMES: Drew, good follow up. I know you will continue to do so. The investigation has been going on for quite some time. Good to see the follow up. Thanks so much.

Coming up here, smugglers have found a new way to sneak people and drugs across the Mexican border. Check it out. They're called penga (ph) boats, and they're making the run from Baja to San Diego. We'll show you how the border patrol is fighting this new threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look now at some of the stories making headlines. The last of the trio of man who escape from prison in Arizona three weeks ago now in custody. There he is. You see him and his accomplice there. John McCluskey is his name. Casslyn Mae Welch is her name.

They were captured last night in an Arizona campground. They've been on the run since the end of July. They're also accused of killing a couple in New Mexico. Authorities have thought this would definitely end in some kind of a shoot-out or violence, but the two were taken into custody without incident.

Also, the last of the new credit card rules taking effect on Sunday. These are meant, of course, to help you out and protect you from some of the credit card company abuses. So, among these latest things that will go into effect, no more astronomical late fees and also no more charges for not using the card enough.

So, a lot of people question a lot of the numbers given from the government lately about how much oil is still left out there. We have a new study out. This one from the Woods Hole Ocean Institution. Let me just keep it at that. The scientists there found a plume of hydrocarbon in the Gulf. All right. This plume of hydrocarbon, 22 miles long, it's beneath the surface. They don't know if this thing poses a threat or not necessarily.

There's residue, of course, from the BP oil spill plume to help answer the question that what happened to a lot of that oil, but again, the government is saying that it's just only about a quarter of the oil that came out of that well is still out there in the Gulf. A lot of other studies have disputed that.

Hard to believe that five years now since hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. And for many returning to their homes, seems like an attainable dream. CNN's Soledad O'Brien is going to be showing us the efforts to rebuild very much alive. This Saturday and Sunday, Soledad taking you on the journey to save Pontchartrain Park. Don't miss. New Orleans rising. Saturday, Sunday, 08:00 eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Forty-two minutes past the hour. It is that time for us to bring in Candy Crowley. I get to talk to you twice now, Candy. We do this on Sundays usually right before your show.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Such a deal.

HOLMES: This is a good deal for me this week, but good to see you. Big news this week. The combat mission for the most part in Iraq is over. I guess, this is some good news. The president can talk about out there on the trail as we get close to the midterms. But I guess, is there a threat here if something goes bad, this could cause a problem for the president. So, how is this going to play out?

CROWLEY: Sure, it could cause that. They don't foresee that happening. And let's remember even though the combat a troops will be withdrawn by the end of this month, I think there may be about 6,000 more still there, but there'll be coming out by the end of the month and a week or so. The problem, I think, here that people don't see is there are 50,000 troops that are still going to remain in Iraq.

They are training. They are helping out. There are some special-op forces that are going after high valued targets with the Iraqis. So, we're still there. And clearly, the U.S. can scramble and put people back in, but nobody is anticipating that.

HOLMES: Nobody is anticipating that. Absolutely not. It's so nice to see those pictures now of troops coming home and -- actually not worrying about possibly having to go back. Let's move to something else. I think we're going to see here in the next hour or so, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to come out and make some comments. We're expecting about peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. What do we know?

CROWLEY: Reportedly, she will announce that they are, in fact, going to start talking at the table. That'll be the first time in about two years that we have seen Palestinian/Israeli direct talks. Certainly, the Obama administration, his administrations before it, have been pushing both sides to kind of appear at the table. We are told at least it's reported that this will likely perhaps occur in the U.S. with the president is kind of broker at least to put them together.

Look, both sides don't come to the table unless both sides have an interest in doing so, that there's something there that they both need. And let's talk about how many times there have been talks. So, it's not Middle East peace, but it is certainly a step forward, and you can't really get an agreement until you start talking. So, this looks as though they are taking at least a baby step forward here.

HOLMES: All right. You got that issue on the table. We've been talking all for light (ph) it seems about the proposed mosque that's going to be near Ground Zero and so many other things, but is it still going to break down, at the end of the day, at the midterms, to how do the people feel about the economy.

No matter how many of these other things are out there, some even call them distractions, but is it still going to boil down to how the president is doing on the economy?

CROWLEY: It is. And how the economy is -- is doing itself. And now we are hearing people say -- at least some economists saying that they think unemployment now about 9.5, is going to go up to 10 percent by the end of the year.

Look at those figures now showing the president's performance on the economy: the approval rating way down to 41 percent; disapproval, 56 percent. That's not good news.

Now look, the president doesn't have to run for re-election until 2012. But that is not good for news for Democrats who are facing a very tough environment. They have to be out there talking the economy.

Their pitch is look, it was a huge mess. We didn't know how big a mess it was. We are making progress. We have to stay the course and by the way, do you really want to go back to people who caused it?

Whereas the Republicans are saying ok, we now spent a trillion dollars and unemployment is 9.5. Businesses aren't robust yet. So it is a battle over shaping the economy at this point. How do you look at it?

HOLMES: Is that the only sales pitch? We've heard the President make it. But is it essentially don't go back and don't give -- what is that analogy keep using about giving the keys and the wheel back over to the Republicans, is that the only pitch they can make?

CROWLEY: Well, listen, they have some statistics in their favor. The economy has shown growth. But what the -- the problem is that while it is still showing growth, growth -- the -- it is going down rather than up, while unemployment is going up rather than down. Those are the hard figures to sell. So yes, you do have to go back, I mean, they have decided this is their best pitch. Is do you really want those people back in charge and we are making progress. I know it's so hard and it's a delicate balance. Because you have to say, hey, things are getting better, things are getting better.

And yet you have people over there and it looks dissonant if you don't say, but I know it's not good enough because a lot of people are suffering. So it's that kind of a dual message that's very hard to strike that -- a kind of that sweet spot.

HOLMES: Well, they are still looking for that sweet spot right now, as we know.

CROWLEY: Yes.

HOLMES: Candy Crowley, I will see you on Sunday. "CNN SUNDAY MORNING" before her show starts --

CROWLEY: I'll be there.

HOLMES: -- we -- we chat with her right before she starts.

CROWLEY: We do.

HOLMES: So I will see you there. But of course, people can see Candy on Sunday; "STATE OF THE UNION," 9:00 Eastern Time, 6:00 Pacific. Candy, you have a good one and we'll talk to you soon.

CROWLEY: You, too.

HOLMES: All right, well, coming up, London is getting ready for the Olympics, 2012 Olympics. But one of the big problems and the priorities is making sure the Brits don't offend the tourists.

You need to see the list they have now of what not to say to a foreign tourist. Its 47 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, congratulations to the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team. They have received a bronze medal from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, though. Here is why they're getting their medals ten years late. China had gotten the bronze but the U.S. team finished right behind them they were in fourth.

But it turns out one of the Chinese gymnasts was only 14 years old at the time. You need to be 16 to compete. So the Olympic committee stripped China of its medal, giving the U.S. the bronze. Congratulations.

Let's talk about the next Olympics coming up in two years happening in London. England is getting ready and getting the venues ready and it's getting the British people ready as well. A tourist agency is teaching Brits how to act around foreign visitors. Basically, they don't want them to offend anybody. Here now is CNN's Sasha Herriman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASHA HERRIMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Let's be clear about this. Tourism matters. Why? Well in Britain, it's worth $183 billion a year. It's also the fifth largest industry and it employs more than two and a half million people. And it's an industry that will grow.

PATRICIA YATES, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, VISIT BRITAIN: In two years time, we're going to be the host of the Olympic games, we would like to see about the two billion pounds of tourism benefits coming from hosting those games.

We want to induce those four billion viewers who will see the Olympics on television to come to Britain and making us a welcoming destination is part of that strategy.

HERRIMAN: With that in mind, the National Tourism Agency here in the UK has come up with advice on how to keep our visitors sweet, advice on how to avoid insulting our very welcome guests.

(voice-over): They're offering tips to anyone in the tourism business what to say and what not to say.

(on camera): So here then are some top no-no's written by natives incidentally of the relevant country. A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy. The Japanese tend to smile when they're angry or embarrassed.

Remember, Arabs are not used to being told what to do. Visitors from the United Arab Emirates can take great offense if you appear bossy.

Avoid winking at someone from Hong Kong. Winking is often considered rude.

Never -- absolutely never -- call a Canadian an American, Canadians may take offense.

Never imply Poles drink excessively. Despite stereotypes, Poles are not large consumers of alcohol.

And my personal favorite here, when meeting Mexicans, it is best not to discuss poverty, illegal aliens, earthquake or the 1845 to 1846 war with America.

Have you ever insulted a tourist?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Insulted one, no.

HERRIMAN: Yes, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

HERRIMAN: Is there any way -- any way to be more welcoming? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, bring out the hula girls?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're polite actually.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Offer umbrellas when they get off the plane.

HERRIMAN: It might be a good idea, remember those visitors spend more than $25 billion a year in Britain. So it really does pay to be nice to them.

Sasha Herriman, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, there you go.

And here's a look now on what we're going to be working on in the next hour of the "CNN NEWSROOM".

Let's start with Josh Levs and the rest of the crew, hello there.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there T.J. We have a widespread manhunt that has finally come to an end now as a prison escapee and his alleged accomplice are captured. So what led to this and what happened along the way, I'll have that at the top of the hour.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. New credit card rules take effect this Sunday. It's good news for consumers. Say goodbye astronomical late fees, and if your rate gets hiked, the bank has to make sure it is justified every six months. We'll tell you more about this in the next hour.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Sever Weather Center. The plains are heating up again and the tropics are heating up and the moon is cooling, and, therefore, shrinking. I'll have that at the top of the hour -- T.J.

HOLMES: No disrespect to the other two, but, Rob, that was pretty interesting.

MARCIANO: All right.

HOLMES: I think you won this round of teasers.

MARCIANO: See you next hour. Thanks. See you all shortly.

HOLMES: The polls out there show most Americans are against building an Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. "Time" magazine asking the question, does the U.S. have a Muslim problem? We are tackling the talk of Islamaphobia. That's coming up in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Well, more smugglers moving immigrants and drugs into the U.S. are taking a sea route from Mexico to evade border agents. And as Casey Wian now reports, this can be a pretty dangerous trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are called penga boats (ph), and they're becoming the vehicle of choice of smugglers trying to evade beefed up security at the U.S./Mexico border.

MIKE CARNEY, ICE SPECIAL AGENT: It is getting more difficult for the smuggling organizations to smuggle folks in both through the ports of entry and between the ports of entry; and they see the vastness of the ocean as an opportunity.

WIAN: The boats are cheap, fast and potentially dangerous. Designed for fishing near shore and not the open ocean, they often carry dozens of people and hundreds of pounds of drugs from Baja, California to San Diego, even 150 miles north to Los Angeles. Waters that appear tranquil can quickly turn treacherous.

This year at least three illegal immigrants have died attempting illegal crossings.

LT. JAMIN STORTZ, U.S. COAST GUARD: The routes that these smugglers are using are certainly much longer and further offshore on small, open construction vessels with single engines. So from a public safety standpoint, that's incredibly dangerous.

WIAN: Penga boats usually try to avoid capture under cover of darkness or fog. Some smugglers use recreational vessels to blend in with legitimate traffic. The Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement have made stopping maritime smuggling a higher priority. They invited us on the Coast Guard cutter Sea Otter, which is now used to apprehend drug and immigrant smugglers.

This year, authorities have caught nearly seven times as many illegal immigrants along southern California's coastline as they did in 2006. Marijuana seizures have jumped more than fivefold.

The numbers are still small compared to the illegal traffic on land but for border patrol agents accustomed to terra firma, it's a more complicated threat.

MATT DREYER, COASTAL BORDER ENFORCEMENT TEAM: We have no infrastructure; there's no censors, there's no fencing, there's no lights, there's no roads specifically designed for border patrol agents yet we do traditionally the same sort of mission.

WIAN: Smugglers charge $2,000 to $3,000 for a land crossing. It's twice that to cross illegally by sea.

They've also learned to provide life jackets for their human cargo to avoid more serious charges and longer jail sentences if they're caught.

(on camera): No matter how many resources authorities devote to stopping smuggling at sea but the reality is there is no way to tell whether any of these boats contain illegal immigrants or drugs. Casey Wian, CNN, San Diego, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)