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Iran Moves to Suppress Protests; Parents of Amanda Knox Facing Trial; Winds of Change Blow in Iran
Aired February 15, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Now, just in to CNN: The governor of Pennsylvania takes action against several state employees in response to that abortion house of horrors that we have told you about on this show. One woman did die at that clinic.
CNN's Sarah Hoye joins us now with this breaking story.
Sarah, you have covered the case of Dr. Gosnell and his staff at that clinic that provided abortions at that clinic in Philadelphia. What is the governor saying today?
SARAH HOYE, CNN ALL PLATFORM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Randi.
Well, today, Governor Tom Corbett announced that he's fired seven state employees after conditions at the Philadelphia doctor's office exposed Health Department areas and investigations that did not take place.
Now, in addition to those seven individuals, four other former employees named in the grand jury investigation had previously resigned. Something to note here, Randi, is that on the day Governor Corbett took office is when this grand jury report came out, so it's his first day of office. This gets dropped on his desk.
And at that time, that new governor vowed to take action as this doctor was being arraigned for murder. So this is definitely a reaction to his initial promise -- Randi.
KAYE: Sure, and as you said, these employees were from the Department of Health. At least seven of them were. You would think that they would be on lookout for this type of thing.
HOYE: Well, that is right, and that's even when the district attorney in Philadelphia has been saying. How did this happen?
So, the governor himself, along with two other people who kind of came up with an action plan here, outlined a very good outline as to what the Department of State needs to do, what the Department of Health needs to do and together what the two departments will do against these kinds of infractions in the future, but that still doesn't answer what happened in the past.
So I think as this case continues throughout the court system, we're going to learn more about what type of breakdowns actually happened -- Randi.
KAYE: Right. And we certainly heard quite a bit about the complaints of unsafe and unsanitary conditions, but nothing was done about it. Can you give us any more specifics from the governor, at least, about how that was allowed and what those conditions actually were?
HOYE: Well, some of those conditions at that clinic were flea- infested animals such as cats. There had been feces found in a back set of stairways. There had been blood and a host of other gruesome and grisly details that went on at this clinic and unreported, it seems.
So when officials actually came to raid this clinic as a pill mill, not an abortion clinic, is when FBI and local authorities discovered this -- as the district attorney says, this house of horrors. So, it shocked everybody at the time, and continues to shock everybody even throughout this 260-page grand jury report -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, Sarah Hoye with the breaking news for us -- thank you, Sarah.
And now watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Protesters fill the streets of Iran, and the government responds with violence. Now Tehran says those leading the protests should die.
Plus, President Obama takes a shot at Iranian leaders.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt.
KAYE: Is Tehran the next Cairo?
She's sitting behind bars convicted of murder, but now Amanda Knox's parents have just been ordered to stand trial -- yes, her parents. It's a major twist in an unfolding drama.
Plus, this is no ordinary DUI stop. Wait until you hear who this guy is and why these officers may find it a bit strange to arrest him.
And the future is now -- why your phone may soon replace your wallet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: I'm Randi Kaye in for Brooke Baldwin.
If it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. Rapid fire, let's go.
A mystery is unfolding in Florida. It started as a sick call for a man and a boy inside this pest control truck. A hazardous materials team was called after some of the emergency workers also became ill and had to be hospitalized. But get this. After a thorough search, they found a body inside a bag stuffed inside the truck.
The man and boy who are in serious condition have not been charged. The cause of their illness was reportedly a jug of acid- based solution inside that truck.
More troubling signs are surfacing about Jared Loughner. Just a week before he allegedly shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Loughner's community college was on alert. According to e-mails obtained by the "Arizona Republic" newspaper, campus police planned to distribute Loughner's picture to staff members, instruct night officers to be on watch for him and order additional checks.
The e-mails are evidence college police remained worried about Loughner after he was kicked out of school.
A hiring binge at Home Depot as it gears up for spring and summer. The world's largest home improvement store says it's hiring more than 60,000 temporary workers in the U.S., in addition to permanent hires.
Prepare for things to get more crowded at airports and on your flights. The FAA is predicting air travel in the U.S. will more than double in the next 20 years. By 2031, U.S. airlines could carry 1.3 billion passengers every year. The FAA says those predictions show how critical it is to upgrade the agency's air traffic control systems to meet all that growing traffic.
Now to Minnesota. Aww. Yes, he looks awfully cute, doesn't he? But here's something you don't want to wake up to, a deer smashing through your bedroom window. It happened to this couple.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLEEN SLATTERY, MINNESOTA: Glass shattered. We're partially sitting up as this deer starts galloping across us in bed.
BEAU WILLIAMS, MINNESOTA: Jumped up and went and shut this door and I locked it in there and it was like kicking and screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Animal control officers say the deer probably lunged towards the window because he saw his own reflection.
The Playboy Mansion is under a microscope as a possible source of a mysterious health outbreak. L.A. County public health officials are trying to pinpoint why at least 176 people got sick with a serious respiratory infection after a global Internet conference.
David Costello (ph) was there and felt the effects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very fatigued. But it wiped me out very quickly
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The conference held events at multiple locations, including the Playboy Mansion. Officials believe the outbreak has not spread beyond that conference. Let's hope not.
And watch this. This is from Clanton, Alabama, police dash cam. Drivers called 911 to report this erratic driver swerving off the road. A police officer intercepted the car, but it turns out the driver was a Homewood police chief. No field sobriety test was given or charges filed against the chief, and he announced his retirement the next day. Shocker.
Want to drive drunk in Washington State? OK, but you may end up with one of these. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would put the letter Z on the license plates of convicted drunk drivers. The plates wouldn't just be embarrassing. They would also be more expensive. Several states already have laws like this on the books.
An Iowa convenience store asks one of life's more important questions. Who owns foot-long? Casey's General Stores says the Subway sandwich chain does not own the word, but Subway got in touch with Casey's just a couple of weeks ago saying they shouldn't use the word in their advertising. Well, a district court is going to have to figure all of that out now.
And this handsome little baby boy came into the world in a very unusual way, except for -- actually in the usual way, except for his grand entrance. You see, when his mom went into labor in the middle of the night, well, she had nobody to help her and no time to call 911. Good thing for her, her 8-year-old son kept a cool head and he helped with the delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMBERLY TENNYSON, MOTHER: Two o'clock in the morning, I had no idea he was coming, none whatsoever.
DEMARRY LOVE, HELPED DELIVER BABY BROTHER: Got towels and stuff like that.
TENNYSON: Everything. He didn't panic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And the good news is mom and baby are both doing very well.
Amanda Knox was convicted of killing her roommate during a drug- fueled sex game, so why are her parents being ordered now to stand trial? Coming up, why they will soon be defending themselves instead of their daughter. Strange twist.
Plus, you may never again need to carry a wallet. Wait until you see how things are changing when it comes to paying at the cash register. That's all next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
KAYE: Imagine how great it would be if you could walk into a store and buy something with your cell phone. Well, guess what? You can already do that actually in some places.
Here's Dan Simon to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, we're at Starbucks talking about something very important to people. You might be thinking we're talking about coffee. No, we're actually talking about money. Starbucks has done something pretty innovative here where you can now pay for your products using your BlackBerry or your iPhone. Essentially, what they have done is created a digital version of the gift card.
So if you have the app it's very easy to set up. Once you get to the register, you see the barcode reader here. The barcode is right here on the app, this is the digital version of your gift card. Boom, just swipe it and your coffee is paid for.
Now the mobile payments industry is something that is really growing a lot. One of the hottest Silicon Valley startups is a company called Square. They have created an attachment that goes into the head phone jack of the iPhone, and it allows anybody, and I mean anybody, to accept a credit card payment, whether you're a small business or even a babysitter.
We spoke to the CEO of the company, Jack Dorsey.
Who is the primary user of the Square? Who would the core customer be?
JACK DORSEY, CEO, SQUARE, INC.: You can imagine, you know, hairdressers, tax accountants.
We send you a reader in two to three days and you can start accepting payments. It's hooked directly to your checking account so you can use that money immediately.
SIMON: Square makes its money by getting a small cut of the transaction. The hardware, by the way, is free. You download the app, you insert some basic info like your banking account information so you can get paid.
There's at least one other company doing this, it's a service called Go Payment from Intuit, giant software company. Bottom line is all these devices make it very easy for someone to accept a credit card payment. This may be the greatest thing that's ever happened to the lemonade stand -- Randi.
KAYE: Dan Simon, thank you.
New waves of violence and protests sparking fears across the Middle East. Lawmakers in Iran want blood. They say the people leading the protests should be executed. Michael Holmes is standing by. We're going to talk about all that and much more with him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: It's "Globe Trekking" time when we look at what's happening around the world. Michael Holmes is here from CNN International.
And the historic revolution in Egypt certainly didn't start there, and now it seems to be fanning out even more.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Gosh, we're seeing it all over the place, aren't we? You've still got a lot happening in Yemen. I mean, there's still concerns in places like Algeria as well.
Iran is where we've been seeing a lot of activity over the last 24 hours. And this is the great irony, and we were chatting briefly about this yesterday, that, you know, Iran was the government, the regime was praising what went on in Egypt as some sort of Islamic revolution, similar to the 1979 revolution in Iran, but, of course, it was never that, and this is what they do to their protesters when they go on to the streets.
There were a couple of thousand people out trying to have a protest. It was ostensibly in support of the Egyptian people, but it was also to demand reform in Iran as well, and you can see what happened. No military on the streets, but there was the feared Basij. Remember them from 2009?
KAYE: Yes, but this is so interesting because they certainly came out in support of the protesters in Egypt, but then they are not allowing their own people to fight for their rights.
HOLMES: Clear hypocrisy, really. It's not even irony. You know, portraying it in one way and dealing with it in another.
There's a lot of differences between what's going on in Egypt and Iran as well. Like we said before, uprisings and revolutions are not exportable. They are a very different set of circumstances in both places.
What's interesting and different for us as journalists, we're not there.
KAYE: Right.
HOLMES: The Iranian government will not let us in and other media either. And so, we're having to get video out the best way we can, as opposed to Egypt where, of course, this was all on international display all the time, apart from generally getting beaten up.
KAYE: It's also interesting because the movement in Iran has a leader or a couple of leaders --
HOLMES: Yes.
KAYE: -- really, the opposition, which now their parliament wants to execute.
HOLMES: And ironically, in Egypt, the opposition did not have a clear leadership --
KAYE: Right.
HOLMES: -- but it had a single voice. In Iran it's got, yes, some organized leadership but not a single voice.
What you're looking at there is extraordinary stuff really. That is the Iranian parliament, and those are members of parliament chanting for the deaths of the two main opposition leaders in Iran. What they did is they passed a motion, 222 out of 290 members, calling these guys corrupts, with an "s."
KAYE: The opposition leaders.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. And to be a corrupt under Iranian law is punishable by death, so they are essentially calling for their deaths and that's what they were chanting there in the parliament. So extraordinary stuff and very worrying.
But the other thing that you're going to see a lot more in Iran, no compunction at all of cracking down on protests in very violent ways, which we saw in the post-election violence in 2009.
KAYE: And the U.S. has no leverage there --
HOLMES: None whatsoever.
KAYE: -- because they don't give them the aid like they do Egypt.
HOLMES: No, $1.3 billion to leverage with.
KAYE: Right, to take away.
HOLMES: And the Iranians wouldn't listen anyway.
Ironically, the Iranians have garnered a lot more influence in that part of the world generally partly because of the United States. A lot of people say Iran owns Iraq now politically, and in the case of some of the major militias there as well, and that wouldn't have happened if the U.S. didn't invaded. And so, there's obviously been a great benefit to the Iranians in terms of regional influence in Iraq.
Also, the Lebanese government, which was pro-western, is being weakened and Hezbollah is now more heavily involved. Again, Iranian influence there, and through Syria and then, you know, Hamas who won the election, the Palestinian elections that the U.S. insisted on, the U.S. then didn't recognize them, Hamas has pushed closer to Iran as well. Iranian fingers are all through the region, and it's very concerning for the U.S.
KAYE: Very concerning to see how it's all spreading.
HOLMES: And Israel, too.
KAYE: The uprising from Egypt and where it's going.
All right, Michael Holmes, good to see you.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
KAYE: Thank you.
Shocking dash cam video of a police car hitting a woman walking her bike across the road. We'll show you what happens next.
Also, Chris Christie says he's not running for president, but he is heading to Washington for a big speech. So what does he have up his sleeve? We'll find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We've got a quick political update for you. Gloria Borger has the very latest from Washington.
Hi there, Gloria.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, how are you?
KAYE: Good, thanks.
BORGER: Well, it's time to talk presidential politics, of course, what else? As you know, these Republican candidates have been kind of slow getting out of the gate. Nobody really wants to be the first big presidential contender to declare, but this does not mean they are not busy, Randi. Let me just tell you what some of them are doing.
Mike Huckabee, for example, in Florida tonight, very important swing state. Sarah Palin in long island, New York. Haley Barbour to Kentucky. Mitt Romney was in Vegas yesterday. And Newt Gingrich gets the prize, he gets to go to Hawaii to give a speech to a Republican dinner. That's a lot better than Iowa, so congratulations to Newt Gingrich.
And there are also those I'm-not-going-to-run candidates that lots of people want to be candidates. You were mentioning it earlier, Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, who says he's not going to run, he's not going to run. Yet, in a conservative straw poll taken he got 6 percent of the vote, and he's coming to Washington to talk to a Republican think tank about the budget. So pretty good timing on that.
KAYE: Curious.
BORGER: And there is one election that's happening really soon, and that's, of course, the mayoral race in Chicago. We all know that Rahm Emanuel is the front-runner for that. What he's trying to do is get over 50 percent of the vote next week so that he doesn't have to face a runoff.
President Obama was asked about his good friend Rahm, whether he was making phone calls on his behalf, and the president said no, I'm not. But he did notice that he saw pictures of Rahm Emanuel shoveling snow in Chicago during a snow storm, and would I have to say one thing we never saw Rahm Emanuel shovel in Washington was snow.
Back to you. Only joking, Rahm.
KAYE: Very well said, Gloria. Thank you for that.
BORGER: Sure, sure.
KAYE: Coming up on half past the hour and up next, President Obama calls out Iran and defends his new budget. We've got the highlights from his first press conference of the year, next.
And Piers Morgan will be here to tell us about his interview with Janet Jackson, but I'm also going to ask him about the bet he just lost to Oprah. "Reporter Roulette" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. A lot going on in the world today, and we've got anchors and correspondents covering all of it. Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
We begin with Ed Henry at White House, where the president gave his first solo news conference of the year today. Ed, the president seemed confident he could make a deal with Republicans on the budget, but that he'd have more details later, so do you have some of those details for us?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Randi, it's interesting because, you know, the president had a lot to cover at this news conference. Specifically the budget was one area that came up a lot, and I think what he's trying to do is lay out a dynamic here where he says, look, there are people on the left who are upset that there are too many cuts. There are folks on the right who are upset that his budget doesn't go far enough, and he's trying to stake out that middle ground and say, look, this is exactly why he said he's trying to take a scalpel and not a machete.
KAYE: And you asked him if his administration was too slow in embracing the Egyptian protests. Do you think that might have an impact on how he'll react to other protests, like Iran's possibly?
HENRY: No doubt about it. I mean, you'll remember in 2009 when there were initially protests in Iran long before the Egypt uprising. This president faced a lot of criticism for not speaking out more back then on behalf of the protesters.
They heard that criticism again in terms of Egypt. I pressed the president on that today, and he was very defensive in saying that his administration, he believes, is on the right side of history. But I think it was also interesting that he spoke out pretty toughly against the government in Tehran, saying that they are sort of falsely claiming some sort of celebration about what happened in Egypt.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government is cracking down, beating people up, murdering people. These were pretty hard, tough words from this president. And it shows that maybe he's gotten the message, and he's going to be particularly tough in this case involving Iran.
KAYE: Sounds that way. Ed Henry, thanks.
HENRY: Thanks.
KAYE: And next on "Reporter Roulette" John Zarrella with the amazing new images from space of a comet. John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. They just finished a NASA news conference out in California where they were attempting to show us a real image of a crater that was formed by another spacecraft that impacted this comet five years ago.
But Randi, it's like when you go to a football game or into a stadium and someone sitting next to you says there's your cousin way on the other side and you're going where, where? And when you look at this picture, it's really very difficult to make out the impact crater from five years ago.
Bottom line, is the Stardust spacecraft took about 60 or 70 spectacular up-close images of the Temple One comet as it flew by as close to 110 miles away. The scientists said they really did get what they consider some spectacular shots of this impact crater that was made five years ago by another spacecraft.
They have got to analyze all this data, but it was 1,000 times better than anything they had expected to get as far as data, so lots for them to analyze and digest over the course of the next few years. Randi?
KAYE: And very exciting stuff for us to talk about. Thank you, John.
And finally on "Roulette," our very own Piers Morgan, who has a very big celebrity joining him tonight. It is Janet Jackson.
Hi there, Piers. You know, I know she's known for being quite shy. If anyone could get her to come out of her shell, it would be you.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Yes, she is shy, but I really liked her. She was very intelligent. She got quite emotional in the interview, much more revealing than I thought she would be, particularly about her brother, Michael. It seems like she's in a good place now to reflect on his life. She's got over the intense grieving she's been through, and I found her really enlightening about Michael, who she still calls Mike which is what she called him as a little kid brother.
Really fascinating about the lengths that some female stars go to now to lose weight. She's had an ongoing battle with her weight that she talks about very openly. But she told me that some female celebrities actually eat tissue paper so that it clogs up their stomach and they don't feel hungry. And that's how they stay thin. And she said she knew other stuff that is even worse that she couldn't even tell me about.
So, you certainly suffer for your art in Hollywood these days.
KAYE: Certainly has been a very public struggle for her. I know she also spoke with you about her father. So, let's listen to what she said, and we'll talk about what it in just a second.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Do you feel sad that you don't have a relationship with him that is better?
JANET JACKSON, SINGER: Not anymore. I used to. It would have been nice. I -- I would go over friend's house when Mother wouldn't let me go. And I'd see my friends, the relationship with their father. How they called them Dad and sit on their lap and --
MORGAN: What did you call him?
JACKSON: Joseph.
MORGAN: Always that.
JACKSON: One time I tried to call him Dad.
MORGAN: What happened?
JACKSON: He said no. No, I'm Joseph. You call me Joseph. I'm Joseph to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Amazing that after all these years, she hasn't forgotten that.
MORGAN: Well, also, what an insight into the crazy world of the Jacksons because I really enjoyed my time with Janet. But in that one moment you got to see the really dysfunctional side of that family. She tries to call her father Dad once, and he says no. My name is Joseph. I mean, this is not normal behavior, and, you know, it's a small wonder that any of them came out of it as normal as she appears to be in my interview.
I really liked her. I thought she was smart and warm and at a good time in her life to be really reflective about the crazy circus of the Jackson family.
KAYE: I know you've had a pretty amazing lineup of guests. Janet is certainly no exception to that, but there is this one other interview that I know you wanted to get. I know it was a big battle between you and Oprah. You even took it to Twitter.
You wanted to land that first interview with Michael Vick, and we found out today Oprah got him. How do you feel about that?
MORGAN: I feel absolutely gutted as we say in Britain. Although I haven't technically lost, because here's what happened. I bet Oprah 200 pounds I would beat her to this interview. And then a mysterious thing happened at the end of last week where Michael Vick's agent rang us both up and said he can't be party to gambling, so he'll only do an interview with either of you if you withdraw the bet. At which point Oprah, quick as lightning, goes straight on Twitter and says "Dear Piers, I'm withdrawing the bet. I don't know why you talked me into it. I still love you. Love Oprah."
And the moment I saw that, I knew when I was I'm finished. I knew what that meant was, if she did that on Twitter, she was in the clear and she had him in the bag. And I am, as we say in Britain, sick as a parrot.
KAYE: Yes. She sort of sold you out on that one!
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: She did. I mean, you shouldn't pick a fight with Oprah Winfrey, right?
KAYE: No, don't you ever! Well, I'm sure it will be a great interview, and I'm sure Janet Jackson will be a wonderful interview as well. Piers Morgan, pleasure.
MORGAN: Well, Janet will be a lot better than Michael Vick, I can tell you that.
KAYE: I'm sure she will be, and we will all be watching. Thank you, Piers.
MORGAN: Thanks a lot. Thank you.
KAYE: So, forget the trillions and billions you've heard about the last 24 hours. There are items in the president's budget that add up to much smaller potatoes. Joe Johns is here to take us through the president's suggestions for shaking the change out of the government's proverbial pockets in "Political Pop."
And why did Barbara Bush poke fun at her husband for tearing up? You have to see this. We'll have it for you right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A fascinating moment between the man who lives in the White House and a man who once did. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We proudly salute him for his unwavering devotion to our country and our world.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: It really was a special moment. President Obama giving the first former President Bush a Medal of Freedom. It's considered the nation's highest civilian honor. Other recipients include Warren Buffett, basketball legend Bill Russell and Congressman John Lewis.
So, we've been hearing all about the president's new budget proposal, but who is pinching pennies, and where are dollars getting doled out fast? Joe Johns is here with the "Political Pop." Hi there, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, how you doing today? Having fun in the anchoring seat?
KAYE: I'm great.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: This story got started with Lynn Sweet, the famous columnist from Chicago. She got us thinking about this. She put out a little article talking about the teeny, tiny little things the administration is doing to show us it's really serious this time about cutting spending.
So, here we go. Among the things they say they are going to do is painting the roofs of embassies white to save $5 million. So Randi, do you know why they are doing that? How they are going to save $5 million?
KAYE: To keep it warmer?
JOHNS: Actually to keep it cooler during the summer, apparently.
KAYE: Oh, see, aren't you glad you asked me?
JOHNS: Well, the energy secretary has been running all over the place saying this works.
KAYE: Good thing I'm not the energy secretary.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: All right. I didn't know either.
The Department of Homeland Security would cut out newspaper advertising of public notices of seized property. Instead, they are just going to go straight online with the notice. This makes sense.
The Department of Agriculture would end the express delivery of empty containers, which would save about $1 million, so -- which begs the question why on earth would they be taking express delivery on empty containers in the first place? But there's government in a nutshell for you.
KAYE: Yes, but there are also some big things not getting cut. For example, you say the administration has dollars in an Indian TV show?
JOHNS: Right! Yes. This is a little strange, but not too strange. This is nothing like Fashion Week, you know. A lot of people thought I was talking about a fashion show with a runway when I first started discussing this.
This is a fashion television show that the government's got its arm in. It's on TV in India. It's called "Let's Design." we have a clip of it. The show now, believe it or not, in one or two ways, twice removed, is sponsored by something called the Cotton Council, which is a trade group. They get about $20 million in grants from the U.S. government, and they use the money to promote the U.S. cotton export business with a show.
KAYE: And why is that a problem?
JOHNS: Well, the truth is that India has the second-largest cotton industry in the world. It's much larger than the U.S. cotton industry, so basically we're trying to sell India on something they make more of than we do, right?
KAYE: Got it.
JOHNS: So, it's not -- go ahead.
KAYE: No, you go!
JOHNS: It's not just cotton, though, we're talking about here. It's all kinds of industries, and this is something that is called in the government the U.S. Market Access Program. There are watchdog groups out there that think this is not too smart, like Taxpayers for Common Sense. They say the larger issue is if you're trying to cut the budget, why not cut the hundreds of millions of dollars given to trade associations and the like to promote industries like this abroad.
KAYE: Right. And, of course, we couldn't wrap up "Political Pop" without a pretty funny moment from former first lady Barbara Bush. Tell us about that one.
JOHNS: Well, a priceless moment really. She's being interviewed by Jenna Bush and talking about the former president of the United States. And they are sort of sharing love notes they have written to each other. And the former president, Bush 41, chokes up. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In Rye, New York, I love you, too.
BARBARA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: I love you, too. JENNA BUSH, JOURNALIST: Why are we such criers?
BARBARA BUSH: You know what? You could be speaker of the House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Couldn't get away without a reference to John Boehner, who, as we all know, tears up all the time.
KAYE: That was great.
JOHNS: You know what, I'm not going to cry on TV, I really don't think so. There's John Boehner. He gets a little weepy every now and then.
KAYE: Only Barbara Bush would come out with that one. So quick -- witted.
JOHNS: Exactly. It could have been worse. It was not said in a mean spirit so that's all good.
KAYE: Oh, no. It was very funny. Very, very funny. Joe Johns, good to see you
JOHNS: You bet. Joe Johns, good to see you.
JOHNS: You bet. Take care, Randi.
KAYE: Thank you.
Police shoot and kill a college football player during a chaotic scene outside a bar. Most of it is caught on video, and now the officers are not going to face charges. How is the family reacting? We're on the case.
Plus a cat burglar on the loose. Seriously, you should be scared of this cat because it will steal your stuff. I am not making this up. We are going to prove it to you next.
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KAYE: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is ordered to stand trial. He's accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and trying to cover it up, and an Italian judge decided to put the case on the fast track, setting the trial for April 6th. It's not the first time Berlusconi has been in trouble over sex allegations, but this time it's pretty serious. Listen to this from our Dan rivers.
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DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Silvio Berlusconi is facing the most sensational trial Italy has ever seen. The swirling sex scandals that have engulfed him for months now will finally land him in court. The case centers around Moroccan belly dancer Karen El Marouf, aka "Ruby, the heart stealer," who he met on Valentine's Day a year ago. That relationship is now under intense focus. Prosecutors claim he paid her for sex when she was an underage 17-year-old prostitute and that he abused his power trying to get her released from police custody after she was arrested last May, allegations both she and Berlusconi deny.
The anger at his antics has spilled on to the streets regularly. This rally in Milan was organized to protest at the way women are treated by Italian society, particularly by their prime minister.
RIVERS, (on camera): And this is the mansion outside of milan where Silvio Berlusconi held various soirees. These were the so- called "bunga bunga parties" which involved scantily clad women dancing in a makeshift nightclub in the basement culminating in Silvio Berlusconi paying many of them for sex.
RIVERS (voice-over): Berlusconi denies that, as does this woman, here with her lawyer. She was a regular on the evenings in which she insists were innocent. She's also being investigated for procuring girls for the prime minister, which she denies.
NICOLE MINETTI, LOMBARDY REGIONAL COUNCILOR: I mean, the parties, if we can call them parties, were definitely much different respect of how the press describes them. He sings. He tells stories, any type of story, I mean, even personal stories of his experience in politics, humor stories. So that's a little bit how the evenings were. Nothing of lurid in any way.
RIVERS (on camera): Lots of pretty girls there?
MINETTI: Sometimes even pretty girls, absolutely, yes. Sometimes pretty girls, yes.
RIVERS (voice-over): But the 74-year-old prime minister remains popular with voters in Italy, and he's furiously denied the criminal charges, saying they are politically motivated. Now, three judges will decide, and they are all women.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Milan.
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KAYE: If you own a cat, you may be able to relate to this next story. There is a cat burglar on the loose in a Pennsylvania neighborhood, and surveillance cameras were rolling in the middle of his haul. You've got to see this.
This is the cat burglar caught red-handed, more like red-pawed. The cat, whose name is Dusty, apparently led quite the life of crime, stealing underwear, mittens, toys, even a pair of shoes before his owners figured it all out. Forget cat burglar, he's more like a cat klepto. I hope my cat isn't watching. I don't want him to get any ideas. Switching gears now, Amanda Knox says she didn't kill her roommates, but she's spending decades behind bars for the murders. And now her parents will face trial in Italy for something they said. We're on the case next.
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KAYE: I'm going to show you some video that you may find disturbing. A deputy's dash cam captures the moment of impact as a woman on a bicycle crosses right in front of his car in collier county, Florida. This in in Florida, and that is a 47-year-old woman toppling on to the cruiser's hood.
The officer driving the vehicle says he couldn't see her until she dashed right out in front of him. McKinnon says she purposefully chose a darkened road because she was afraid police would ticket her for not having the lights on her bike that are necessary. She also said she has poor vision and wasn't wearing glasses. The sheriff's department calls the accident unfortunate and said it released the video just to show what happened. McKinnon is recovering.
A bizarre twist today in the Amanda Knox case. She's the American convicted of murder in Italy. Well, now, her parents have been charged. We're on the case with that story.
Plus, a grand jury says no crime was committed in a controversial police shooting case. Jean Casarez is a correspondent with "In Session" on TruTV and she's with me now from New York. Jean, let's talk about this Amanda Knox piece first. The charges against her parents stem from this 2009 interview in the "Sunday Times of London," right?
JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": That's exactly right. Her parents were merely repeat what had their doubt her said to them, but what has happened now is charges originally were filed some time ago, but now a formal indictment has been issued against the parents.
This is a libel trial. It will be a criminal trial set to begin at least with a hearing July 4th. But they were repeating what their daughter had said. Amanda said that she was mistreated when she was interrogated by Italian police, no food, no water, no interpreter, and they told her if you try to get an attorney, it will be even worse for you. Because of that, they have now been indicted.
KAYE: And one of her parents is there with her, right, and then there's another one that's in the U.S., so will the U.S. actually have to extradite one of them to face the Italian judge?
CASAREZ: That's a really good question because, Randi, they have been alternating along with other family members so she's never alone in Italy without one of them. I cannot confirm that one of the parents is there now because if one is physically there, they could be arrested at this point.
But whether they would be extradited, it's a possibility. Would there be a trial in absentia where they are not even present? That's a good question. I mean, how far will the Italian prosecutors go to prosecute Amanda Knox's parents?
KAYE: It's such an interesting twist because her conviction is on appeal, so if it works out for her she could go free. Meanwhile her parents could end up in jail, but they are focusing right now really on just her appeal.
CASAREZ: That's right. And what's happening right now, the appeal is in the investigative phase. They are retesting some critical evidence. The defense asked for this during the trial. It was disallowed. It's been allowed during the appeal, and it's believed that in may the announcement will come as to what the further testing revealed, and there's supposed to be a hearing on that May 21st.
KAYE: Let's talk about the grand jury decision in the New York shooting case. It's now going to the Justice Department. This is the case of this college football player who police say was driving aggressively. They ended up shooting him and killing him, but a lot of folks saying that that's not exactly how it all happened.
CASAREZ: You know, this all culminated because of a grand jury proceeding in New York. It is secret, so we don't know what 85 witnesses testified to or what 100 exhibits showed, but the result was they did not indict the police officers.
So the U.S. Justice Department is saying that they are going to review the case now, and I've seen this many times, where it can culminate in federal charges, even though you didn't have state charges, but both sides have their opinion on whether it was necessary for the officer to shoot this young football player. Ultimately he passed away. The family is saying this is murder.
KAYE: Yes. We talked last hour to the mom of the young man who was in the car, and she was very emotional saying that they were just trying to move the car. So she has a completely different story.
CASAREZ: Right. And the other side to that is a car is a deadly weapon, and if it's driven at a strength and a force that could kill, then self-defense may come into play because you as the officer believe your life is going to be taken.
KAYE: All right, Jean Casarez, we will leave it there, on the case. Always very interesting. Thank you.
And that's going to do it for me. I'm Randi Kaye in for Brooke Baldwin today. And let's hand it over now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Jessica Yellin.
