Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama Administration Slaps New Sanctions on Syria; Ted Kaczynski's Belongings go to Auction; Chatting with Congresswoman Giffords' Neurosurgeon; Alleged DSK Victim Testifying; New Al Qaeda Chief; Youthful Ingenuity

Aired May 18, 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 there, Suzanne, thank you very much.

We begin with breaking news from Washington. The Obama administration has just announced new sanctions against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other senior government officials. Officials say the move is aimed at increasing pressure on Assad to end violence against Syrian civilians.

Since March, Syrian anti-government protesters have taken to the streets demanding government reforms. The United Nations says the government crackdown has killed as many as 850 people. We will have much more on this in 20 minutes from our Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.

Now, I want to show you an x-ray like none you have never seen before. Take a good look at this, these are people crammed into a tractor-trailer in Mexico. They shouldn't have been in the trailer nor in Mexico, nor in the United States. Where this rig and another like it were allegedly headed.

They were stopped yesterday in the southern state of Chiapas, near Mexico's border with Guatemala. 513 migrants who authorities say paid $7,000 each to make a journey that is not just illegal but dangerous. In the words of Mexico's national migration institute, inhuman.

And where were they coming from? This, too, will surprise you for sure, they came not just from Central America but China, Nepal, India, even Japan.

Rafael Romo is covering this story for us and he joins me now live from Atlanta. First off, Rafael, Japan? We're not used to hearing about illegal immigrants from Asia.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Randi. It used to be that you would find people from Central America, from Mexico with $50 in their pockets making the trek north to cross illegally into the United States.

But as this detention illustrates, we're seeing people from all over the world traveling to Mexico trying to get eventually to the United States and, for example, I was taking a look at the numbers of people from different countries. Most of these immigrants, Randi, come from Central America still. 410 of them from Guatemala but then you take a look at the numbers from other court trees and, for example, 12 of those people came from India, one from Japan, one from China. We're talking about six from Nepal.

So, you're talking about a situation where you probably have a criminal transnational organization that has a global network reaching across the globe to countries in Asia and other parts of the world, and that's what you have. You have 500 people and all arrested at the same time in two semi-trucks in Mexico.

KAYE: So, these rigs got caught but I'm just curious at how many trucks like these get through for every one that gets caught?

ROMO: Well, the reality is that only a portion of the migrants coming through Mexico on their way to the United States ever gets caught. According to the Mexico National Migration Institute, 25,000 people were arrested in Mexico last year from other countries which means that potentially you can multiply that number and it's impossible to know how many people are trying to do this, but the reality is that the figures tend to be very, very high.

KAYE: I want to take another look at this x-ray because, quite frankly, it's stunning. I mean, we were all just amazed by this. I mean, those are people crotched down, some standing, packed into these rigs. I mean, are trucks in border hot spots, Rafael, commonly x- rayed like this for human cargo?

ROMO: Especially in this area of Mexico, Randi, you're talking about the state of Chapas (ph), border with Guatemala. This has been, in the last few years, a transit point for people trying to get to the United States. Again, not only from Central America but from all over the world.

And so, what you are seeing is Mexican authorities bringing x-ray equipment and more personnel to try to stop that, but there are just so many and it happened so frequently on May 10th there was another case, a similar case, 183 migrants were detained in Central Mexico in the state of Puebla under very similar conditions -- Randi.

KAYE: Rafael, I don't want to put you on the spot, but look at this x-ray one more time with me, and I want to see if you know there are these arrows, do you see those red marks, they look like arrows at least. Do you have any idea what those would be used for or pointing to?

ROMO: It seems to me like it's portions of the truck and at the time they might have been looking for drugs, not only immigrants, because you have to remember these are very powerful smuggling organizations and in the same way you see here, 500 migrants, last year in the month of August, there were 72 found dead near the border.

And so, it can be a situation where you have not only people trying to cross illegally into the United States, but also people trying to smuggle drugs and weapons throughout Mexico. KAYE: It is just fascinating to see the technology that's being used to try and find these people. Rafael Romo, thank you so much for bringing us that story, appreciate it.

Now, Greenville, Mississippi, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I wish I could say the worst of your flooding is over, but at least the water shouldn't be getting any higher.

The hugely swollen Mississippi River is cresting as we speak in both those cities far above flood stage. And it will crest through the weekend at cities in between, but not getting higher is not the same as going down and getting back anywhere near normal levels will take many weeks.

As if people here haven't suffered enough, the state of Louisiana has issued now a snake advisory. Yuck. The floods are flushing out all kinds of wildlife, including snakes, three types of which are poisonous. The best advice, watch your step and definitely wear some boots.

I hope you are listening, Martin Savidge, you've been in that high water for days now. What's happening there in Vicksburg where you are?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are anxiously awaiting that crest, and that crest is expected to come about mid- morning tomorrow. However, the water continues rise in the meantime, and it continues to lay siege to a number of neighborhoods.

We're in the latest one here, this is located in south Vicksburg and it just continues to encroach upon these neighborhoods, especially areas where people thought they would be all right. The reason I say that is a lot of these homes here actually raised and you can see that they are right at floor level when it comes to the water and, unfortunately, this water probably has another five, six inches to go. Those homes are probably not going to make it.

However, if you, you know, look out, some of the homes are in better shape than others. There's one over there in the distance, you can see with the satellite dish and the roof (ph) he's raised. What's interesting is maybe you can make that out, there is that rope there by the front door. It's actually they have a boat that they pulled themselves to shore, so talk about a daily commute.

This one's a little bit different for the community here. They continue to be aware that this water is still rising. They hope it's not going to go too much farther, but quite frankly, tomorrow is really going to be a day. But you know, as you point out here, it's not just the crest, it is for many weeks after this that you're going to have this kind of water in these homes and stressing the levees and that is the real concern -- Randi.

KAYE: So Martin, how are the levees and the flood walls doing? Are they holding up? I mean, as you well know, they need to stay intact for a long time crest or no crest, right? SAVIDGE: Right. We did -- we went back down to -- you know, there's a very interesting sea (ph) in the old part much Vicksburg, where you look at the video of the -- there was a makeshift dyke that they had to create in a matter of about three days. And the idea is to protect what's known as levee street or catfish row, and this is really a dynamic piece of engineering.

But you have to understand, it is going through a tremendous strain. It's taking all of the water that's coming down basically from half the contiguous United States is headed to Vicksburg right now, a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. That wall is leaking like a sib (ph), they've got four pumps at full speed trying to keep the water out of there. So far they are succeeding but you look and just imagine the strain that wall is under, it's unnerving to stand there for too long of a time -- Randi.

KAYE: I'm sure as well as those snakes, those are a bit unnerving also. Martin Savidge, thank you there in Vicksburg.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's shocking secret is unraveling even more today. The scandal inside the Schwarzenegger house, the details, drama, and deception are, quite frankly, stunning. The "New York Times" reports the child Schwarzenegger fathered with his housekeeper is a boy and he's about 14 years old. His mother was working in the house pregnant at the same time Maria Shriver was pregnant with the couple's youngest child.

There are various reports the boy looks strikingly like Schwarzenegger. We'll talk about more of those details in just a moment. But while the scandal continues to unfold, Maria Shriver is proving that she is no shrinking violet. She made a special appearance in Chicago for her friend -- her good friend Oprah Winfrey. Shriver took the stage as a part of Oprah's last show taping. Shriver smiled, she looked happy, but did not talk to the media backstage.

But what about the Schwarzenegger kids? Well, the couple's children are reeling from the revelation their father led a double life. They aren't silent about the pain either, their 17-year-old son Patrick posted this tweet, but only after he changed his last name on his Twitter account to Shriver. Some days you feel like expletive, some days you want to quit and be normal for a bit, yet I love my family till death do us part.

And his 21-year-old sister, Katherine, said also, this is definitely not easy as I appreciate your love and support as I begin to heal and move forward in life, I will always love my family, she wrote.

But there is more, of course, much more about the Schwarzenegger's housekeeper, her illicit affair with the actor and their son. You don't want to miss what TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin has found out, that is next.

Of course, we also want to hear from you about this. What do you think about this whole affair? Join the conversation on our blog, CNN.com/Ali and you can also post on either Ali's or my Facebook and Twitter pages. Send us your thoughts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We're getting a clearer picture about Arnold Schwarzenegger's illicit affair and his double life. The housekeeper reported to be pregnant at the same time as Maria Shriver. A 14-year- old boy said to strongly resemble Schwarzenegger and his other children. All of the clues were there, under the same roof, right under their noses apparently, and we're learning much more about them.

So, let's get straight to TMZ's executive producer, Harvey Levin, he joins us again to talk about this. Harvey, new details since we spoke yesterday, there are pictures of this housekeeper and the son fathered by Schwarzenegger with her. You've seen them, I'm curious what your impressions are? What does he look like?

HARVEY LEVIN, CREATOR, HOST AND EXECUTIVE, TMZ: Well, we have it up on the website, Randi, and it is stunning. We didn't put the full face of the boy up but I'm telling you, he is just a spitting image of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean the lips and the teeth are just really a ringer.

And, you know, it's funny, now he's got kind of that Conan-type look. He's actually 13 now, and we got the birth certificate and this boy was born one week apart from Maria and Arnold's son Christopher. They were indeed pregnant at the same time, birth separated by one week.

KAYE: Wow.

LEVIN: Arnold is not listed on the birth certificate of this boy, her husband at the time is listed. But we know that she has protected Arnold in this from the beginning.

KAYE: Do we know when Arnold actually found out that she was pregnant or had his son?

LEVIN: We're told he had no idea during her pregnancy, that she told him when he was a toddler. The boy, like I said, is 13 now. But when he was a toddler, we're told Arnold found out, he has taken care of her ever since and the boy and the way it was put to us, generously.

I know there is something out there that she threatened him, we're told that's not the case. That this woman, as a matter of fact, when TMZ and the "L.A. Items" got on to this story about a week and a half ago, that the woman told the "Times" absolutely not my child == not Arnold's child. So she's been trying to protect him, you know, ever since he started supporting her.

KAYE: Harvey, I'm really curious about who actually started this. Do you have any indication as to who was pursing who in this -- with this affair? I mean was she after him? Was he after her? And when exactly did they get together? Because she didn't even sleep at the house overnight, as I understand it. LEVIN: All good questions, Randi. The information we have and what she has told, you know, people in her world, is that she pursued him and aggressively pursued him. And that what happened was, in the morning when Maria would leave to take the kids to school or whatnot, that's when they would get together and had unprotected sex.

This is what she was telling her friends as well. But it happened, you know, in the house, at least this is what she told her friends. In the house. And you know, as a matter of fact, you know, they had a baby shower and, you know, so much of this -- we have pictures of the baby shower up. And --

KAYE: Wait. They had a baby shower for her?

LEVIN: She had a -- she had a baby shower and some of Arnold's staff showed up at the baby shower and Arnold and Maria gave her lots of presents while she was pregnant. So it all just -- I know. It's all kind of intertwined.

KAYE: Yikes. That just sounds ugly.

How much interaction do you know -- did Shriver had -- did Maria Shriver and her children have with the housekeeper and this child?

LEVIN: You've got to understand, I mean, this is a house and it doesn't matter that it's a big house. It's a house. She was the -- you know, the person who cooked, she cleaned. You know -- I mean, she had a cook but she did laundry, I mean she was all over the house and she was there for a couple of decades.

So she interacted with everybody. With everybody. There is more that we haven't put on the Web site yet. Kind of interesting -- a couple of interesting stories that we will put up but she was all over this. And you know everybody knew everybody in the house. So this was not somebody who is --

KAYE: Yes . And she's retired now, right?

LEVIN: Retired now, living in Bakersfield in a -- I want to say, my recollection is a four-bedroom house with a swimming pool. So it's a nice house that she's living in with three other kids. But I'll tell you, the one that we're talking about, this boy who is very athletic, does charity work, everybody thinks he's a great kid, he really looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

KAYE: Wow. Well, I'm sure lots of folks will be checking out our Web site and your Web site, and seeing exactly what news you can bring us later today on this as you continue to dig into it.

Harvey Levin, appreciate your time and your scoop as well. Good to see you.

LEVIN: Sure, Randi. See you.

KAYE: So how does a free laundry service at work sound? How about catered food around the clock? Sounds pretty good, right? Well, you don't have to be a powerful executive, it turns out, to get these perks. In fact, you don't even need to be a college grad.

We'll tell you more in two minutes so don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The job market is still rough in places. Well, really rough. But in one town you can actually write your own career ticket, if you have the right skills.

CNN's Dan Simon is joining me now for more on this.

And, Dan, where did you find this great place? And tell us how we can get there, too.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's called Silicon Valley, Randi. It's another modern day gold rush. The hiring frenzy that we are seeing in this area, something that we have not seen since the Internet bubble in the 1990s.

What it means is if you have a degree in computer science, you can really write your own ticket.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (voice-over): Feross Aboukhadijeh is used to standing out because of his unusual name but what really sets this Stanford student apart are the innovative Web sites he's built, like this one called YouTube Instant.

FEROSS ABOUKHADIJEH, STUDENT, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: So you start typing a few letters, and then I predict what you're looking for and then I just play a video that I think you'll like.

SIMON: The YouTube CEO offered him a job before they'd even met. Other companies are already knocking on his door and he's only a junior.

Choosing a suitor when the time comes will be difficult.

ABOUKHADIJEH: All the companies in this area are trying to compete to be the coolest place to work. These -- some examples are, you know, like Google and Facebook, they have laundry services where they say, well, laundry is something that will take you an hour to do every week so we'll just do it for you.

SIMON: Companies are offering perks like free around-the-clock food because the competition for talent is fierce.

(On camera): Stanford students considered among the best in the country generally don't have problems finding employment, but this year's crop of computer scientists have it especially good. Silicon Valley is in the midst of a hiring boom with software engineers in high demand.

(Voice-over): Keith Rabois is chief operating officer for a start-up called Square, a company that turns smartphones into credit card swipers.

KEITH RABOIS, CEO, SQUARE: It's more competitive in Silicon Valley today. Recruiting talented people, talented engineers, talented designers than college football coaches recruiting high school athletes.

SIMON: So that means the fine details are important. Another start-up called Color likes to show off its basement.

(On camera): In keeping with Silicon Valley tradition, it's a loose atmosphere, a ping-pong table, a comfy place to sit down. We'd hear they've kicked it up a notch because in this room you actually have tents and sleeping bags for all those restless engineers burning the midnight oil.

ABOUKHADIJEH: Because that's what it's all about. It's about work hard and playing hard. So that's what everyone is trying to do.

SIMON (voice-over): Feross, seen here with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, intern for the social networking site last year. He feels blessed to be entering a job market where his skills are coveted. Translation, he can write his own ticket.

ABOUKHADIJEH: If you have an idea for a company, you can get funding for it. If you are -- if you're looking for an internship, there are tons of companies hiring. You can get, you know, an interview anywhere and just -- you know, you really have a good shot at getting a job.

SIMON: And the starting salary, $80,000 to $100,000 a year. That's what it means to have the skills in a hot Silicon Valley job market.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Well, with all these new start-ups coming online, combined with the infusion of new capital, we're talking millions and millions of dollars. Of course, there's chatter about whether or not we're seeing another bubble like we saw in the 1990s, whether the bubble may burst like we saw in 2000. That is an open debate here in Silicon Valley.

But as we said before, it is a modern day gold rush. If you have the skills, you can really do a lot of things here in this area -- Randi.

KAYE: And Dan, if you could, before we let you go, explain some of the key factors that are actually driving this growth.

SIMON: There are really three categories, Randi. You're talking about social media, led of course by Facebook and Twitter. A lot of hiring associated around social media. Anything to do with mobile and the latest industry term cloud computing.

That is what is driving this growth. Those three categories. But it's really for the highly skilled workers here. Forty percent of the open positions in Silicon Valley, about 130,000 open positions, are for software engineers -- Randi.

KAYE: Thank you very much, Dan Simon, with a very interesting story. Thank you.

Time right now, 24 minutes past the hour and of course it is time to update our top stories.

More details emerging since California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to fathering a child with a household staffer. The "New York Times" reports the child is a boy. About 14 years old. The paper also says the mother was working in the home while she was pregnant at the same time Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, was pregnant with the couple's youngest child.

The Mississippi River heading for a historic crest at Vicksburg in the next 24 hours. It's expected to peak at least a foot above the 1927 record. And in Louisiana the governor expects the record flood levels to last more than a month. A snake advisory has also been issued in this state.

Four journalists captured by the Libyan military who were originally ordered to be jailed for one year have been released, according to a Libyan government spokesman. The journalists are Claire Morgan Gillis of the "Atlantic," James Foley of "Global Post," Spanish photographer Manu Bravo, and Nigel Chandler of the United Kingdom.

President Obama gives a major speech tomorrow about the Middle East. Ed Henry is behind the scenes getting details of the speech and he's going to break it all down for us after the break. There he is.

Talk to you in a minute, Ed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: President Obama will give a major speech tomorrow about U.S. relations with the Middle East and Northern Africa.

CNN's senior White House correspondents Ed Henry joins me at this time every day. And he's at the White House where details are starting to trickle out about the speech.

But Ed, before we get to the speech, I know you have some breaking news on these new sanctions against Syria's president. What can you tell us?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Sanctions pointing directly at targeting President Assad himself as well as several members of his government.

This is a clear sign the U.S. government, ahead of the president's big speech tomorrow, and certainly this will be part of that speech tomorrow. Ahead of that wanting to get tough on the government in Syria. There's been a lot of criticism of this administration for not speaking out strongly enough against some of these government crackdowns against peaceful protesters. And so I think they're clearly trying to not just target President Assad with these sanctions but also with some stepped-up rhetoric. Interesting that one senior official just a short time ago here in the administration basically said the president believes it's now time to start transitioning to democratic process in Syria. That's sort of diplo speak for we want Assad to go.

The White House had not really been that direct before. Now, you see the administration going out and very clearly with these sanctions and with the talk, as well, targeting them directly at President Assad himself, but also making clear that they want him out of office, Randi.

KAYE: And Ed, let's get back to the speech that he's going to make tomorrow regarding the Middle East. Who is this speech really written for, as you can tell?

HENRY: Good question, because a lot of people have assumed that this peach speech is a speech to the Muslim world as the president did two years ago in June, while back in Cairo, very early in the administration. That was directed at the Muslim world.

The White House is saying now in private is, look, this is not just about the Muslim world. This is the entire world the president is trying to speak to. And what does he want to say? He wants to talk about what is the U.S. approach now and moving forward after we've seen all of this transition in the mid-east as well as northern Africa.

I mean, we still see military action. Obviously NATO is still at work in Libya. Gadhafi is still in power and that's been a struggle and a frustration for this administration and some key U.S. allies. But you've seen Egypt and Tunisia and all of the turnover in recent months and there's been a question about how much can the U.S. help and how can the U.S. help for some of these countries transition to democracy? And that's something the president is going to talk a lot about tomorrow.

KAYE: So do you expect that peace in the Middle East will be the main topic in the speech?

HENRY: I don't think it will. A lot of people are making that assumption. When you talk to senior officials here, they want to be clear that the president is going to certainly talk about bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in this broader context of what to do with all this turnover in the mid-east.

When I asked the president in a news conference a couple months ago about whether is he more bullish about the prospects of mid-east peace in the wake of all of this change, he said, in fact he is because he thinks that when there are so many people now in the mid- east who can start feeling that change, all of a sudden maybe they'll get more hopeful and try to bring all sides together here for a lasting peace.

But in that news conference, the president also cautioned that democracy and the transition to democracy is messy. And, as you can see with George Mitchell stepping down last Friday, a lot of other signs that peace is far away in the mid-east. I don't think they want to raise expectations and make it like he's going to solve this whole crisis with one speech tomorrow. So, it will be a part of it but not a huge part of it.

KAYE: All right. Ed Henry on the Stakeout at the White House. As always, thank you, Ed.

HENRY: Great seeing you, Randi.

KAYE: Well, you can see the president's mid-east policy speech live right here on CNN. Coverage begins at 11:30 a.m., that is Eastern Time and that speech will be live from the State Department tomorrow.

Normally fans come out to meet their favorite author at a book signing, right, but this man had something else in mind for Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. We'll show it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is half past the hour. Time to check the headlines and other news that you may have missed. The Obama administration, moment ago, slapped new sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their deadly crackdown on anti- government protests. It is the first time that the U.S. has targeted the Syrian leader for the action of his security forces.

The move will freeze any assets that other officials have in the U.S. It will also make it illegal for Americans to do business with them. Since March Syrian anti-government protesters have taken to the streets, demanding government reforms. The United Nations says the government crackdown has killed as many as 850 people.

Mexican authorities are detaining more than 550 illegal immigrants who were apparently headed to the U.S. They say the immigrants from Central America and Asia were packed inside two tractor trailers. X-ray equipment spotted them inside the semi-trucks at checkpoints. You see the X-ray right there in the southern state of Chiapas (ph), near the Guatemala border yesterday. Just take a look at that. A local attorney general says that they each paid $7,000 in hopes of reaching the United States. Mexico's National Migration Institute says they had been traveling in quote, "inhumane conditions."

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly trying to repair his relationship with his family after fathering a child by another woman. A source close to him says Schwarzenegger has apologized to his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, and their four children ranging in age from 13 to 21. Two of them have taken to Twitter to express the pain this has caused them. Schwarzenegger disclosed this week that he fathered a child with a household staffer and kept it secret from his wife until he left office. They have since separated.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich probably never saw this one coming.

(VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Activist Nick Espinosa (ph) dumped a box of glitter on Gingrich at a book signing in Minneapolis yesterday to protest his stance on gay marriage. We do not know who shot the video here, however, it was posted on what appears to be a liberal blog, that amongst other issues is pro-gay rights. By the way, that same guy also dumped a $2,000 penny tip on a Republican gubernatorial candidate last year to protest his stance on server pay and immigration.

After a two-year delay, an online auction begins today for Unabomber Ted Kaczynski's personal item. General Services Administration is conducting the auction. Items up for bid include his drivers licenses, academic transcripts and more than 20,000 pages of written documents. All proceeds will compensate some of his victims. They are owed $15 million in court-ordered restitution. Kaczynski is serving a life sentence at Colorado's super max federal prison for killing three people and wounding 23 others in a string of bombings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It has been four months since a gunman shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head. Well, now she'll be undergoing surgery to replace a part of her skull removed after that shooting. In an exclusive interview, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen spoke with Giffords' neurosurgeon about the next steps here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, she defied death. Not only did she live through this traumatic injury, she can walk. That's her at the top of the stairs. And talk and even traveled in an airplane to watch her husband, Mark Kelly, take off in the shuttle Endeavor.

And now four months after the shooting, another huge milestone. An effort to make Gabby Giffords whole again. After the shooting, doctors in Arizona cut a hole in her skull, like this one, to give her brain space to swell. Now the swelling is gone and her skull can be repaired.

In a CNN exclusive, I sat down with Giffords' neurosurgeon, Dr. Dong Kim, who will be performing the surgeon at the University of Texas.

(on camera): Is this a big step in someone's recovery?

DR. DONG KIM, GIFFORDS' NEUROSURGEON: Yes, it is. It is a big step.

COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Kim will implant a piece of synthetic bone made especially for Giffords. The edges fit in and then it fits in perfect, as you can see. Then we take these little plates and screws. We want to put in generally one here, there, and there.

COHEN (on camera): So this is holding the implant and real skull together?

KIM: That's right. It really is a significant step and more than just getting the bone back, it's a marker for where we are.

COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Kim told me that patients like Giffords often need another procedure, this one to get rid of a build-up of fluid in the brain. He inserts a tube to drain excess fluid from the brain to the abdominal cavity. Patients wear this internal drain called a shunt forever.

(on camera): So people walk around with this tubing all their life?

KIM: Yes, it's a very small elastic tubing. It can last for the rest of their life. And at some point patients can almost forget they have it.

COHEN (voice-over): For Gabby Giffords, it's the end of one stage and the beginning of the next, trying to get back to the life that she once knew.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And Elizabeth Cohen joins me now, live from Atlanta.

Elizabeth, this is so fascinating to see this process move forward. Do we know exactly when this might happen?

COHEN: Randi, we don't know exactly when but we do know that her spokespeople have talked about wanting to do this in the relatively next future. It's really the next step in her recovery. And once it's done, she can then start the process of getting out of rehab.

KAYE: And when we talk about her missing a part of this -- a very large piece of her skull, I think a lot of folks probably watching are probably wondering, well, how did she get around without this.

Do you have any insight on that?

COHEN: Right. For months, she, like many other patients get around by wearing a helmet. They wear a helmet like this one when they're out of bed, when they're doing physical therapy, or when they're walking or whatever, and that protects the skull. So that protects that piece of exposed -- where that piece was taken away. And now that -- once she gets that piece back in, she won't have to wear that helmet anymore.

And Dr. Kim told me that it's really a big step for patients to be able to take that helmet off and walk around just like they were before.

KAYE: I'm sure that will be a very big, important day for her.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for the update. Appreciate it.

COHEN: Thanks.

KAYE: Well, a new chief for the terror group that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Just who he is and why he's only served as the al Qaeda's caretaker leader, as they're saying. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Some breaking news now to tell you about. We want to let you know that the alleged assault victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case is now scheduled to testify before a New York grand jury today. We're just getting this in from our Susan Candiotti and Deb Feyerick, who have been working this story for us.

We -- as you know, we heard from her lawyer yesterday. She's apparently having a very difficult time with this, dealing with this. Meanwhile, many in France are still calling this a lynching, some even suggesting that Dominique Strauss-Kahn may have been set up considering that he was a possible candidate for president in France.

So we'll keep you posted on the very latest with the grand jury testimony in that sexual assault case by the alleged victim.

Meanwhile, I want to get to the Pentagon now where Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chief Chairman Mike Mullen have been talking to reporters about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and whether Pakistan might have known more than it actually let on. Both men say there is no evidence Pakistani leaders were aware the world's most-wanted terrorist was living on Pakistani soil.

Here's Admiral Mullen talking about U.S.-Pakistani relations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIR, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I think it would be a really significantly negative outcome in the relationship got broken. And so, from my perspective, that investment brought us to this position, which I think we need to leverage to sustain the relationship. Not just at my level or with the military but, quite frankly, between the two countries.

QUESTION: Do you believe them when --

MULLEN: I've seen - -I see no evidence after -- since the bin Laden raid that indicates that the top leadership that knew bin Laden was there.

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I would echo exactly what the chairman said. I've seen no evidence at all that the senior leadership knew. In fact, I've seen some evidence to the contrary, but -- and we have no evidence yet with respect to anybody else. My supposition is, somebody knew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Well it -- didn't take long. Al Qaeda has named a former Egyptian special forces officer as its interim leader. Saif al-Adel has taken over in the aftermath of the killing of al Qaeda's founder, Osama bin Laden earlier this month. It's apparently only an interim appointment. The reasons for that could indicate something of a split among the various al Qaeda factions.

Dan Rivers joins us live now from London for more on this development.

Dan, first tell us what you know about Saif al-Adel.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, he's a former Egyptian army officer who is a career terrorist. He joined al Qaeda in the very early days, in the late 1980s. He fought in Somalia and Afghanistan. He's been kind of the chief of staff, the chief of the military council of al Qaeda.

Now we're being told, actually, not by al Qaeda itself but by a source here in London , a former Libyan Islamist with good connections to the Jihadi world, that he's hearing on the kind of Islamist grapevine, if you like, that Adel has taken over in a caretaker capacity in the interim while they look to try and replace bin Laden.

Now, that may be that it's Ayman al-Zawahiri who takes over, the Egyptian number two in the organization, but for the moment, al-Adel is being -- we're being told is sort of an interim leader. He's got good knowledge of the network of the kind of operational side, not so much on the ideological side.

KAYE: Yes, that's what I was going to ask you, because why name a caretaker and I am curious about what type of impact this might have on al-Zawahiri, as you mentioned, because for a long time a lot of people assumed that he would be the guy.

RIVERS: Yes. I think it's important to say, firstly, al Qaeda hasn't named al-Adel, this is what we're hearing from sources. And secondly, the fact that they haven't named anyone themselves on any of their websites or put out any sort of video statement, we're being told that a sign of what sort of power vacuum that there is.

That they're in crisis, they're concerned about the intelligence that the U.S. has gleamed from the house where bin Laden was hiding out. That they are being constantly being attacked with drones. In other words, that they're lying low, that it's difficult for them to meet, it's difficult for them to communicate. They are worried that their whole communications has been compromised, basically.

KAYE: All right. Dan Rivers. Thank you, Dan. Appreciate it.

All right, we want to you take a look at this video. Cars that drive themselves -- oh, actually, we don't video for you, I'm being told. But we'll take a quick break and have more news for you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, my mom was always proud of me and my achievements, but when I was in high school, I wasn't exactly working on the next cure for cancer. How about you? My next guests may put us all to shame. These teens just won top honors for their cancer research at Intel's 2011 International Science & Engineering Fair last week.

Take a look at this video from Intel the moment they heard their names called. Look at them. They beat out more than 1,500 young scientists and mathematicians from 65 countries to win this honor. Matthew Fedderson and Blake Marggraff joining me now.

Wow. So impressive.

Thank you.

KAYE: Tell me, first, Blake, if you would, about your work. I mean, you basically invented a way to fry cancer cells, right?

BLAKE MARGGRAFF, WINNER, INTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR: That's exactly right. From the very beginning we wanted to do something that could actually be applied anywhere in the world to help cancer patients.

And the idea was use radiation therapy, which is available all over the world in any single country, even in third world countries, and that's exactly we did actually. We found a drug that can help make radiation treatment more effective.

KAYE: And, Matthew, is it safer, what you've come up with?

MATTHEW FEDDERSON, WINNER, INTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FAIR: Yes, definitely.

KAYE: How come?

FEDDERSON: It focuses the radiation energy that you use to treat the cancer only on the tumor cells, while giving less energy to the surrounding cells. So, in effect, it's much more effective just because of that focusing effect.

KAYE: And was there something personal in your lives that inspired you guys to come up with this, Blake?

MARGGRAFF: Almost unfortunately, there was. I've had relatives, my mom's mother passed away due to cancer. Even recently, we had a friend of our Boy Scout troop pass away because of cancer. And all of that, it makes you want to work even harder, and that's exactly what we did.

KAYE: Where do you expect this to go? What's the next step in your research and your big win?

FEDDERSON: Well, right now we're applying for a provisional patent. We're contacting attorneys and trying to do that.

And then, we're probably going to contact a research lab as well, trying to take this to the next level and do it in vivo, so probably in mice, and just try and make sure that what we found works in yeast cells will also work in actual living cells for tumors.

KAYE: I love that. I love that you guys won, but I also love that when you missed out on fourth place, you thought, of, you were finished, this was going to be the end of you. But I'm sure there were a lot of other really talented kids there. Did you see some other really cool projects?

MARGGRAFF: I have to say, almost every project that I say, I wanted to take time and speak with whoever was working on it for as long as I could.

KAYE: Did one stand out?

MARGGRAFF: Yes. Actually, there was a Russian physicist there who had flew in and he had project that studied a new theory as to how dominos worked together. And that was fascinating to both of us.

FEDDERSON: That was cool.

KAYE: And so, what's next for you? College.

FEDDERSON: Yes, I'm going to University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign next year.

KAYE: And what do you want to do with your life? I don't know what's going to top this.

FEDDERSON: I don't know. I'm study computer engineering because that's really my passion. But I don't know from here on out.

KAYE: And what about you, Blake?

MARGGRAFF: I'm going to Washington University in St. Louis, hopefully for bio-med, maybe on a pre-med track.

KAYE: Well, I'm so impressed I can't tell you. It's really fantastic.

FEDDERSON: Thank you so much.

KAYE: Great to see young kids working on some really cool projects and maybe helping save lives, change lives certainly.

FEDDERSON: It would be fantastic.

KAYE: Good work, you guys.

FEDDERSON: Thank you.

KAYE: Thanks for coming in.

MARGGRAFF: Thank you so much.

KAYE: And congratulations.

FEDDERSON: Thank you.

KAYE: All right. So take a look at this video, if you would, cars that drive themselves. This is real, and it's actually going on in one city today. We'll have much more on this right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In one of the world's newest cities, people are traveling in cars that actually drive themselves. Gary Tuchman takes us for a ride to "The Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Near Abu Dhabi in a city called Masdar where no gasoline-powered cars are allowed, there is a new way to commute.

MASARA ALAMERI, URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN: It's the first type of technology of a public personal transport which has more like a personal touch to it. It's more like a taxi on demand that takes you from one destination to another at a click of a button.

TUCHMAN: It's called the Personal Rapid Transportation, or the PRT. It consists of small, automated vehicles that provide personal, non-stop transportation between points of a network. The city of Masdar worked with a team of engineers to create a unique PRT system, one without rails.

ROBBERT LOHMANN, 2GETTHERE: We used virtual routes that the vehicles tried to follow. Once a passenger comes in, he basically pushes a destination, the vehicle starts programming the routes.

TUCHMAN: Magnets embedded in the roads keep the PRTs on course.

LOHMANN: So all we do is we add little magnets to the infrastructure as reference points, but the vehicles themselves have a brain of their own.

TUCHMAN: An advanced laser-obstacle detection system knows if a pedestrian crosses it's path.

LOHMANN: If anybody gets in front of the vehicle, the vehicle will first slow down and eventually stop.

TUCHMAN: All that's left for the passenger to do is enjoy the ride.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)