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Fighting, Not Talking in Libya; 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day; Two U.S. Marshals Wounded While Serving Warrants in St. Louis; Ultrasounds Before Abortions; Major Fish Kill in California; Understanding Radicals; Creating Your Own Job; Next Ambassador to China; Researchers Identify a Diabetes 'Belt'; Wall Street's Massive Insider Trading Case Underway; The World of Child Slaves

Aired March 08, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: You have a great afternoon, thanks so much.

Hey, one world tell -- one word tells the story of what's going on in Libya today and the word is no. No deal for dictator Moammar Gadhafi to give up and go away, no peace especially on the central Libyan coast and, potentially, if the fighting drags on, a no-fly zone imposed and enforced by the west, but no signs that such a move is imminent.

Both sides are denying reports of offers by Gadhafi or deadlines from rebels, any sort of negotiated end to the bloodiest of all uprisings in those regions.

(VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: This is one refinery town, Ras Lanuf, where outgunned opposition forces are trying to hold off Army troops and hold on to territory, and assets and momentum which has been gained in the past three weeks.

Momentum, however, now seems to be on the Army's side, but we haven't heard of any big, new military victories in Libya. I do want to point out two other cities, Benghazi in the east of Libya where the opposition leadership is headquartered, and Zawiya on the far west, there we're getting reports that Gadhafi is bombarding anti-government fighters with tanks and warplanes but still apparently failing to retake the city center.

So, Ras Lanuf is the oil city I was telling you about, Benghazi on the east, opposition headquarters, Zawiya just west of Tripoli where those bombardments are going on.

Now, Tripoli itself, right now the red carpet is rolled out in front of a hotel filled with journalists. We think that red carpet is for Gadhafi, but no one knows for sure. And they don't know when or whether he's actually going to show up.

CNN's Nic Robertson is there. He joins me on the phone now for "Two at the Top." Nic, what do you know? What can you tell us? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): this carpet's been laid out here for about five hours now. I mean, we've literally been standing here watching it. We were told at one point that Moammar Gadhafi would show up. We're still waiting. That's the expectation.

The government officials, when it first started happening, and this hotel didn't even know he was coming quickly ran around -- scurried around, got everything ready and now everyone's waiting.

So, this is typical. This is typical Gadhafi. He's been known to keep people waiting actually for several days. So, we may be ahead of a long wait here -- Ali.

VELSHI: Nic, the big issue here, of course, is that -- these rumors about deals and conversations going on between Gadhafi and the opposition, what do we know about this? Early this morning we heard that there were conversations going on that were going to allow Gadhafi to leave the country in exchange for handing over power. Is that debunked or is that still active rumor?

ROBERTSON: I think everyone here around the Gadhafi side just thinks it's completely madness and plausible unlikely. Government officials tell us it's absolutely rubbish, that it's propaganda by the rebels side.

And to be honest, everything that we've heard from Gadhafi, until now, has indicated that he's not going to step down, he won't do any kind of deals of any sort, and let alone that would have him stepping out of power, until the country is completely united, that the rebels have put down their guns, which is offered for them to do, or they've been militarily defeated, which is in the process of doing.

So, it's just implausible and probable unlikely not going to happen rubbish as government officials here have been telling us -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right, what's going on in the east? We showed our viewers Benghazi, and Ras Lanuf where the -- where the oil is, does that still look like it's in opposition control -- the Eastern part of the country?

ROBERTSON: Ras Lanuf itself begins to look like it may fall to government forces. We're being told on the government side here that it's not just the government forces, that there's also the tribal side so in that fight (ph) as well. And that's part of what they say is how they hope to win over more of the rebels, make them afraid that there are large tribal forces against them, tribes that they cannot afford to get into a fight with, because of the tribal nature society, you get into a blood feud, it gets big, it gets ugly. And if your tribe is telling you not to fight, then you'd better not join the fight.

But this is what's happening. Not only is the army sweeping in, but so are the -- so are the tribes. (INAUDIBLE), there's a large amount of the Army actually being tempt (ph) and reserved, hundreds of tanks not even put into service yet -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right, Nic, stay safe. We'll check in with you again. Nic Robertson in Tripoli, right now.

Today's "Sound Effect" is from the 2011 International Women of Courage awards ceremony. First lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton honored ten women from around the world for their courage and leadership in advocating women's rights and empowerment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Each in her own way decided to act. They decided to speak up, to publish an article, to file a lawsuit, to run for office, to open a school, and they have done these things at great tremendous risk to themselves and to their families. They've received death threats, they have been beaten, kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured. One, as secretary Clinton mentioned, has even had her house bombed and must now home school her children out of fear for their safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: This year's women Of courage include the Kyrgyzstan President Roza Otunbayeva the first woman ever to head a government in central Asia. Today's ceremony coincided with the 100th anniversary of International Woman's Day, first held in 1911 in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland.

Over in Egypt, activists were hoping to mark International Women's Day with what they called a Million Woman March.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is in Cairo.

And I understand that the turnout there has been disappointing, Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the turnout was disappointing but also the reaction of the women received was disappointing. You know, many of the women had come for what they called a celebration of the huge role that women played here during the Egyptian uprising. You know, women were very, very much present during the protests that led to the fall of former president Mr. Mubarak.

Instead, they were surrounded by male demonstrators who were chanting at get them to go home, that this was not the time to be calling for women's rights, this is the time to be banding (ph) together. And speaking to some of the activists, that's been their concern from the beginning, that they would play this huge role during the uprising, but as soon as they came to try and to actually talk about genuine power and political roles, that women here would be sidelined -- Ali.

VELSHI: Nima, you know, there were some sense during the demonstrations in Tahrir Square that led to president Mubarak's departure, that it was a turning point for women in Egypt. Is there some sense that that's true and that that's continuing in the post- Mubarak era?

ELBAGIR: Well, I think what was interesting is that previously, there's the stereotype of female activists here has been of a very -- a very westernized one. You know, women who speak English or French and dress in a certain matter -- manner. What was incredible during the uprising is there were women across Egyptian society, women wearing the full face veil, women wearing hijab. So, it really felt like it was a time where women who often in more traditional rural communities in Egypt are very much away from the public gaze had stepped into the public arena.

And I think even though there were these anti-demonstrations today against the women's march, I think the fact that the women were there and that there were men standing amongst them chanting for their rights, I think even that is still a big turning point here -- Ali.

VELSHI: Nima, thanks very much. Nima Elbagir in Egypt today in Cairo.

Two U.S. marshals were shot and wounded in St. Louis today while trying to serve an arrest warrant, one is in critical condition. A police officer suffered minor injuries in the same incident. The alleged shooter is dead.

Now, details are sketchy, but authorities say all three law officers were inside the alleged shooter's house when the incident took place. A total of four U.S. marshals have been shot serving warrants, arrest warrants, this year.

Women in Texas may soon be required to get a sonogram before getting an abortion. Last night the Texas house of representatives approved a bill that required 24 hours to pass after the ultrasound before the woman can have an abortion.

A similar bill passed in the Senate, the Senate required only two hours as opposed to 24 hours. The Senate version also allows a woman to choose not to see the images or sounds if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or if the fetus has an irreversible medical condition. According to our affiliate, KVUE, the House version contains no such provisions.

And we want to know what you think about the ultrasound idea. Join the discussion on my blog, CNN.com/Ali, or post on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I'll be putting this page up several times during the show so you know those addresses.

Criticism continues against the upcoming Congressional hearings on Muslim radicalization. Do they unfairly single out one religious group? We'll talk about it in a CNN exclusive interview with Daisy Khan, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: This just into CNN. Those are fish, those are little anchovies that you're looking at right now. This is Redondo Beach in Los Angeles. According to a report from our affiliate KTLA, we don't know how to get account of this, but there are many of these dead fish. They're trying to figure out why. They apparently are washing up to the surface from the open floor.

These are pictures from KTLA's Sky 5 helicopter, apparently, although that helicopter would be flying pretty low to get those pictures. Fish and game officials have not released a statement yet as to what might have killed the fish.

But this is -- they're looking into this right now, and you can see the birds there having a good time with it. But there are a lot of fish on Redondo Beach in California. We are looking into the cause and we'll find out what exactly that is about. There are actually a lot more than that little group you see right there. It just happened to be focused in on that at the moment.

The new chairman of the house homeland security committee is going to hold congressional hearings on the radicalization of Muslim- Americans later this week. New York Congressman Peter King says the hearings are to help him learn how certain U.S. citizens are recruited or drawn into terrorism.

Now, critics of these hearings say they will stoke Islamaphobia, and they say they're nothing more than a witch hunt. Hundreds of people of all faiths demonstrated in Time Square on Sunday against the hearings.

So, the question is are these hearings a push to keep the country safe and a necessary conversation? Or is it unfair scrutiny of Muslim-Americans?

Joining me now to talk about this more is Daisy Khan, she is the co-founder and executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Daisy, great to have you on the show, thanks very much for being with us.

DAISY KHAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MUSLIM ADVANCEMENT: Thank you very much, Ali, for bringing me on, especially on this special day of International Women's Day. And I want to pay homage to all women, past and present, that have contributed to social justice movements, like the suffrage movement and the civil rights movement.

I want to cite one very specific brave young woman who did not get any mention, Asla Mafus (ph), in Egypt who called boldly to Egyptians to rise up on January 25th and to fight against tyranny. And I applaud her, and I think more people should learn about her.

VELSHI: We will -- we will look into that. Daisy, thank you very much.

Listen, Peter King, let's talk about these hearings that get under way tomorrow. Peter King, representative from New York, says that he thinks that the Muslim community, as he calls it, has not done enough to help law enforcement find terrorists or radicals who might be a danger to the safety of the United States.

What do you think of that?

KHAN: Well, law enforcement people tell us otherwise. 40 percent of terrorists attacks that were foiled were actually aided by Muslims who were very concerned about extremism. And I have to tell you that, you know, first of all, extremism is the enemy of us all. Islam is not the enemy, extremism is the enemy. And so, we need to work with Muslim communities directly so that Muslim communities can be engaged, not to alienate the Muslim community.

And I know we have initiatives that are on the -- on the drawing board that we have -- you know, we have a jihad against violence report that we -- that we have put out into the community of how Islamic theology does not support extremism. These are the kinds of initiatives that are going on that Congress is not aware of at all. And he is not engaging the community.

VELSHI: Is this an opportunity for that then?

KHAN: And so --

VELSHI: If he's not aware -- let's take him at face value, that he wants to learn how Muslims in America and possibly American-born Muslims get drawn into terrorism or radicalism. That in itself is a good question. Is there some problem with the way he's doing this, or do you think it's a fair question that we will find fair answers to, as the type that you've been describing?

KHAN: I think the fastest way for him to learn is to engage with the community directly. Shortly after 9/11, my organization, Imam Feisal, was invited by the FBI to speak to FBI agents about who Muslims were and Muslim issues so that they would get educated.

We trained 1,600 FBI agents and then we gave them access to our mosques. They came into our mosques and they told the people, who were very scared at that time to engage with law enforcement, and they told people, the jima (ph) crowds and people who were praying that you don't have to fear us. We are here to protect you. And this is the way you engage us. And this is criminal activity. And here's an 800 number.

This is the kind of cooperation that has been going on already. And we need to scale that up. And I know my community, the Muslim community, is more than willing to contribute to this. But for him to go into hearings by himself, he's not engaging the community.

VELSHI: Yes. Well, Peter says -- Peter King says that the Muslim community -- he said most Muslims, most American-Muslims he thinks are perfectly law-abiding, contributing citizens in America. He thinks there's a leadership problem in the Muslim community. What do you think he means by that and what do you think of that?

KHAN: Well, of course we have bad leaders everywhere. We have bad leaders all over the Muslim world. And you see they're all being toppled by fellow Muslims.

And that's why I'm saying, he has to go into the grassroots community. Find out from the grassroots where the problem is. And we, the people of the grassroots community, will tell you who the bad leaders are. We will identify them because we know our community better than congressman does.

And if he would just engage with us, he would discover that, a, this community is more concerned about extremism within its own midst and that it's willing to help and engage and assist with law enforcement to root out this problem that we all have.

VELSHI: All right. So let's assume this goes on. You don't love the format and the way that he's done it, but let's assume it goes on. Can good come of this?

KHAN: There's always good that comes out of it -- you know, out of any kind of an initiative like this. But I think much better would come out of it if he had just engaged, let's say, a group of 50, 60 leaders who have something to share with him. For instance, I want to share with him my jihad against violence report so he can learn what the Muslim community is doing. And there are many other initiatives going on all over the country that even I'm not aware of.

VELSHI: Would you speak to him? Are you able to testify or have you -- did you want to testify on this -- at this committee?

KHAN: Well, that's the other complaint we all have. Hardly anyone has been invited to testify. I'm not invited to testify, even though I have an initiative on -- in my office that is sitting there to be shared with others. We don't know who's testifying. It's a big secret. Nobody knows what's going on.

VELSHI: All right, Daisy Khan, good to speak to you. Thank you for joining us to tell us a little bit about this.

Daisy Khan is the executive director and co-founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

That hearing that we're talking about is set for Thursday. We'll bring you top to bottom coverage right here on CNN. And I want to draw your attention to a "CNN IN AMERICA" special. "UNWELCOME: THE MUSLIMS NEXT DOOR." Soledad O'Brien chronicles the fight over the building of a mosque in the heart of the Bible belt. Her special report airs Sunday, March 27th, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here only on CNN.

All right, if you're having trouble finding a job, this next segment is for you. Where you can create your own career right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: If you can't find a job, make one. That seems to be the strategy that many people are taking. The start-up rate for new businesses is at a 15-year high. What does this mean? Christine Romans joins me now with more on this.

Christine, is it a good time to start a business, or are these facts just showing us that people are starting businesses regardless of whether it's a good time to do so?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It shows us, Ali, I think, that the labor market, the jobs market has been recovering too slowly for some people and they have decided they're going to go it alone. When you look at how many jobs have been created every month in 2009 and 2010, it's like 565,000 new start-ups. I mean think of that. Every month people going it alone and deciding that they're going to make the jobs for themselves. So a fascinating trend here. The highest in 15 years.

But you'll see there's a little catch with that. And the catch is that many of these jobs are just for the proprietor alone. Many of them are not hiring other employees. So this is good for you if you've been out of work and you're trying to get out there and create the job for yourself. But right now the business climate is not quite there for all of these companies to start hiring other people, Ali.

VELSHI: What kind of businesses are we talking about? Is there any trend that shows a certain type of business over another?

ROMANS: Services. We're talking about construction. And when you look at the kinds of folks who are starting these businesses, there's some interesting trends as well. Folks 25 to 34 are more likely to be starting a business. High school dropouts who are having a real hard time finding a job overall, going it alone, in either construction or the service industries. Immigrants, by the way, are twice as likely to become an entrepreneur or have their own start-up than others. So a lot of different things here. A lot of different things here coming together.

Another interesting thing here, too, is if you look at L.A. in terms of cities, it has the highest rate of start-ups. The lowest rate of start-ups is in Philly. Nevada and Georgia have high rates of start-ups as well. So where you are in the country also depends on how many companies are starting up. All of this is analysis from the Kofman Foundation, Ali, showing 15 years. Haven't seen this many start-ups in 15 years. People deciding the labor market is not improving fast enough for them. They're going to make their own job.

VELSHI: You and I talk endlessly about how small businesses are the driver of new jobs in this country. There's something here that doesn't quite fit with our analysis though.

ROMANS: Well, we'd like to see more of these people creating jobs. We'd like to see, instead of just me going out and hanging up a shingle and being Christine Romans Inc., I would like to see Christine Romans Inc. hiring two or three people and growing and expanding. So you'll need to see credit, the availability of credit. You'll need to see demand improving a little bit so that people are getting so much business that they have to move out there and hire other people. Those are some of the things that you would like to see to help these small businesses grow into small businesses rather than just a single person entrepreneurship.

But you know what, Ali, when we talk about innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit, if you've got an idea, if you've been sitting in the office working for somebody else for 20 years, this is probably as good a time as any to try your idea out there in the open market because companies are looking for new ideas too.

VELSHI: Yes, and you're not -- you're also not giving up some lucrative career as you might have in some kind of economic boom.

ROMANS: Right.

VELSHI: Christine, great to see you, as always.

Christine Romans. Be sure to tune in to "YOUR BOTTOM LINE," that's Christine's show, every Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m. Eastern. It is chock full of good advice.

"YOUR MONEY" airs Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, where we talk about everything affecting, well, your money.

All right. It is 24 minutes after the hour. Let's bring you up to speed with some of our top stories.

We're just getting in these pictures. There you can see a little bit more of it. That's from our affiliate KTLA. A massive fish kill in Redondo Beach, California's King Harbor. The cause is unknown right now. The California Department of Fish and Game is on the case trying to figure out what happened.

No deal. That's the latest word from Libya. Rumors have been swirling about the possibility of Moammar Gadhafi stepping down. The supposed deal would have included Gadhafi leaving the country in exchange for immunity against prosecution. Now both sides are saying it's just not true.

And the storms are rolling in. Forecasters say there will be snow in the west and possible tornadoes in the south. The bad weather also dampening Mardi Gras activities in New Orleans. Evening showers are expected for Fat Tuesday in the big easy.

That's got to be one of the toughest and most important jobs in the government. The U.S.'s representative to China. The president has someone new in mind for the job. You've probably already heard of him. Ed Henry's here on the other side to tell us about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: The Commerce secretary seems to be headed for China. And this time is isn't on a trade mission. It will be as ambassador if his nomination passes muster. Who better to tell us about this than Ed Henry. He's on "The Stakeout" at the White House this afternoon.

First of all, my warmest greetings to you, Ed. It's excellent to see you again. And as you noticed, I noted on Twitter your fine tie and edgely (ph) folded pocket square.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's so nice of you. But, you know, I mean, I don't want to say I didn't miss you, but, you know, Christine Romans was doing a great job. Don Lemon did a great job. But there's nothing quite like having you in that chair.

VELSHI: You're very kind. You're very kind to say that. And for that, take as much time as you'd like to describe to us Gary Locke and where he's going.

HENRY: You're not going to cut me off. That's very nice of you. I mean, I think, look, when President Hu of China was here just a couple months ago, you and I were talking a lot, as was Christine, about how critical the U.S.-Chinese relationship is now and in the years ahead. Massive economic and national security challenges. That's why this job is so sensitive.

Gary Locke has been the Commerce secretary. Interesting that this -- if he's confirmed -- he'd be the first descendant of a Chinese citizen to actually serve in this role for the U.S. So there's obviously a personal connection there.

But I think the real intrigue is about the man he is replacing, who's Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor, a Republican, who President Obama pulled in to his inner circle here to handle this big job, but is now mulling over a potential run for president against President Obama in 2012. So that's pretty fascinating. A lot of intrigue there.

But do you happen to know the last former U.S. ambassador to China who ran for president? Who that is?

VELSHI: The last former U.S. ambassador to China who ran for president? This is a trick question. I'm going to go with Roosevelt.

HENRY: No. It was George H.W. Bush. He was in '74, '75, U.S. ambassador to China and then was elected president of the United States.

VELSHI: That's an excellent fact.

HENRY: I think you might want to try that with Richard later in the week.

VELSHI: I hope he's not listening. I'm going to try that with Richard Quest.

Listen to this, OK, so Jon Huntsman, when President Hu was in the room, he was in the room with the joint press conference and somebody asked him about Jon Huntsman. Next thing Jon Huntsman resigned and is thought of as a candidate for 2012, for the presidency. And, you know, the president praises him.

And then we've got Mitt Romney running for president, we think, in 2012. And the president keeps on praising him for his work in getting health care, universal health care, almost in Massachusetts. Seems to be an interesting strategy. The Democratic president praising Republican perceived front-runners.

HENRY: You're right. When the president was asked about that during that state visit about his ambassador, he basically said he's doing a heck of a job and I'm going to keep talking about what a great job he's done. And it'll be interesting to see how that plays out in the Republican primaries.

Same thing with Mitt Romney, and that's why it's interesting this weekend when Mitt Romney seemed to be pushing back hard against the president, his first real full-throated slam on the president's health care reform, you know, that we've heard in some time. Because he realizes that there's a big vulnerability there for Mitt Romney just as there is for Jon Huntsman for being seen as too close for this president. That's not going to play well on the Republican primaries.

And that's why when David Axelrod was leaving the White House a few weeks ago, he did this interview with "USA Today" saying, we appreciate Mitt Romney. He gave us so many great ideas on health care and what he did in Massachusetts. It was such a big help. We just can't thank him enough.

And you can just see that faint praise that's got Mitt Romney burning up.

VELSHI: Well it's interesting because when it comes to the economy, the economy is the biggest issue in 2012, which is likely to be, you've got two guys who can really argue they understand the most important things to the economy. Mitt Romney with his business and his governor's experience. And, of course, Jon Huntsman, having been in China.

Mitt Romney wrote an op-ed, is it the Boston -- what newspaper -- the "Boston Herald."

HENRY: Herald, today. Yes. Yes, greeting the president. The president just left the White House a couple minutes ago. He's going to Boston.

Pretty much since that State of the Union address, every week he's hitting some sort of domestic stop, get out of Washington, deal directly with people on this whole winning the future vision that's he's been laying out there. And he's going to be in a classroom, in fact, with Melinda Gates talking about the importance of education in terms of economic competiveness for the U.S. moving forward.

But you're right, Mitt Romney greets the president when he lands in Boston, a big op-ed in the "Boston Herald" saying quote, "I hope we don't have to wait two years for a new president to fix things, but I feel we might. What the occupant of the Oval Office needs to do and do now is focus on getting Americans back to work."

I bet that if the president has a chance in any sort of media availability and is asked about that, he'll undoubtedly turn back to how he always enjoys the advice of Mitt Romney, including on issues like health care -- Ali.

VELSHI: Mitt Romney, senior advisor to President Obama.

All right, Ed, good to see you, as always. You around for the rest of the week or are you still on your --

HENRY: Yes, I'm here. Well, we're going to do this every day. I'm going to make sure I try to fit it in.

VELSHI: Very good. I appreciate that. Ed Henry, our senior White House correspondent at the Stakeout in D.C., in front of the White House.

All right. What's making a raging New Mexico wildfire so difficult to fight? Some stories you may have missed, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Some of the day's big stories you may have missed. We're just getting in these pictures of a massive fish kill in Southern California. This is Redondo Beach's King Harbor. The cause of the fish kill is unknown. You can see that those boats aren't on land. That's a dock. Those are fish. The California Department of Fish and Game is on the case trying to figure out what happened.

Rumors of a deal to get Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to leave were apparently false. Libyan opposition leaders were saying Moammar Gadhafi offered to leave the country if the new government would agree not to prosecute him or his family and provide him safe passage out of the country. But both the government and the opposition now deny any such deal.

Homes and property are threatened as a wildfire burns in southwestern New Mexico. Forced evacuations are underway for hundreds of homes as firefighters try to contain the blaze. Strong winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour helped spread the fire overnight and made efforts to attack the blaze extremely difficult.

Police in Spain found the body of a U.S. college student who went missing after a night out with friends. His body was discovered in a river near a discotheque in Madrid where he was last seen. Austin Taylor Bice, a 22-year-old student from San Diego State went missing February 26th. Friends of the student organized a campaign put up posters of him around Madrid once they realized he was missing.

Researchers now say they've identified a diabetes belt. Doctors say diabetes is the most prevalent in 15 U.S. states, primarily in the southeast. The red shows the states with the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the United States. Most of them, as you can see, are in the south. This new data will help doctors pinpoint areas to ramp up efforts to prevent and control the disease.

All right. He's a pretty big deal on Wall Street with some pretty big problems. A massive insider trading case. The biggest in history getting underway today. We're live from the federal courthouse in New York next to tell you what this is about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: The feds say it's the biggest insider trading case in U.S. history. A web of Wall Streeters accused of illegally swapping info and making a killing with it.

Today the government's got a big fish on the line with its case against Raj Rajaratnam. You're looking at him here. It's getting underway. He is not a household name, but he is really a high-profile guy. In 1997, he founded the Galleon Group, a hedge fund that was managing billions of dollars. He's a native of Sri Lanka, now a U.S. citizen. In 2009, before his fall, Forbes had him as the 236th richest American.

Maggie Lake is outside the federal courthouse in New York, with the latest on this case, a care in fairness, Maggie, that many people who are watching this have never heard about.

Why do we care about Raj Rajaratnam this case getting under way?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We care, Ali, because unlike other criminal cases that we followed like Bernard Madoff, which by the way -- the trial -- he was tried at this very same courthouse. Unlike that, that was about one man who orchestrated fraud, a Ponzi scheme, this is about the system itself.

Prosecutors say that they're going after a system they believe is corrupt, is rigged against the individual investors. Folks like our viewers like you and I, and they say that the culture of Wall Street is rampant with insider trading and they aim to prove it at this trial.

Now, Raj Rajaratnam, who you mentioned there before, arrived this morning. He's pleaded guilty to all 14 charges against him. But he's going to face a tough case. The government has lined up witnesses who are going to testify against him who have cooperated with the government as well as wiretaps. And lawyers that we talked to who know the U.S. attorney leading this charge, Preet Bharara (sic) say he is just getting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVI BATRA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I see what he's done as nothing short of throwing a neutron bomb onto Wall Street. And you know neutron bombs leave institutions intact, but they get rid of people. This man can't be corrupted. He's not looking for a political advantage. He's not looking to become a judge. He's not looking to become mayor of New York City. He's not looking for the next stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAKE: Now, Ali, you know, we should point out this is a criminal case, not a civil case. So the bar is raised very high. The government must prove this beyond a reasonable doubt that they have their work cut out for them. And this is the first in a very big insider trading probe, the first test of whether they're going to be able to prove what they say has gone on on Wall Street, Ali. VELSHI: All right. And he's independently wealthy. He's hired some real blue-chip lawyers to defend him. But while the bar is high and the government's got a tough case, they do have some juicy tapes.

What's on these tapes?

LAKE: They do. Hours and hours of conversations that they say Raj had with these various witnesses. And why this is important in this kind of trial, the defendant is not required to take the stand. So you often have a case of witnesses who are cooperating against the government. The defense is going to attack their credibility. So it's a he said/she said or he said/he said except now that they've been allowed to introduce the wiretaps, they're going to hear his own words. That's going to be very hard to overcome.

And, in fact, there have been some reports that Raj himself may take the stand. It would be a risky move, but certainly for the high world of finance, this is sounding a lot more like the dirty dramas we see on TV.

VELSHI: Yes, very risky. It's not typically done in white- collar crimes. So you'll be on top of it for us.

Maggie Lake, outside federal court in New York. Thank you.

Millions of them, children forced into the global sex trade and other kinds of life-threatening work. We've got their story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Both sides in Libya's civil war are denying reports that Moammar Gadhafi has offered to step down if he and his family are allowed to leave the country. But the rhetoric over who said what has done nothing to slow the fierce fighting.

This is the third day of battle for control of Ras Lanuf. I'm going to show you that. It's the site of a major oil refinery east of the capital, Tripoli. Witnesses say government planes bombed the area at least three times today. We do not have reports on casualties, but the two sides apparently remain in a bloody stalemate.

Let me show you some of the cities we're talking about. The green is Gadhafi controlled, the red is opposition controlled. You've got Benghazi here, that's in the east of Libya. That is the -- the stronghold for the opposition. And, of course, Tripoli which remains controlled by government forces.

I was just showing you Ras Lanuf. This is the major oil center closer to Benghazi. This one is still in dispute. The battle for Ras Lanuf has stopped the rebel advance westward to Tripoli at least for now.

The next stepping stone is Sirte, which is the hometown, Gadhafi's hometown, now controlled by his forces. And just 30 miles west of Tripoli is Zawiya. Zawiya -- fighting there continues. It's the closest town to the capital that is actually held by rebel forces. Witnesses say government forces launched another attack today with tanks and artillery to try and recapture the town. Now, the witnesses say that the rebels hold the central square and are using loudspeakers to urge residents to help them defend the city.

We'll continue to cover this for you as developments there warrant.

Well, it's a nightmare on the 21st century -- of the 21st century, slavery. The International Labor Office estimates there are between 10 million and 30 million slaves in the world today, millions of children forced into the sex trade and other life-threatening work.

CNN's Becky Anderson has this look at their world. It's part of our year-long Freedom Project aimed at trying to help end slavery everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you imagine a modern-day slave, you might think of someone like Juliet. She says she was kidnapped from her home in Uganda and forced to join the guerrilla extremist group, the Lord's Resistance Army.

JULIET, FORMER CHILD SLAVE: The rebels came to our home. They beat me up with a gun. I was forced into sexual relationship with a man who was above my age. I was also forced to kill.

ANDERSON: She met me in London and relayed the painful details of life as a slave.

JULIET: You are not supposed to cry. Even if your own child dies, you are not supposed to cry for your own child. Your child is not buried, just thrown in a bush like rubbish. How do you feel?

ANDERSON: But wherever there's slavery, it doesn't just happen in isolated instances. Its invisible tentacles may touch you in ways you may not even know.

According to researchers from Harvard University, up to 10 percent of shrimp is harvested by a modern-day slave, like these children in Bangladesh. Forced to work collecting shrimp, they are often paid less than one-tenth of a cent for each prawn. That's slavery.

People around the world tuned in for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Behind the scenes sometimes children as young as 7 helped build the infrastructure, working in what many would describe as subhuman conditions.

When we asked for comment, the Delhi chief minister told CNN, if the government had known then about these allegations, it would have acted against subcontractors using child labor. SIDDARTH KARA, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: If you see something that's about 2.5 feet tall with two legs, you know that's child labor. When I say "child," we literally mean child, 4, 5, 6 years old with hammers and carting gravel around.

ANDERSON: That's slavery, too.

In European red-light districts, often in major cities and capitals, you'll find women that have been trafficked from countries like Moldavia and Nigeria, forced to sell sex on the streets and in brothels.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: They rape me. They treat me like animal. I was just, you know, a thing.

ANDERSON: Slavery crosses borders. It affects every country. It destroys millions of lives.

Becky Anderson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: As we said, our Freedom Project is a bid to try and help end slavery, and you can help us. For more stories and information, go to CNN.com/Freedom or our Facebook and Twitter accounts -- Facebook.com/CNNFreedom and Twitter.com/CNNFreedom.

All right, let's bring you up to speed on some of the top stories we're following.

Egyptian court has upheld a decision to freeze the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family; it has also affirmed a travel ban. Mubarak resigned last month after 18 days of protest. He's believed to be living in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el- Sheikh.

Two U.S. marshals were shot and wounded today while trying to serve an arrest warrant in St. Louis. One of the marshals is in critical condition. A police officer suffered minor injuries. The alleged shooter is dead.

And hundreds of people turned out for funeral services today for 16-year-old Wes Leonard. He's the Michigan high school basketball player who died last week after making a game-winning shot. Leonard's team played its first game without him last night, winning its initial post-season match.

The U.S. not only wants a few good men, it also wants a few good robots. We'll show you some incredible video and drawings coming up right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Straight out of a sci-fi movie and into reality, the U.S. military wants robots. In today's "Big I," we want to show you what the future of war could look like. First, let's start with who is in charge of the technology developments for the military. That is the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, or DARPA, an agency that is the stuff of mystery novels.

Recently, we've noticed they've been beefing up on robots. Most recently, they contracted with Boston Dynamics to create a cheetah robot. Check that out. Look at this drawing. It's a four-legged robot that reportedly runs faster than the fastest human. Boston Dynamics also says it will be able to zigzag and take tight turns in order to, quote, "chase and evade." It'll also be able to make sudden stops and could end up with a tail.

Boston Dynamics is the same company that developed this little guy. They built the robotic mule called Big Dog. This cheetah robot was spawned off the Big Dog bot. This robotic mule can carry 300 pounds over 13 miles.

And check out this one. This is the Atlas, also made by Boston Dynamics. It looks a bit like the Terminator from the movies, but without the head. This robot will reportedly be able to walk like a person even over rough terrain. We could also see it crawling around on its hands and knees.

The Atlas was spawned from Boston Dynamics work on this robot called Pet Man. This robot was designed to be able to walk heel to toe like humans at more than three miles an hour and can stay upright if pushed.

Very cool stuff. To check out these robots, head to my blog, CNN.com/Ali. I will link you up to Boston Dynamics and DARPA.

Donald Trump not one to shy away from a challenge, so it's no surprise he's firing back about some recent criticism. The Political Ticker is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Time now for a CNN Political Update. CNN senior political editor Mark Preston and CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, my political dream team, join me now from Washington on a bit of news on Donald Trump.

Great to see you two together again on this show. I have missed you both.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We've missed you, Ali.

Ali, I guess the takeaway is don't mess with "The Donald." Let's start on Sunday. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican from Tennessee who he himself ran for the Republican presidential nomination twice in '96 and 2000, take a listen to what he told our Candy Crowley about Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: There's always like someone like Donald Trump who runs who has absolutely no chance of winning and who is well-known. I mean, he's famous for being famous. He may be good in business, but he's not going to be president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Well, you can imagine that was not going to be left -- left alone there by "The Donald." He was on the cable news outlets last night and this morning, and he said about Lamar Alexander, he said, well, I don't know the guy personally, but I think he's an ineffective senator.

Now Trump has told CNN, Ali, that he will decide by June if -- if he's going to jump in and run for the Republican presidential nomination.

He's not the only possible contender making some news. Mark, what do you got?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Ali.

Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman, is offering up her own timeline as to when she's going to make a decision about when and if she runs for president. She said in an interview on "AMERICAN MORNING" just this morning that it's probably going to by this summer -- probably a decision made by this summer. She also said that the Republican nominee has to have the political courage to do what has to be done.

Now, she heads to New Hampshire this weekend, later this month she heads out to Iowa. A lot of folks, a lot of social conservatives, would love to see Michele Bachmann get in the race, but we'll have to wait until the summer -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right, guys. Good to see you as always. We'll talk to you again soon.

Your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is just an hour away.