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If Spillway Opens...; Was Too Much Told About Bin Laden Raid?; George Mitchell to Resign as Mideast Peace Envoy; Libyan Rebel Diplomat at the White House; Revenge For Bin Laden
Aired May 13, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you.
Well, would you let an earthquake flatten your home if it meant other homes survive? Would you let a tornado rip through your neighborhood to spare a bigger neighborhood? Ridiculous questions but replace earthquake and tornado with flood and that's pretty much the scenario along the surging Mississippi River.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our hearts go out to, you know, everybody downstream. You know, this is monumental water, never been seen before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That man lives in Morganza, Louisiana, home of the Morganza Spillway. It now seems likely that sometime over the weekend the Army Corp of Engineers will open that structure for the first time since 1973, lessening the volume, the force of the mighty Mississippi, thus lessening the flood risks to the downstream cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
But the water's got to go somewhere, and that somewhere is farmland and swamps. Bayous and hamlets to the west and the south. We're talking thousands of homes, maybe 25,000 people at the mercy of a no-win decision by the Mississippi Commission.
You've seen the maps, the river is still rising everywhere you see here and the crest is really taking its time, it's still almost a week away from Vicksburg, it's supposed to crest may 19th. Also, we have New Orleans here, that's about 10 days away, May 23rd it is supposed to crest. And here is the Morganza Spillway, all right? Right there.
And here's that -- this is the area also that we have, this area in red, that's the area that will be under several feet of water if the spillway is opened. These hundreds of thousands of acres might still flood but not nearly as much if the spillway stays closed.
All right, enough with the maps, time now to meet the people who stand to lose their homes and livelihoods to the ravages of nature and the decisions of well meaning humans. Here's CNN Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tucked away in the shade of Louisiana cypress trees and back water creeks, you'll have a hard time finding Butte LaRose. But it's Pierre Watermeyer's dance floor.
PIERRE WATERMEYER, RESIDENT, BUTTE LAROSE, LOUISIANA: I put that sign up about two months ago and it was -- I've always wanted to name the camp last dance.
LAVANDERA: The music has stopped and Pierre --
WATERMEYER: I don't know why I'm locking it.
LAVANDERA: -- Is packing it all up before the floodwaters wash over Butte LaRose.
WATERMEYER: I had a big table in here. I had a futon over here. This was cabinets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 70 percent of the people are packed up and gone already.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is going to be a ghost town pretty soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.
LAVANDERA: For generations, Butte LaRose has been home to an eclectic mix of Cajuns, a place to hideaway where homes are called camps and they come with funny names. But this won't be a summer of fun.
(on-camera): What's it like to be around here knowing what's coming down the river?
WATERMEYER: It's just a somber mood, you know, everybody's just doing what they got to do.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): His bayou community will soon be flooded.
WATERMEYER: I'm going to get three feet of water in it. Three to four foot.
LAVANDERA: But Pierre is about to learn that the floodwaters will likely be worse than anything he imagined. Pierre and hundreds of Butte LaRose residents pack into the town's firehouse to hear flood level predictions from the Army Corp of Engineers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm telling you, depth of water from right here, 15 feet, OK? (Inaudible) so someone can reach up 15 feet, that's probably up to the roof of this building.
WATERMEYER: He said there's going to be 15 foot of water. It's over with, it's over with.
LAVANDERA: It's over for Butte LaRose, the words too painful for people to hear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's going to answer questions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a strong current.
LAVANDERA: As pain turns to anger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody please listen!
LAVANDERA: Colonel Ed Fleming offers a little comfort.
COL. ED FLEMING, U.S. ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS: In 22 years, I've moved 14 times. You might have a box, you might have some important documents, you might have some pictures, some keepsake things, because those are things we're going to put in the car when that moving truck drives away and you're standing in your driveway with your family and a couple of suitcases and a box. But that's when you found out what's important to you.
LAVANDERA: And the sadness of the moment brings Kelly Trimm to tears.
KELLI TRIMM, RESIDENT, BUTTE LAROSE, LOUISIANA: It's really worse than we thought. We thought maybe we might have water in our yard and this is going to come into our homes, it's going to take everything we've got.
LAVANDERA: Pierre Watermeyer knows it's time to pack up the dance floor and put Butte LaRose in his rearview mirror, but he'll be back.
WATERMEYER: But it's not going to be the last dance, it's not going to be.
LAVANDERA (on-camera): You don't think so?
WATERMEYER: No, no, we'll dance again around here.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): And the sign will be the last thing he grabs on the way out of town. Ed Lavendera, CNN, Butte LaRose, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: I want to turn now to a man who knows about flooding and tough decisions, retired U.S. Army general and CNN contributor, Russel Honore, joins me by phone from Baton Rouge. General, we've just been talking about the cost of opening the Morganza Spillway. Remind us, if you will, of the cost of not opening it?
GENERAL RUSSEL HONORE, GENERAL, U.S. ARMY: Well, it's a worst case scenario if you don't open it. And the reason that Morganza Spillway is there, is exactly for this reason. When the pressure gets on the Mississippi River levees to open that and allow water to go out through the spillways, Randi, and that's a result of lessons learned from the flood of 1927, 1912 and 1937, because Baton Rouge and New Orleans will flood if we don't open up that spillway.
KAYE: Take me through the decision process. It can't be an easy thing to decide whether or not to open it. I mean, are there cold, hard calculations of property and population considered when making a decision like this?
HONORE: You bet, Randi. The places that are now in Louisiana, most of them were unprotected because they were built on the roadside of the levee, meaning they were built into the spillway or on the riverside of the levee. Many of those are recreational camps but the bigger risk, Randi, we've got a nuclear power plant, (Waterford 3), we've got a major -- which is right across the river from Morganza on the Mississippi River, and in Baton Rouge you've got the Exxon refinery, the second largest refinery in the country that provide a lot of the fresh gas to the nation.
And south of that, Baton Rouge, Randi, a city of over 300,000, we've got a couple dozen chemical plants that are very critical to the industrial capacity of our nation because they provide enabling petro chemicals for plants to be opened. And of course, the city of New Orleans. So, all of that is at risk if we don't open that Morganza, and they need to be opened tomorrow.
1And I hope General Wallace and General Fleming is listening to the people and they go ahead and open it tomorrow. But the Corp of Engineers has done a great job up to this point in keeping the confidence of the people and the big thing now is to get that spillway opened at Morganza.
KAYE: So, General, what do you advise people in Baton Rouge or New Orleans or Butte LaRose?
HONORE: Butte LaRose, I think they've already been definitively given a map. People in Baton Rouge and south of I-10 need to stay aware of the news. They need to be prepared particularly between south of I-10 in Baton Rouge toward the river.
Oh, by the way, that's where my new home is, that's where I live, to be prepared if there's flooding from some of the tributaries that might back in or if there's a boil that creates some localized flooding. That could disrupt interstate transportation and movement between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, so people need to stay aware, they need to have a three-day supply of food and water at home. Because they may be able to shelter (ph) that home, but the roads could close and that's the basic doctrine of the Red Cross.
KAYE: General Honore, good to speak with you on such an urgent topic as this one. Always appreciate your insight, thanks for coming on the show.
HONORE: Today (ph), let's pray for the best and be prepared for the worst.
KAYE: Absolutely. Thank you, General.
In the days after the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the world was captivated, even hungry, for more details on the operation, on Bin Laden's last moments, and on SEAL Team Six.
Those details kept trickling out from the President, the Pentagon and other top officials close to the operation, but that has cast an unwanted spotlight on a SEAL team who, by its very nature, must remain elusive.
That brings me to today's "Sound Effect". Listen to what defense secretary, Robert Gates, says about how this all unraveled and growing concerns over security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Frankly, a week ago Sunday in the situation room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out Bin Laden, that all fell apart on Monday, the next day.
The one thing I would tell you, though, is that I think there has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identities of those who participated in the raid and I think that has to continue. We are very concerned about the security of our families, of your families and our troops, and also these elite units that are engaged in things like --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The question now is does too much information compromise the security of the Navy SEALs and their families? We'll ask some people who are in the know, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: They're somewhat of a blame game playing out right now in Washington and it all centers around one question, was too much information given out about the Navy SEALs involved in the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden? Defense Secretary Gates says yes, too much information was leaked out about the mission. As you just heard in our "Sound Effect" moments ago.
And now, we're hearing about security concerns for the families of the SEALs involved in that mission. Gates went on to comment on that as well. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GATES: When I met with the team last Thursday, they expressed a concern about that and particularly with respect to their families and so we're -- I -- as you say, I can't get into the details in this forum, but we are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, how much information is too much? Let's discuss this with CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" host, Howard Kurtz, Debby Lee, who is the founder of the group America's Mighty Warriors, and CNN's national security contributor, Fran Townsend.
First, let's take you back to the night of May 1st when we first heard President Obama report the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden and then we'll talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: OK. So, that night was the first time that we heard some limited details about the mission. Howard, let me start with you. Should the buck have stopped there?
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Well, maybe, but 15 minutes after the president spoke, I was on a conference call with White House officials who were giving out a fair number of details about this mission and the next day, John Brennan, the counterterrorism chief, was brought into -- before the cameras and talked more about it.
So, it seems to me that bob gates' beef here is not with the press, even though we've been very voracious for details about just what went down in Pakistan, but with his own administration colleagues, he says we had an agreement in the situation room not to say much about this and that fell apart.
KAYE: All right, I'm going to get to the others in just a second here, but I want to talk about Monday, May 2nd, during the White House briefing, because you brought it up, Howard. That day that we heard from Press Secretary Jay Carney and John Brennan, deputy national security advisor. And he told us even more about this mission. So let's listen to what he said and then we'll get more reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: We were able to monitor the situation in real time and were able to have regular updates and to ensure that we were -- had real time visibility into the progress of that operation. Not going to go into details about what type of visuals we had or what type of fees (ph) that were there, but it was -- it gave us the ability to actually track it on an ongoing basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And then, of course, all the details eventually came out about SEAL Team Six and who -- at least what they were -- what their capabilities were. That they had these helicopters. All of that detail eventually came out.
Debbie, do you think that was telling the public too much about who exactly was involved in this operation?
DEBBIE LEE, PRESIDENT, AMERICA'S MIGHTY WARRIORS: I think it very much was. You know, the Navy SEALs have earned the title as the quiet professionals. And that's what they do. They go in, they are successful at their missions, they get out and nobody even knows that they've been there.
And we, as an American people, I'm a very proud mother of a Navy SEAL who willingly sacrifices his life for this country. I have adopted boys. They call me Mama Lee on the team. And I am so proud of them and what they accomplish. And it's our national instinct to want to praise them, to sing their praises and who they are and what they do, but we should not even have known, as an American population, we shouldn't have even known it was the Navy SEALs that went in.
KAYE: And, Fran, I want to bring you in because I mean Howard had said that he doesn't think -- certainly they're not pointing fingers at the media for asking too many questions, but how do you think that this happened? I mean do you think too many details were let out to the public?
FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: I do, Randi, but I think we have to distinguish between the official briefings by Jay and John Brennan, which Howie referred to, and then all of the excruciating level of detail that's leaked out. Every administration typically will do an on-the-record briefings after a major incident or operation like that. And so -- and John Brennan actually, in the clip we played, said he was not going to discuss the details of it.
After the fact, there have been tons of details that have come out that I think are damaging. To the extent people can learn about the tactics, the training of the Navy SEALs and our special operations forces, it's very dangerous. It makes it more dangerous for them in the future.
KURTZ: I think, Fran, that there's two different collisions going on here. On the one hand, On the one hand, the administration understandably wants to take some political credit for what was a very gutsy call by President Obama and a very successful mission. And that's why I think you see a lot of this leaking, which also keeps the story alive.
At the same time, I couldn't agree more that the operational details for future missions and certainly for protecting the identities of those on the team who were involved, many of those probably should remain secret. And, of course, if administration officials weren't whispering this to reporters, we would have no way of publishing it or airing it.
KAYE: I do want to point out that we just got some information from the chief of naval operations and he's telling CNN this afternoon that he is absolutely confident -- those are his words -- that the families of the Navy SEALs will be protected so those involved on the -- in the raid on the compound will be protected.
I also want to share this with you. Former CIA counterterrorism analyst Michael Scheuer, he spoke to Eliot Spitzer last night and said, quite frankly, that the White House administration said too much. So let's listen to what he said as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SCHEUER, FMR. CIA COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I think this administration, at least in the White House, is out of control, sir. The information about the stealth helicopters, the information about the CIA safehouse, the details about bin Laden's habit, his plannings, his contacts, all of that compromise further operations -- are going to make further operations harder, more difficult, probably more bloody. And I think it's really adolescent to think that this information came from the White House press office. It would never have this classified level of information. If it came anywhere, it was from John Brennan's office, the czar for counterterrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, Fran, is he right? You know how this all works inside the White House. Does the blame fall on John Brennan's office?
TOWNSEND: Look, I was with John Brennan today who was himself sort of suggesting his own frustration with the leaks. What happens here -- I don't believe it's John Brennan's office. And the information that comes out of the individual advisors doesn't come out without there being coordination across the inner agency. And so I just don't buy that at all.
What happens is, this information resides down inside most of the agencies. And so what will happen, it's a frustration to every administration, individuals will begin to leak things, not because they're being authorized to do it, but to prove that they have some access, to prove their own credibility with the press. And it's a frustration. It's very difficult to get a handle on for John Brennan or the White House.
KAYE: And, just quickly, Debbie, I just want to bring you in one more time here because I want you to react to this chief of naval operations telling CNN just a short time ago that the families of the SEALs who were involved in that operation are absolutely -- he's absolutely confident that they can be protected. Do you believe that?
LEE: Well, I know that the terrorists would like nothing better than to retaliate, to take our Navy SEALs and special forces out. I know when Mark was over there, they had extra money incentives if one of the terrorists could take out a Navy SEAL. These are the best that America has to offer and we need to protect them at all costs. And I know the Navy SEAL community is a very special community and we very much protect our own. And I know they will be doing those things to be able to protect those amazing warriors and their families. And I am so proud of all of them, the sacrifices that they make and who they are. And it's all of our military who continue to fight for us, who continue to make sacrifices. Thank you so much. And I am so proud of all of them and I know that our community will do what it takes to protect us.
KAYE: And, Howard, just very quickly, any lesson here that the media can learn or any of us can take away from this?
KURTZ: Well, if anybody in the administration had said don't report certain details in order to protect future missions, or certainly the identity of the Navy SEALs, I think journalists and news organizations would have gone along with that. It's the opposite though. This stuff was being shoveled out the door. Maybe but authorized people, as Fran Townsend said. Maybe by people who, you know, had a political motive for wanting to keep this story going.
KAYE: All right. We will leave it there. Howard, Debbie, Fran, appreciate it. Good discussion. Thank you.
Well, if a dealership sold you a car with no brakes and then took a life insurance policy out on you, you'd probably be demanding criminal charges. Next, we'll talk to someone who says that's exactly what Goldman Sachs did to its clients without standing trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Carl Levin's Senate committee says it has enough evidence to move forward with criminal charges against Goldman Sachs. Our own Eliot Spitzer says that he'd be dropping subpoenas by the truck loads. Yet the Justice Department seems reluctant to move forward. Earlier today, Ali Velshi talked about the case against Goldman with Matt Taibbi, contributing editor at "Rolling Stone," and Megan McArdle, business and economics editor at "The Atlantic."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGAN MCARDLE, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR, "THE ATLANTIC": It's perfectly legal for a dealership to sell me a car I'm not going to like or that is too expensive for me. What it's not legal for them to do is sell me a car that isn't what they've represented it as. And we've set certain legal minimum standards. And that's what happened here.
Now, at least (INAUDIBLE) and all the devils (ph) are here, argues that he actually has gone through these documents and says that a lot of these things were disclosed. That, in fact, Goldman laid out in very lengthy detail all of the ways in which this could go wrong.
I have not read the disclosure documents personally, so I can't -- but there's at least two --
MATT TAIBBI, EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": I have.
MCARDLE: There's at least two dueling -- competing versions of this story.
ALI VELSHI, CNN: Matt, you've read them?
TAIBBI: Well, I've read all the documents in this report and I've also talk to some of the principals in this entire story. I definitely know that some of the clients that Goldman was talking to were completely blindsided by the fact that, for instance, they were buying assets out of Goldman's own book when they were told that Goldman was buying these assets off the street. They definitely did not make key disclosures that they were legally obligated to make.
VELSHI: Matt -- Megan, I think Matt wants to see a perp walk. Wants to see somebody from Goldman arrested for something or charged with something. What do you think has to happen because clearly whether or not you think Goldman broke any laws, any of us who followed this got the impression that they perhaps were not dealing in the best interests of some of their clients.
MCARDLE: I think they probably aren't, just like most vendors aren't always -- like look to their own interests before the interests of their clients. But here's the thing. Like I think that there is a sort of real desire to have a sense of closure on this. A desire to track down a villain, figure out who did this to us and I think that really underweights (ph) the power of human stupidity. Greed, stupidity and like poor system design can produce really terrible results even without anyone doing anything illegal.
TAIBBI: How are you just not ashamed to do the job that you do? How are you not ashamed to apologize for these billionaires who've ripped off ordinary people? I can't believe that you -- that you'd say --
MCARDLE: There weren't ordinary people. A hedge fund is not an ordinary person.
TAIBBI: Well, no, how about this. They've ripped --
MCARDLE: I can't believe that you'd, Matt --
TAIBBI: They've ripped up a billion dollars from Morgan Stanley --
MCARDLE: Hedge fund managers (INAUDIBLE) --
TAIBBI: Which then, in turn, took a $10 billion bailout from the taxpayer. Ergo they ripped us off. How do you answer that?
MCARDLE: How do I answer that? I think that, you know, in fact, they do deals with big banks. I don't -- you know, there's questions about how we should have done those bailouts? But the fact is, it's not Goldman Sachs' responsibility to make sure that Morgan Stanley makes money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: For the rest of this great conversation, don't miss "Your Money" with Ali Velshi Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sunday at 3:00. And be sure to join Christine Romans for "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern.
Well, we just learned President Obama's Mideast envoy is resigning and the timing of the announcement raises all sorts of questions. Ed Henry will join us after the break with the back story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell is resigning as the Obama administration's Mideast envoy at a pivotal moment in the Arab world. Mitchell has been working for an agreement on an Israel- Palestinian two-state solution.
CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins me now with the back story on all of this.
Ed, next week a huge week for President Obama in regards to Middle East policy, so one really has to question the timing of this.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right. I mean, on Tuesday, he's going to be welcoming the king of Jordan here to the White House. Friday, you've got the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, here.
And then, in the middle of all of that, on Thursday, a huge speech from the president about what is his Mideast policy moving forward. Not just about Israeli-Palestinian peace, but more broadly, the point of that address Thursday at the State Department is supposed to be about picking up the pieces in both the Mideast and North Africa, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt. You know, how does the U.S. try and build some short-term stability, in the words of Secretary Clinton, and some long-term sustainability so that any democracies that start flourishing actually survive.
Now all of a sudden, in the middle of all that, we learn from a senior U.S. official that George Mitchell, the special Mideast envoy, is going to be stepping down. It seems like awful timing to say the least, but it also raises real sharp questions about whether there's any progress for the White House to hang its hat on at all. If George Mitchell felt like they were close to any kind of a peace deal he would not be stepping down right now, Randi.
KAYE: That certainly appears to be true.
What about ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak? I mean, he was supposed to be a key figure in these peace talks. Do we know how much his lack of participation has hurt the process?
HENRY: Well, you know, that is a great point to raise, because the last time this president was really publicly actively engaged in the peace process was last September here at the White House. He brought the Israelis and Palestinians together.
But you're right, also right in the center of that photo was then-President Mubarak. He's now obviously long gone as president of Egypt. And we've heard for years and years that he was one of the pillars in terms of bringing stability to the region, bringing the parties together.
He's not in the picture anymore. So that raises more questions about the ability to broker Mideast peace but also brings back that broader question of what can the president say next Thursday to provide some hope for the region that the U.S. can help pick up all of these pieces.
KAYE: Ed, I have to ask you about this. What about this Libyan opposition leader? He's meeting with the American national security advisor today in the West Wing at the White House?
HENRY: That's right.
KAYE: Is this a sign that the White House is moving closer to formal recognition of the rebels in Libya?
HENRY: Well, they insist that they're not formally ready to recognize the rebels. We all know they have been aligning, the White House certainly has been aligning itself with the rebels.
But this is Dr. Mahmoud Jibril, at 4:00 Eastern time he's going to be meeting with the White House's national security advisor, Tom Donilon. And now we asked and Jay Carney says that the president is not planning to drop by. That would obviously raise the stakes even higher.
The president does that sometimes, drops by meetings like that, even if it is not a formal one-on-one with him. They say, right now, he's not planning to do that.
But this is the first time this opposition leader has been in the West Wing of the White House. Whether they formally recognize the rebels or not, this raises the stakes and shows the U.S. is trying to put ever more pressure on Moammar Gadhafi right now.
KAYE: And, Ed, just real quickly, we've been talking a lot about Secretary Gates' concerns over the amount of leaked information about the raid on bin Laden's compound. Is the White House saying anything about Gates' comments today?
HENRY: Well, they're pushing back at the notion that Secretary Gates was pointing the finger at anyone here at the White House. They say, you know, look, the president agrees with Secretary Gates that unauthorized leaks in recent days about some of the intelligence operation at the bin Laden compound has infuriated the president, too.
But nevertheless, there are people reading Secretary Gates' comments closely and wondering whether John Brennan or others here at the White House were kind of in the crosshairs of leaking out too much information.
Not just the private information, but you remember John Brennan was at the podium here at the White House a week or so ago, said some things that didn't turn out to be true in the end.
It just shows the bottom line that it has not been smooth in terms of the rollout of some of the details of that operation. But at the end of the day they still got bin Laden and they think a lot of the rest of this, frankly, is a distraction.
KAYE: All right, Ed Henry for us on "The Stakeout" at the White House. Thank you, Ed.
HENRY: Have a good weekend.
KAYE: You, too.
In Vietnam, many impoverished kids flock to the city to find better opportunities, but instead discover some harsh realities. Up next, the story of how one CNN hero is rescuing children from the streets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In Vietnam, an estimated 23,000 children live and work on the streets. Many come from rural areas to the cities seeking opportunity, instead, they face a daily struggle to survive.
This week's CNN hero, Michael Brosowski, is an Australian who moved to Vietnam to teach English, and now gives impoverished kids the chance for a brighter future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL BROSOWSKI, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: Here in Hanoi, kids come to the streets hoping that it will be better than living in poverty in the countryside, but often they find that things are much worse for them here.
You can actually identify kids who are living and working on the streets. They may get detained by the authorities. They may get beaten up. There are gangs selling heroin. We're finding kids being tricked and then sold into prostitution.
It was just a case of I can help, so I should help.
My name is Michael Brosowski. I work in Vietnam with street kids, trying to get them off the streets and back into school and into safe homes.
Hello. How are you?
When we started out, our goal was just to get them back to school. To do that, we realized we would have to take that place of providing an income, food, providing the shelter.
Our center is where the kids know to come. This is where they feel safe. They can join in our activities. They can talk to the staff. And then we've got to make sure they're working towards education or getting a job or improving their health.
We've also got to be careful that if the child has a family, that family is as involved as possible.
It's an amazing feeling, getting to watch these kids go from being malnourished and just completely lacking confidence to wanting to make a change. I grew up in poverty, and I often used to think, if I could do something good with my life, if only someone would come and give me that chance. Now I'm the guy who can help these kids and give them a chance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Since 2004, Michael and his Blue Dragon Children's Foundation have helped more than 350 Vietnamese youngsters get off the streets and into school and safe shelter.
Remember, all of this year's CNN heroes were chosen from people that you told us about. So to nominate someone that you know whose making a big difference in your community, go to CNNHeroes.com.
Leopards, bears and panthers -- not your typical carry-on luggage. Find out what happened at the airport next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Almost immediately after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, al Qaeda and Taliban elements swore revenge. The Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for the first blow, the suicide bombings today at a military training academy in the northwestern part of the country. At least 80 people were killed, most of the victims military recruits who had just completed their training.
Stan Grant is at the scene of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This here is the military training facility that was the target for this attack.
Now two suicide bombers on the backs of motorcycles came in here in the early hours of the morning, detonated those explosives. They have targeted military recruits that have been training here for the past nine months. They finished their training and they were about to leave when this attack happened.
If you look around here, you can see so much of the aftermath of this dual suicide bombing. You can see cars strewn along the road here that have been blown out. A lot of damaged buildings up in here.
This is the worst attack of its kind for this year in Pakistan. The number of dead has continued to rise throughout the day. Scores more people have been wounded and injured, and they've been ferried to hospital. People have been milling around here just pondering exactly what happened.
And we've had a warning now from the Taliban to expect more. They have accepted responsibility for this attack. They have linked it directly to the killing of Osama bin Laden. They are saying that this is revenge for his death and they are warning, as I say, both Pakistan and the United States to expect more. This whole area is a hotbed of insurgency. Al Qaeda and Taliban militants have been holed out here and the military has been continuing to mount offensives to continue to root them out.
If you look around here today, just looking at this damage, you can still see the potency of the insurgency, that despite these attacks, that despite the operations here by the military, the Taliban is still potent and they're warning there is more to come.
Stan Grant, CNN, Charsadda, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: In Syria, thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of several cities again today, facing off against armed troops and tanks. Witnesses say in Homs, security forces fired into the air in an attempt to disperse protesters. And in Hama, they fired tear gas. The demonstrators retaliated by throwing rocks.
Protestors tagged this the Friday of Free Syrian Women in recognition of those women who have joined the ranks of demonstrators and have been killed. The U.N. says as many as 850 people may have been killed since the demonstrations started in March. So far, no reports of casualties today.
And in Thailand, some very rare items discovered in the luggage of a first-class passenger at Bangkok's International Airport. Take a look at this! A baby bear, leopards, panthers, monkeys, all hidden in this guy's luggage. All of the rare and endangered animals under two months old had been drugged and were headed for Dubai. Their value, thousands of dollars.
The suspect from the United Arab Emirates was arrested while waiting to check in for his flight. Undercover agents had been monitoring him since he brought the animals on the black market. Officials say Thailand is a center for illegal wildlife trafficking. Amazing story.
The challenge? Drive smart and reduce were your vehicle emissions. What's in it for you? in two minutes I'll tell you, so don't go anywhere.
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KAYE: Welcome back. Ten minutes before the hour. And it is the final day of this week's report on the Fast Company magazine article, "The United States of Innovation." One idea from every state that's helping build the cities of America's future.
Joining me now, Jeff Chu, an editor and writer at Fast Company. Jeff, thanks again for being on the show today. The first state on the list today, because we have been working our way through the alphabet, is South Carolina. What do you like in South Carolina?
JEFF CHU, EDITOR/WRITER, FAST COMPANY: We like PinPoint Public Works. It's a program that's used by the city of Clemson to make its sanitation department work more efficiently and effectively and save fuel.
So, they have taken a GPS platform, given it to the sanitation workers so they can log when, say, there is a pile of debris or a pothole that needs to be fixed. And then the next day, the city puts together a to-do map that saves them miles, helps them figure out where to go next, and how to run more efficiently.
KAYE: A GPS to pinpoint garage? I love that! Every city should have that. That is great. What about in South Dakota?
CHU: South Dakota, we went to Sioux Falls, where there is a long-term project called the Phillips To The Falls Revitalization. We picked this one because the lesson is long-term investment. They've taken a junkyard and turned it into a park, restored historic buildings, turned warehouses into more usable space. And they've collaborated with the federal government, really dug into the and turned a section of downtown into something that's much more beautiful than it used to be.
KAYE: I know that you've had so many of these that you were pretty impressed and you really had to whittle your list down. So, what did you find in Tennessee?
CHU: In Tennessee, it is something called Knoxville overground in Knoxville. There are a lot of people WHO self-employed, social entrepreneurs, creative types. Their work is really valuable, but it can be lonely. So, what Knoxville Overground has done is it's created a shared workspace where people can come together to collaborate. They've also held workshops and seminars and recorded podcasts so that folks who are self-employed, folks who are working in the creative industries can come together, collaborate, not be on their own all of the time and create together.
KAYE: And what is it in Texas that made your list?
CHU: Texas is one of my favorites. Houston in the third ward, there have been a lot of abandoned row houses. Project Row Houses has taken some of those row houses and turned them into live/work spaces and studios for artists as well as exhibition space. Arts is the core of it, but it's just been the launch pad for a bigger economic development project. So, these artists have become real community builders through their work.
KAYE: And that's a good reason really to point out that the people on the list is everything art to tech. I mean, it's all kinds of things, right?
CHU: We tried for a broad diversity just to show everybody that innovation comes in every industry and innovation comes in every state. We wanted people to really think beyond just tech. This is about all kinds of things from art to dance to anything that you can put your mind to.
KAYE: And what was it in Utah?
CHU: Utah was the Clear The Air Challenge. This is something that Salt Lake City is doing every summer now to encourage people to drive less, to telecommute and to carpool more. So, that the prizes for the challenge can include things like lunch with the mayor, gift certificates to local restaurants and public transit passes.
And last year's winner, Ryan Parker, he saved 667 gallon of gas and 25,000 pounds of emissions in a month. Which, Randi, I think that tells you that he drives a lot in a normal month.
KAYE: Wow! That is serious. So, out of all of these great ideas that we've looked at this week, do you have a favorite?
CHU: I have a couple of favorites. I really like the Texas project, and I also like the Trey McIntyre project in Boise, Idaho. This is an avant-garde dance troupe that has built itself into a community institution. And it is surprising. That is what I like about it most. You don't expect to find an avant-garde dance troupe that's been embraced by the people of a city like Boise.
KAYE: Well, Jeff, it's been great having you on the show everyday. I kind of got used to it, so we will have to find something else to talk about for the weeks ahead.
CHU: Thanks a lot. Hope to see you soon.
KAYE: Me too. Thank you.
Well, if you didn't see your state today or you want to learn more about "The United States of Innovation," you can visit our blog at CNN.com/ali. And don't forget to tune in next week. As always, same "Big I" time, same "Big I" channel.
Newt Gingrich predicts his own future and calls Barack Obama "the most successful food stamp president in history." News hot off of the CNN Political Ticker, coming your way next.
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KAYE: Time now for the CNN Political Update. Shannon Travis joins me from the political desk in Washington. And Shannon, Ron Paul back for more?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: That is right, Randi. Maybe the third time will be the charm for Congressman Ron Paul, the Texas Republican. He announced today that he is running for president for the third time. He is officially now a presidential candidate.
He announced earlier this morning. He is 75 years old. And Ron Paul, as you know, Randi, and a lot of our viewers know, he is very popular with a lot of the conservatives, a lot of Tea Party activists. He is a libertarian, he ran before as a libertarian and as a Republican in the last cycle. So this might be a chance for him or at least his people feel that way.
But a lot of his views are controversial, especially him saying that he would have executed the Osama bin Laden operation a lot differently than President Obama did. Moving on to one of his competitiors, Newt Gingrich on his first official day as a candidate. Newt Gingrich said today that, quote, "This will be the most happiest, most positive, most campaign of my lifetime." And then he lashed into President Obama, Randi. He said that President Obama is, quote, "the most successful food stamp president in history." He was talking about in terms of not providing jobs to a lot of people.
And Newt Gingrich said you can expect in his words for President Obama to run a, quote "Chicago-style campaign." Randi?
KAYE: And meanwhile, Shannon, the president today is celebrating his team's big win?
TRAVIS: That is right. Okay. So last night I was up late, I admit, watching the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. I'm from Chicago. Chicago lost, boo hoo.
But obviously President Obama was watching closely as well. He spoke with a reporter from Miami yesterday, and he was saying, of course, that he hoped that Chicago won. But when the reporter, this Miami reporter said, hey, President Obama, what are you willing to wager on a possible Chicago and Miami game, the president said hot dogs. And the Miami reporter said Cuban fritas, which are, obviously, a sweet and spicy hamburger.
KAYE: So, I wasn't up as late as you were, Shannon, watching but I understand the Bulls won, I'm being told by my --
TRAVIS: The Bulls won. Did I not mention that -
KAYE: Yes you did. So, I'm just going to make that clear.
TRAVIS: That's right. The bulls won, so they go on to face The Heat on Sunday, Randi.
KAYE: So you are happy?
TRAVIS: I'm very happy.
KAYE: All right. Shannon, thank you. Appreciate it.
TRAVIS: You got it.
KAYE: The next political update from The Best Political Team on Television is just hour away.
