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BP Releases Gulf Oil Disaster Report; Angelina Jolie Visits Pakistan; Los Angeles Leaders Calling for Calm; Imam for Proposed Ground Zero Mosque Breaks Silence with Op-Ed in Today's NY Times
Aired September 08, 2010 - 09:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, developing news -- out of Los Angeles right now, police are bracing for a third day of violent protests after an officer shot and killed a Guatemalan day laborer who was reportedly carrying a knife.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near downtown, throwing anything they could find at police. They took rocks, bottles, eggs. Protesters have been out in force in rallies triggered by the death of a Manuel Jimenez. The officer who fired on Jimenez says that he only shot after the man refused commands to drop his switchblade.
Nearly two dozen people were arrested in the overnight protest, and officers in riot gear reportedly fired foam rounds at the ground to restore order.
Meanwhile, L.A. leaders are calling for calm. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is urging residents not to resort to violence saying quote, "we need to calm the waters". And the "L.A. Times" say that police chief Charlie Beck told the civilian -- police commission that the officer who fired did so in, quote, "immediate defense of life" and he promised the investigation would be as transparent as possible.
In all of the controversy and heated passions over the Islamic center and mosque planned blocks from Ground Zero, we haven't heard much from the Imam who'll basically be in charge of the place. Now he's really opening up.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf wrote a guest editorial for "The New York Times". He says that the project will go forward; that it will have separate prayer areas for Muslims, Christians, Jews and others. And this is what he writes about the inflammatory rhetoric of the last few weeks.
"These efforts by radicals at distortion endanger our national security and the personal security of Americans worldwide." This is why Americans must not back away from completion of this project. If we do, we see the discourse and essentially our future to radicals on both sides."
He goes on to say "The wonderful outpouring of support for our right to build the community center from across the social, religious and political spectrum seriously undermines the ability of the anti- American radicals to recruit young impressionable Muslims and falsely claiming that Americans persecute Muslims for their faith." CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more details on exactly who this man is and what he stands for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you have never heard him speak, this is what Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has to say.
IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, FOUNDER, AMER. SOC. FOR MUSLIM ADVANCEMENT: The major theme in Islam is the oneness of god, and that we should worship one god, love and adore the one god.
FEYERICK: People who know Imam Feisal say he's a voice of moderation. The State Department -
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPT., SPOKESMAN: His work on tolerance and diversity is well known.
FEYERICK: The developer of the controversial Islamic center near Ground Zero.
SHARIF EL-GAMAL, CEO, SOHO PROPERTIES: He is somebody who has sacrificed his life to building bridges within communities.
FEYERICK: Islam scholar and university professor John Esposito -
(on camera): How would you describe him? Is he a threat?
PROF. JOHN ESPOSITO, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Feisal is from my point of view, Mr. Mellow.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Imam Feisal is a Sufi Muslim, at the other end of the Islamic spectrum from the radical theology that feeds groups like Al Qaeda.
ESPOSITO: He approaches Islam spiritually. He is a Sufi in background, which means one perceives, if you will, a more kind of spiritual mystical path. He is somebody who would find terrorism and religious extremism as abhorrent. He's run a mosque in this area for years and years.
FEYERICK: That mosque, the (INAUDIBLE) is 10 blocks from Ground Zero, and has co-existed peacefully in the Tribeca neighborhood for 28 years.
ESPOSITO: He has integrated himself into the community.
FEYERICK: According to his biography, Feisal Abdul Rauf was born in Kuwait in 1948 into an Egyptian family steeped in religious scholarship. In 1997, he founded the non-profit American Society for Muslim Advancement. It's mission described on its web site as "strengthening an authentic expression of Islam based on cultural and religious harmony through interfaith collaboration, youth and women's empowerment."
Several years later, Rauf founded the Cordoba Institute, to improve relations between the Muslim world and the west, writing what American Muslims can help bridge the divide. The State Department noticed, sending him as a cultural ambassador on four trips to the Middle East, most recently this summer.
GRAEME BANNERMAN, FORMER STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL: They try to get people who reflect the best aspects of American society.
FEYERICK: Rauf is often asked to speak at meetings like the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was criticized after 9/11 for saying U.S. supported repressive regimes was partly responsible for the attacks but maintains his remarks on "60 Minutes," they've been taken out of context.
Rauf supports Israel's right to exists. But says as a bridge builder, he can't condemn radical Palestinian group, Hamas, as terrorists. As for the proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero, he says, that, too, is about bridges.
RAUF: This is also our expression of the 99.999 percent of Muslims all over the world including in America who have condemned and continue to condemn terrorism. This is about our stand as the Muslim community and being part of this community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, Deb -
FEYERICK: There are more details about Imam Feisal. Yes, I wanted to mention, Kyra, also, this is a man who has a degree in physics from Columbia University, and to give you a sense of the kind of family he comes from, his dad was leader of a mosque in Washington, D.C., known as the Embassy Row Mosque and his father also was president of the Islamic University in Malaysia. So he's got a really long and really prestigious history, comes from a prominent family.
PHILLIPS: So why has he been demonized like this?
FEYERICK: It's very interesting, many questions, the issue of the mosque at Ground Zero has been so divisive, so polarizing, that many questions are being raised almost in the absence of fact. People aren't saying, well, "we have done research and we find he's getting money from this person and that person and this person." The question is simply put out there, where is the money coming from?
So it raises sort of the image, the impression that there is something nefarious at play, when, in fact, there isn't. But he's been serving the community in Tribeca. The people, I think, are so surprised that this has taken on such a large and polarizing tone because they wanted to build something that was very similar to a cultural center. So they're sort of in the fight of this right now.
PHILLIPS: All right. Deb, thanks. And the imam will be answering more of your questions tonight 9:00 Eastern on "Larry King Live." Imam Rauf will talk with CNN's Soledad O'Brien in an exclusive interview that you won't see any place else. It's tonight, 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN. You can bet that Soledad will probably ask him about the Florida pastor who is planning to burn the Koran on September 11th. Terry Jones said yesterday that that "fire is still ago, even though our top commander in Afghanistan says that burning Islam's holy book enflamed tensions and could put troops in danger.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says something good is coming from this though. Religious and political leaders are coming together to say this is wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We sit down together for this meal on a day when the news is carrying reports that a pastor down in Gainesville, Florida, plans to burn the holy Koran on September 11th. I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths, from evangelical Christians to Jewish rabbis as wells a secular U.S. leaders and opinion makers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Mrs. Clinton was speaking last night at a dinner celebrating Ramadan.
Later today, President Obama rolls out massive new tax cuts for businesses. His goal is to create jobs and jump start spending. Staggering price tag - $350 billion. Here's the breakdown - $200 billion in tax cuts for businesses to purchase new equipment, another $100 billion in tax credits for business, research and development, and 50 billion would be spent on roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
CNN Money.com's Poppy Harlow will join us in just about 10 minutes with a closer look.
Now President Obama unveils his economic plan on the road in hopes of winning the confidence of voters less than two months before the midterm elections. CNN Express team is talking to those voters today in Covington, Kentucky. The local economy there is built on manufacturing, retail and health services.
The average family income there is just over $42,000. That's well below the national average and the high school graduation rate in Covington, 78 percent, that, too, below the national average.
CNN's T.J. Holmes is traveling with the CNN Election Express. He's joining us live now from Covington. Hey, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, once again, Kyra. You talked about kind of this area and kind of the economic picture. And also a bit of an economic profile there. They are going to hear from the president once again today, like the rest of the country, about help that can come to them.
Well, they've heard it all before, and just like Ohio we were in yesterday, the same thing happened immediately after the president passed the last stimulus package. The unemployment rate went up. It went from being in the 9s to 10.1, then 10.4, then 10.7, and then 10.8, immediately after the stimulus was passed. So people here are understandably skeptical. We're going to hear from the president again, yes, today, and some of the folks here in Covington, would like the folks in Washington to hear from them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (on camera): If you all got to stand up before Congress and every single member of Congress, including the vice president and president were in that room and you got to speak to them directly, what would you say to them, if you had their attention?
DIANE GAMBLE, OWNER, ROSIES TAVERN: You need to help the middle class people and the poor people. Forget the upper class. They're fine.
MATTHEW ROBINSON, COVINGTON RESIDENT: Why are you a representative in this government? Why are you here? Do you what you were elected to do, and that's to help people, help further the United States government, help people. It's not a job. It's a service. And do what is right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, there are a lot of things that are going to stick with us on this trip, things we'll remember. One of the things I'll remember is a 50-year-old guy telling us on this trip that in fact he has never voted in his life, never will, turned off by the process. Ran into somebody else here in Covington last night. He said he's not registered, not going to register, wants nothing to do with it.
And Kyra, that last guy you heard from, Matt, something that will stick with you, and maybe Washington, hopefully listening and a reminder, it is not a job. It's a service. I thought he put it so well yesterday and makes you all, kind of make us stop and think. That's right. It's not about having a job as a politician. You're doing a service.
You're supposed to serve, and a lot of people feel that's certainly not on the top of the minds of the folks in Washington. So we'll be sharing more of our conversation was throughout the day with the Election Express bus. We got the whole crew here, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: that's right. Sure do. We'll be following your trip across country. T.J., thanks.
They'll be on the road all week, as T.J. mentioned, carrying the best political team on television. Jessica Yellin, John King, Gloria Borger, T.J. and Dana Bash, all in Covington, Kentucky today. And tomorrow, our team will report from Indianapolis.
85 fires in just four hours. Homes up in flames, power lines down, a dangerous mix, stretching Detroit firefighters to the absolute limit. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: 85 fires erupting in a four-hour period. Detroit firefighters are stretched to the limit. They're weary and they're exhausted, and now high winds have been knocking down power lines, causing yesterday's fires and fueling the flames. Dozens of homes destroyed. No reports of deaths or injuries so far. We're told that arson is suspected at least in one of those fires.
In Colorado, an out of control wildfire has burned more than 90 buildings from homes to outhouses. That blaze broke out Monday (INAUDIBLE). It spread pretty quickly, charring some 7,000 acres, and people in at least 70 subdivisions were required to evacuate and may not be allowed to return for days, too. The governor has declared a state of emergency.
Hermine has weakened to a tropical depression but its remnants are bringing a lot of rain and floods from central Texas to Missouri. And Rob Marciano is watching all of that. Am I saying it right? Hermine?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hermine. It's very French.
PHILLIPS: Got it.
MARCIANO: Yes, the remnants of this storm are definitely doing damage in Texas. You know, we just saw them at the weather center, it seems like a lot of tropical storms kind of get bogged down in Texas and rain out there, and for a state that can often be very, very dry, if you roll the dice during hurricane season, they can get very, very wet. That's exactly what's been shaking down here across.
As a matter of fact, this - another flash flood warning just came in for Denton and Cook County, somewhere near Dallas. So now Dallas getting into the act here with the National Weather Service saying another two to three inches possible over the next couple of hours, just with the line of cells that are rolling in through here.
So we'll zoom into this area. Dallas getting really hit hard here. So it's been a mess all day long. I can imagine what rush hour was like. In through Plano and towards northwest, towards Denton and getting across the red river over towards Oklahoma as well. These are the areas that we're looking for potentially more flooding if it's not flooding already. So flash flood watches and warnings, the red are areas that have warnings under them and that will continue for the next day or two.
Just to point out, across the northeast you may see some gusty winds. And there's actually a red flag warning up to this area, as a very dry front comes through. This is the same front here that came through Detroit and fanned the flames there. Very, very dry winds and kind of pretty much the same system also that rolled through Boulder and brought all those dry winds through that area. (INAUDIBLE)
PHILLIPS: They don't have enough firefighters in Detroit. You know, it's been a struggle there for years, the number of firefighters, and you got the bad economy. All those fires. It's a tough situation for them.
MARCIANO: More calm there right now. So we don't expect the same thing tonight.
PHILLIPS: That's good. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
PHILLIPS: More jobs, more spending, more money out of your pocket. We're going to break down the $350 billion price tag of the president's new economic plan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, President Obama is set to unveil $350 billion worth of new proposals aimed at jump starting the economy. 200 billion alone is all about getting companies to buy new equipment. CNN Money.com's Poppy Harlow joining us now from New York. So Poppy, how exactly would this work?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Another big injection of capital by the president. He's trying and he's talking to big businesses here, Kyra, saying, look, we want you to spend. But what exactly does this mean? Let's that a look here. Let's say that a company wants to spend $10 million to build a factory.
Right now, they can write it off their taxes every say, for say up to 20 years. That's going to save them about $500,000 a year on their taxes. That's a lot of savings but look at what the president wants to do. He wants to say "OK, big business, you should spend that money, and I'm going to let you write that entire $10 million off your taxes this year."
The whole aim is to say instead of having $500,000 extra cash on hand to say hire workers, invest in other products, you're going to have $10 million cash on hand this year and next year. That's his proposal. You have to get it through Congress first. This is very political as we have been talking about yesterday and all day today.
But this is really, I should be clear here, Kyra, probably if it gets through Congress, it's going to help big businesses more than small businesses because small businesses can already write off about a quarter million dollars a year on any investments they make. Big businesses right now are the ones that are probably really going to benefit from this, and, of course, you got critics out there saying, this is a temporary boost, this is another stimulus-like injection.
This won't increase hiring in the long run, but, interestingly, this is also the president saying to this opponents, to Republicans, look, here I am trying to cut taxes and trying to invest in big businesses. It should probably help big businesses and it's going to give them, if it gets through Congress, a lot more money to spend right now, rather than having to wait and deduct it of their taxes over say 20 years. Kyra. PHILLIPS: All right. We want to talk about job creation, too. I mean, can giving big businesses a tax break like this actually create jobs?
HARLOW: You know, it can, and I bet we'll hear the president say this will create jobs, so speak about this. About 2:00 Eastern time, from Ohio, it's going to give businesses, if it gets through Congress more money. So they could spend but businesses, some of them have record cash on their balance sheets right now and they're not hiring.
Another thing that this could do is that if companies say are buying more equipment, buying more computers, for example, for the office, it could put more demand out there so the companies that make those computers will hire more workers but I tell you what some of the critics are coming out and saying already this morning, before the official announcement, is this could mean more and more investment in technology that replaces those human workers.
So this is not directly a jobs bill. This a tax proposal, a proposed tax cut. Whether or not it means direct hiring, we're still to see. Critics of the stimulus say that didn't result in the long- term hiring that a lot of people wanted to see. But, again, we we're going to hear the president outline it in lot more detail about 2:00. We'll update you. Kyra on CNN Money. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Sounds good. Poppy, thanks.
And we are going to, of course, bring you President Obama's speech live on the economy. It was supposed to happen live from Cleveland about 2:10 p.m. Eastern time.
Well, Angelina Jolie wants you to know how much people in Pakistan are suffering. She talked with our Sanjay Gupta.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking our top stories - BP has just released its report on the causes of the gulf oil disaster. The company is laying much of the blame on rig owner Transocean and cementing contractor Halliburton. But BP also criticizes its own team for misreading a pressure test.
An investigation into a threat on a plane is moving forward. Someone wrote on a lavatory mirror that there was a bomb on board. The Thai Airways flight landed safely in L.A. and investigators found no bomb.
PHILLIPS: Starting today, tourists from 36 nations have to pay a travel fee to visit the U.S., most of the $14 fee will go to promoting the U.S. as a tourist destination.
Well, in Pakistan, an area the size of England remains underwater. Severe floods ravaging that country and the threat of disease putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta actually just returned from Pakistan. Actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie says that after watching Sanjay's reports, she went to Pakistan to see things for herself. She spoke with Sanjay earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You bring so much awareness to what's happening there. Why do you think people haven't paid as much attention to what's happening in Pakistan?
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS/HUMANITARIAN: I think people have a fatigue in general when it comes to disaster relief, but, if I can say, the thing that I've learned the most in being here is that we tend to focus on one issue at a time because that seems to be what people can absorb and care for but Pakistan, as you know, is so complex because it has not just the people from the flood and the 18 million affected now but it still has the 1.7 million Afghan people who are here.
GUPTA: Right.
JOLIE: And they've been displaced -
GUPTA: We tend to think of these places as over there, somewhere else, not here. But when you go and I was there as well - I mean, you meet people. There are real faces and stories behind these crazy high numbers. (INAUDIBLE) are two people that you met. Tell me about them. How did you meet them? What did they tell you?
JOLIE: We go to these places and you always say the same things to the viewer, which is that they would be so moved if they were here, and it's so true, and if they met all these children who are so resilient and they're still children and so full of life and love and hope, and it's always so moving, and this was very unique for me because I met this beautiful older couple who are in their 70s, and they worked their whole lives, and the man had been in the Pakistani military twice and he lived off a pension, and with that small pension he built this home and for his family and for his grandchildren.
It was very modest to begin with but he had something and now they are both dealing with a lot of sickness, and you know, as you see, I believe in the tape, the woman is so embarrassed with her situation, and the man spoke of the fact that he never felt in his lifetime he's ever going to be able to recuperate what he's lost that he would never ever have again nice things, that he would never have a nice bed, a nice house. And they have lived in this place since 1972 and raised their children and their grandchildren there, and in a moment, in a few hours, it was completely gone.
And they are really good people. Really just kind, wonderful, hard-working older people who will pass away most likely in this mud- covered area, which is so covered with dirt and there's feces in the river nearby and it's so covered in flies and it doesn't have the dignity that they deserve to live in, that anyone deserves to live in.
GUPTA: It's so heart breaking to hear that and I think it's almost more heartbreaking to hear that they are embarrassed to tell you about it. I don't know, you know, how that should make somebody feel. I traveled through these camps, Angelina, where I saw these kids in their tents in situations you're describing doing their homework, and being a father as well, I don't know - it just really got at me because they have dreams and aspirations and hopes, and those things are spread throughout the world evenly.
Are you optimistic about the next generation of Pakistan. It is a young country that has been devastated so many times now as you just mentioned.
JOLIE: I think we have no choice but to be optimistic and to have hope. I think without that we're just lost and things deteriorate. I think it is - you know, this part of the world, they are resilient people. Think of all that they have been hit with, and they continue to move on, to rebuild, to trade, to educate, to learn.
You know, they're really trying, and they have fought through a lot and they'll continue to fight through, and that goes for the Afghani people as well. We have to support them, and also for all the people who are worried about conflict in this part of the world and feel like it's far away or they're not sure they understand the corruption or for all of this, the only way to make for a healthier, more hopeful, stronger Pakistan and Afghanistan is to help support education, is to help people, especially in this time of need and to not just allow for more devastation and more desperation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And if you want to help the relief effort in Pakistan, head to our web site, cnn.com/impact. You will find a list of 20 charity groups where you can impact your world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Students are flooding back to college campuses, getting ready for the new school year. And there's plenty of focus on academics, social activities, and, of course, freedom from the parents, right? But here's one thing you are probably not thinking about. The Justice Department says that one in four college women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape before they get their diploma. Only five percent will report it to police. A journalism student at the University of Missouri actually collected these survivor stories. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got really forceful, and held me down, and started (INAUDIBLE) and took my clothes off with the other hand. I kept fighting with him, and take my clothes off, and I'd hold onto my pants as tightly as I could and tried to push him off me. And I was really upset, and I was shaking, and --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just cried, and I don't really know how long it lasted because I kind of blanked it out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next day he sent me a Facebook message and said, "For anything that happened, I'm sorry. I don't remember. I was really (EXPLETIVE DELETD) up. The gin and juice, man. It'll do that to you."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He sent me a message on Facebook, actually, and told me that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like I needed to take my body back, if that makes any sense. I needed to be in control, and I was going to pick and choose who I kiss and I was going to pick and choose what I did. I was going to be in control of my life. And no one else was going to be in control of it for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to relive that every time something goes wrong or I don't feel in control or I feel uncomfortable. Even just going out and having a guy come up behind me and put his hands on me and wanting to just dance is probably the most disgusting feeling in the world for me because I feel so violated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow. Caitlin Keller is one of the students in that documentary. She's a rape survivor, and a senior now at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
And Laura Hackford is the director of the university's women's center. Both join me live from Jefferson City.
Wow, Katlyn, let's start with you. How do you even recover from something like this? I know this documentary was therapeutic for you, and you're getting your story out there, but I know it was not an easy road for you at all.
KATLYN KELLER, RAPE SURVIVOR: It definitely wasn't easy. It wasn't a quick fix. I joined the relationship and sexual violence prevention center on campus through the social justice lounge and that really, really helped me because it helped me figure out and learn about this issue that I didn't really know much about before that.
So, it was a long process. The documentary helped, but it was really just, like, educating myself that brought me through the issue.
PHILLIPS: And, Katlyn, before you left for college, such a different time now. That thought never entered my mind when I went away to school. Did your parents discuss with you at all how boys can be aggressive, how this might happen, how you have to be careful as you enter off on your own?
KELLER: They mention a few things, like watch your drink when you go out, be careful, be safe, be with friends. But I don't think they understood and neither did I understand the prevalence of this issue, and how often it actually happens. Because I was safe and when it happened, I was with friends. And my perpetrator was good friend of mine. I think it's a lack of education in our society where people don't understand the degree to how often this occurs.
PHILLIPS: Now, that's interesting. You say it the perpetrator was a good friend of yours. How did this happen to you? And why would he do this? KELLER: I mean, I ask myself the same question every day. I have no idea. I think it's a lot of misunderstandings in society, and I don't think people understand the issue as well as they could. I still don't think to this day that the perpetrator knows what he did to his full impact. So, I think it's a lack of understanding and education.
PHILLIPS: And, I'll just -- you know, whatever you're comfortable saying here, but I'll be blunt. Was it the type of situation where there was alcohol or drugs, and he didn't really -- was he out of control? Kind of tell me what do you think it was that contributed to that moment, if you could go back and go, wow, this is what I would tell gals my age. This is the situation you don't want to get into?
KELLER: Yes, no, definitely. Alcohol was involved. I wasn't nearly as drunk as he was, from what I can remember and what I can recall. But, yes, it was definitely one of those situations that I trusted him, and I didn't think it would lead to what it actually led to. But he was very drunk and much more forceful than I ever experienced around anyone in my life.
So when it came down to it, I thought it was just like a friendly encounter, and he got very forceful and it went bad very quickly.
PHILLIPS: And, Laura, you are in charge of the relationship and sexual violence prevention program there at the university. Why was that started? Was it because you were seeing an increase in situations like what happened to Katlyn? Does the university have to do something to try and prevent this?
LAURA HACQUARD, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI'S WOMEN'S CENTER: Actually, when we started the program on our campus, it was many years ago. It was really even before we talked about relationship and sexual violence to the level that we do now.
We started the program just because we had heard a few survivors going to the counseling center, to the residence hall staff, and that was back in the day when people really weren't talking about that. This would have been a topic on CNN back then. Over the years, the program has just grown and developed, and we now have another full- time staff person there and a great staff of student volunteers and peer educators. Student organizations that are involved in helping educate the campus.
So, it's really grown over the years, but it wasn't started in response to what we saw as a big crisis. We were just trying to be helpful.
PHILLIPS: And Laura, there were a number of other reports that came out in the past couple of years about universities don't want a tarnished reputation. They don't want parents hearing that rapes happen on their campus. And other universities, the security -- members of security were handling it differently -- not reporting it to outside police. There was a lot of shifty things going on because they didn't want that kind of public attention. How are you -- you know, taking this on and being up front and bold and honest about this subject matter?
HACQUARD: Sure. Well, rape and sexual assault happen everywhere in our society, not just on college campuses. And it's really important to talk about it, and on our campus the approach we have always taken and had strong institutional support for is to be honest about it and say, yes, it happens here. It happens everywhere. And here's what we are doing to educate the campus about it. Here's the services and resources we provide for survivors and their friends.
We talk to the parents when they come to campus in the summer with their students before they actually start school. We have a session with our parents along with the wellness center and police department --talk about safety issues on campus. And we talk about rape and sexual assault.
PHILLIPS: And Katelyn, I'm assuming you have gotten a lot of peace out of the program. And Laura has been a tremendous help to you?
KELLER: Yes, definitely. Everyone -- that's why I joined. I was kind of confused before I joined of what had actually happened to me. But being around people who are as supportive as this group is has been tremendously helpful. I don't know where I would be without it.
PHILLIPS: Well, I tell you what. You are bold and brave to come forward and talk about this. Really I have so many friends with young daughters in college, and it's a shame that we have to address this and talk about this. But it's a reality, and we have got to educate other young women your age. And I really appreciate you speaking out about it.
Thank you so much, Katlyn --
KELLER: No problem.
PHILLIPS: And, Laura, fabulous program you are running on the university. Thank you for doing that being supportive of women going through this.
HACQUARD: Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: You bet. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, earlier this hour, we told you that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was criticizing that pastor in Gainesville, Florida, Terry Jones, who is planning to burn the Koran on September 11.
Well, Clinton is talking more about him this morning. She did it while addressing the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations. This just in to CNN. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I mean, it's regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world's attention. But that's the world we live in right now. I mean, it doesn't in any way represent America or Americans or American government or American religious or political leadership.
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PHILLIPS: Meantime, the imam behind the controversial plan to build a mosque and community center near ground zero says that the project will go forward. In a "New York Times" editorial, he says he is awed by the level of emotions surrounding the issue. Soledad O'Brien will have an exclusive interview with him when he will appear on "LARRY KING LIVE," tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
All right. Time now for "CNN Equals Politics" updates. CNN's Dana Bash, our best political team on television, is checking things out for us now. What's crossing the wires, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. Well, one of the biggest things we are looking at is the speech that President Obama is going to give just over the river here in the state of Ohio. We're here across the river in Kentucky with the Election Express, but what he's going to do is try to allay the concerns we have been hearing as we traveled through Pennsylvania and Ohio and here, in Kentucky, from voters, even Democrats saying, we just don't think that the White House, the Democratic leadership is doing enough to address the bad economy and the lack of jobs.
He's going to talk about $200 billion in corporate tax breaks. He's going to offer $100 billion for research and development, and $50 billion for infrastructure projects. Those are the things we expect to hear from the president. At this point, reality check, it doesn't look like, at least, in the short term this is going to get anywhere on Capitol Hill. But again, this is politics. This is rhetoric and this is about trying to reassure people that he does have a plan.
On the other side of the equation, we have the House Republican leader. That's number two this hour on our political ticker. John Boehner, he would be speaker if the Republicans are successful in getting those 39 seats in November and they take the majority. He is trying to this morning, get out ahead of the president and make clear that he isn't just opposed to Democrats, but also has some plans of their own.
And what he is proposing -- two things. One is a freeze on spending. All -- most government spending, I should say, back to the levels of 2008. That is before the near $800 billion stimulus and many other proposals and laws that have come through. And, also, taxes. He wants to, for two years, freeze the tax rates at current levels. And what that's about is the fact that he and other Republicans have been saying all over the country, all over the country on the campaign trail, that he believe the Bush tax cuts, particularly those for the wealthiest Americans, should not expire as Democrats and as the president campaigned on. And he's saying at least for two years, we should stop that. That's been a major battleground on the campaign trail.
And speaking of John Boehner, Kyra, let's go to the third item this hour on the ticker. We have a brand new CNN/Opinion Research poll on John Boehner. The House minority leader's approval rating. What's the opinion out there of him? Favorable, 22 percent, not that high. But unfavorable is about the same, 23 percent. And this is an interesting number: unsure, 55 percent.
We are hearing this here, and I'm sure you are as well, Kyra. People are so angry at politicians, maybe it's not a bad thing for John Boehner that 55 percent of people are unsure, that they just don't know a lot about him. People are so angry at politicians, that's probably a good place to be right now.
PHILLIPS: True. Dana Bash, in Covington, Kentucky, heading to Indianapolis tomorrow with The Best Political Team on television. Dana, thanks.
We will have your next political update in just about an hour. And just a reminder. For the latest political news, just go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
All right, guys. Looking to be the next John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" with all those slick moves? Well, if you have trouble on the dance floor, psychologists may have found a way to help you.
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PHILLIPS: And it's time for "Home and Away," our daily tribute to our men and women in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq or Afghanistan. Today, we are lifting up Private First Class Christopher MacLeod. He was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad three years ago this.
Christopher's sergeant remembered the soldier's first mission, searching 100 houses for insurgents. "Hey, new guy," the sergeant said. "Are you all right?" Christopher yelled back, "Hoo-ah! Yes, Sergeant, this is what I signed up for."
Christopher's mom, Sandra McLeod, joins us on the phone from her home in Texas to share more memories about her son. So, as he always this way, full of motivation, Mom?
SANDRA MCLEOD, PFC. CHRISTOPHER MCLEOD'S MOTHER: Yes, yes, he was.
PHILLIP: And where did that come from?
MCLEOD: I think probably his dad. PHILLIPS: His dad had a big influence on him?
MCLEOD: Oh, yes, absolutely.
PHILLIPS: And I understand, too, that he was always motivated even as a little boy when it came to making things for the people he loved and his family. He was quite gifted at woodworking.
MCLEOD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Tell us about that.
MCLEOD: He had many different hobbies, and there for for a while when he was young, he got into woodworking. And would spend hours and hours on a machine with his wood, making all kinds of plaques and pictures and things constantly. He loved it.
PHILLIPS: From what I understand, too, you're still sharing those gifts with friends and family members, passing them around, that right?
MCLEOD: Yes. We consider these true treasures, so at Christmastimes, sometimes we share the treasures with our loved ones.
PHILLIPS: At 11, he actually made a boat?
MCLEOD: Yes. Somewhere Christopher found some large chunks of heavy Styrofoam, and he nailed them together with boards. And we have a pond in our backyard. I wasn't aware of what was going on until after they had launched this boat onto this pond, and they were out there with sticks or boards, rowing it around.
And, of course, it capsized. I seen Christopher and his friend Derek swimming to the bank and laughing so hard they could barely swim. But Christopher considered that a really good day.
PHILLIPS: You had a panic attack and he thought he was a hero. That's so typical of a rambunctious 11-year-old boy, wouldn't you say?
MCLEOD: Yes. Absolutely. Yes.
PHILLIPS: I understand, too, and this gave me chills, when his wife was remodeling the home in his childhood bedroom, you actually found a pair of his glasses. And I guess he's been wearing glasses since the first grade and this was another treasure to come across these?
MCLEOD: Yes. He started wearing glasses around first grade, and everything went fine until around sixth grade when he started disappearing. One pair after another, and we never could find them. We didn't know what happened to all these glasses.
And then Sheena was remodeling, and she came up and said, "Sandra, look what I found." And Christopher had hid a brand-new pair of his glasses, when he was 11, 12 years old, back behind the paneling in his bedroom. Yes. And they're brand new. It's awesome. PHILLIPS: Well, I understand that hundreds and hundreds of people showed up to his funeral, and it was overwhelming to you. and I know you want to get a message out to all other parents that have to deal with this kind of grief. What is that, Sandra?
MCLEOD: Accept help, be gentle with yourself and others. Be patient, go slow. Don't expect too much from yourself. And let others help you, and just take your time. It's going to get better. It just takes time. Let God help you, and let people rally around you, lift you up and help take care of you. It will be okay. You'll get better.
PHILLIPS: I tell you what, I look at your son's little boys, your grandkids, Landen and Aidan, and they're sure lucky to have a grandma like you. They are keeping the memory of their daddy alive every Fourth of July and on his birthday. They are precious, Sandra.
MCLEOD: Thank you! We absolutely love them.
PHILLIPS: Well, they're lucky to have you, too. Thank you so much for talking about your son Christopher.
MCLEOD: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS: He served our country well.
If you've got a son or brother or friend and you want to honor that individual, this is all you have to do. Just go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your service member's name in the upper right-hand search field, pull up the profile and send us your thoughts and pictures, and we promise to keep the memory of your hero alive.
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PHILLIPS: Probably one of the worst possible disco songs of our era. All right, guys. If you can't dance, don't worry about it Because Josh is here. Apparently, he's talked to these psychologists in England. They've been identifying moves that ladies find, I guess, kind of hot.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have to get your opinion on this. Have you seen this?
PHILLIPS: No, I have not.
LEVS: They took these guys and they put these cameras all around them. And then they had women study these, like, featureless figures doing the dancing. Take a look. And what they decided is when women watched these guys -- this is apparently the bad dancer. And this is apparently --
PHILLIPS: It's in animation? LEVS: Yes. So, they follow these guys but they didn't want the women -
PHILLIPS: So, this is not sexy.
LEVS: -- to be put off by what you look like. So, they just wanted women to study the moves alone. Are the moves hot?
PHILLIPS: OK.
LEVS: The 35 women studied said this is not hot. Now, skip to the next guy, who is apparently the good dancer, the hot dancer, And these apparently are the moves that get the ladies excited.
PHILLIPS: Oh, no. Oh, no.
LEVS: Tell me about it.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: So, they studied what it is, and here's what's a little bit frightening. They're saying the moves that got actually women excited involved the left wrist and shoulder and the right knee, not the things you would expect at all.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: So now I'm a little afraid that guys are going to go out there and start making fools of themselves to try to dance like this little guy.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I mean, that's just not normal. That's just so not sexy.
LEVS: Well, apparently.
PHILLIPS: But you know who is such a great dancer? Is Drew Griffin.
LEVS: Give us that, too.
PHILLIPS: Oh, he's got moves.
Don't you, Drew?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have to dress in that unitard to look sexy?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: That's a whole part of the image.
GRIFFIN: That's a bad image with me though.
PHILLIPS: Boy. Too bad Tony Harris is off. He could show us a few moves. LEVS: He has.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Josh. Very good advice.
Take heart, gentlemen, if you want to be sexy.
LEVS: Move that wrist and shoulder.
PHILLIPS: Ooh, my. OK. Take it away, Drew. Save us.
LEVS: Save us.
GRIFFIN: OK, guys. There's no saving you, so let's just move on.
