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President Obama Speaks at CIA Headquarters; President Obama Meets With Israeli Prime Minister; Bailing Out of Rikers Island; Obama About to Violate Law?
Aired May 20, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, top of the hour here now. I'm T.J. Holmes, in for Brooke Baldwin.
You're seeing a live picture there of the CIA director, Leon Panetta, about to introduce the president of the United States, the president stopping by the CIA to give them a thank you for the work they did certainly over the past several years and here recently with the success of Osama bin Laden.
Let's go ahead and listen in to the CIA director for a moment as he introduces President Obama.
(APPLAUSE)
LEON PANETTA, CIA DIRECTOR: We are grateful to have a commander in chief who is willing to put great trust in our work. And, in return, as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we commit to you that we will continue to do everything in our power to fulfill your mission of defeating al Qaeda and their militant allies.
We will do whatever it takes to protect this country and to keep it safe. This has been a long and tough fight, and it's not over. But, as we have just proven, it's a fight that we're going to win for you, Mr. President, and for the American people.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce the president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, all. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
Well, thank you, Leon.
And thank you, Jim.
When I chose Leon Panetta as director of the CIA, I said he was going to be a strong advocate for this agency and would strengthen your capabilities to meet the threats of our time. And when I chose Jim Clapper as director of national intelligence, I charged him with making sure that our intelligence community works as one integrated team. That's exactly what these two leaders have done, along with all of you.
So, Jim and Leon, thank you for your remarkable leadership, not just in recent weeks, but during the entirety of your tenure. You have done a great job.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: This is my third visit here to Langley as president, and each of these visits has marked another milestone in our mission to protect the American people and keep our country safe.
On my first visit, just months after taking office, I stood here and I said that this agency and our entire intelligence community is fundamental to America's national security. I said that I believed that your best days were still to come. And I pledged that you would have my full support to carry out your critical work.
Soon after that visit, I called Leon into the Oval Office, and I directed him to make the killing or capture of Osama bin Laden the top priority in our war to defeat al Qaeda. And he came back here. And you guys, who had already been working so hard on this issue, redoubled your efforts. And that was true all across the intelligence community.
My second visit, a year later, came under more somber circumstances. We gathered to pay tribute to seven American patriots who gave their lives in this fight at a remote post in Afghanistan. And it's already been mentioned their stars now grates (ph) this memorial wall.
And through our grief and our tears, we resolved that their sacrifice would be our summons to carry on their work, to complete this mission, to win this war.
Today, I have returned just to say thank you on behalf of all Americans and people around the world, because you carried on. You stayed focused on your mission. You honored the memory of your fallen colleagues. And in helping to locate and take down Osama bin Laden, you made it possible for us to achieve the most significant victory yet in our war to defeat al Qaeda.
Now, I just met with some of the outstanding leaders and teams from across the community who worked so long and so hard to make that raid a success.
And I'm pleased today that we're joined by representatives from all of our intelligence agencies, and that folks are watching this live back at all of those agencies, because this truly was a team effort. That's not always the case in Washington.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: But all of you worked together every single day. This is one of the few times when all these leaders and organizations have the occasion to appear together publicly. And so I thank all of you for coming, because I think it's so important for the American people to see all of you here today.
Part of the challenge of intelligence work is, by necessity, your work has to remain secret. I know that carries a heavy burden. You're often the first ones to get the blame when things go wrong. And you're always the last ones to get the credit when things go right.
So, when things do go right -- and they do more often than the world will ever know -- we ought to celebrate your success. That's why I came here. I wanted every single one of you to know, whether you work at the CIA or across the community, at every step of our effort to take out bin Laden, the work you did and the quality of the intelligence that you provided made the critical difference, to me, to our team on those helicopters, to our nation.
After I directed that getting bin Laden be your -- the priority, you hunkered down even more, building on years of painstaking work, pulling together in some cases the slenderest of intelligence streams, running those threads to ground until you found that courier and you tracked him to that compound.
And when I was briefed last summer, you had built the strongest intelligence case against -- in terms of where bin Laden was since Tora Bora. In the months that followed, including all those meetings in the Situation Room, we did what sound intelligence demands. We pushed for more collection. We pushed for more evidence. We questioned our assumptions. You strengthened your analysis. You didn't bite your tongue and try to spin the ball.
But you gave it to me straight each and every time. And we did something really remarkable in Washington. We kept it a secret.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And that's how it should be.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Of course, when the time came to actually make the decision, we didn't know for sure that bin Laden was there. The evidence was circumstantial. And the risks, especially to the lives of our special operations forces, were huge.
And I knew that the consequences of failure could be enormous. But I made the decision that I did because I had absolute confidence in the skill of our military personnel and I had confidence in you. I put my bet on you. And now the whole world knows that that faith in you was justified.
So, just as impressive as what you did was how you did it. It was a tribute to your perseverance, your relentless focus and determination over many years. The fight against al Qaeda did not begin on 9/11. Among you are veterans who have been pursuing these murderers for many years, even before they attacked our embassies in Africa and struck the Cole in Yemen. Among you are young men and women for whom 9/11 was a call to service. This fight has defined your generation.
And on this wall are stars honoring all your colleagues and friends, more than a dozen who have given their lives in the fight against al Qaeda and its violent allies.
As the years wore on, others began to think that this terrorist might never be brought to justice, but you never quit. You never gave up. You pulled together across this agency and across the community.
No one piece of information and no one agency made this possible. You did it together, CIA, National Security Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, everyone at ODNI and the National Counterterrorism Center, folks across the government, civilian and military, and so many of you here today.
And that's exactly how our intelligence community is supposed to work, using every capability, human, technical, collecting, analyzing, sharing, integrating intelligence and then acting on it.
That's what made this one of the greatest intelligence successes in American history. And that's why intelligence professionals are going to study and be inspired by your achievement for generations to come.
Now, make no mistake, this is not over, because we not only took out the symbol and operational leader of al Qaeda. We walked off with his files...
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: ... the largest treasure trove of intelligence ever seized from a terrorist leader. Many of you now are working around the clock. You didn't have much time to celebrate. We have got to analyze and evaluate and exploit this mountain of intelligence.
So, today, every terrorist in the al Qaeda network should be watching their back, because we're going to review every video, we're going to examine every photo, we're going to read every one of those millions of pages. We're going to pursue every lead. We are going to go wherever it takes us. We're going to finish the job. We're going to defeat al Qaeda.
And even as we stay focused on this mission, we need you to stay nimble and flexible to meet the full range of threats to our security, from plots against our homeland, to nations seeking weapons of mass destruction, to transnational threats such as cyber-criminals and narco-traffickers.
So, I'm going to keep relying on you for your intelligence, the analysis that comes across my desk every single day, and 300-plus Americans are counting on you to stay a step ahead of our adversaries and to keep our country safe.
I have never been more proud or more confident in you than I am today, not just because this extraordinary success, but because it reminds us of who we are as a people and as a nation.
You reminded us that, when we Americans set our mind to something, when we are focused and when we are working together, and we're not worried about who's getting the credit, and when we stay true to our values, even if it takes years, there's nothing we cannot do.
That's why I still believe in what I said my first visit here two years ago. Your greatest days are still to come. And if any of you doubt what this means, I wish I could have taken some of you on the trip I made to New York City, where we laid a wreath at Ground Zero and I had a chance to meet firefighters who had lost an entire shift, police officers who had lost their comrades, a young woman, 14 years old, who had written to me because her last memory of her father was talking to him on the phone while her mother wept beside her right before they watched the tower go down.
And she and other members of families of 9/11 victims talked about what this meant. It meant that their suffering had not been forgotten and that the American community stands with them, that we stand with each other.
So, most of you will never get headlines for the work that you do. You won't get ticker tape parades. But, as you go about your work with incredible diligence and dedication every single day, I hope all of you understand how important it is, how grateful I am, and that you have the thanks of a grateful nation.
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HOLMES: The president of the United States giving a thank you, a shout-out there, if you will, to the CIA there in Langley.
The employees there, you are just seeing the back of their heads. You don't see a lot of their faces, quite frankly, because they do what they do in secret. They don't get a lot of attention and they don't want the attention. They do their jobs in secret and it's necessary for them to do so, the president telling them that, in fact, this was truly a team effort, speaking about the success in getting Osama bin Laden in that raid just a couple of weeks ago, also said, talking about the risk in that raid, saying, yes, we put together a case, one of the strongest cases we have had in years since Tora Bora about where bin Laden was.
But he said, we did not know for sure and there were risks associated with this, but saying that the whole world now knows that his faith in the intelligence community was, in fact, justified, also reiterating that this is not over.
As we keep this picture up of the president shaking some hands there at the CIA, I want to bring in someone who was among those folks there at the CIA at one time.
Mike Baker, he is formally of the CIA and also a former covert operations officer. He's with us here now.
Good to see you, as always.
And we hear the president talk the about, and he kind of applauded, it's hard to keep a secret in Washington, as they were putting together all this information and getting the plan together to go get bin Laden. Hard to keep a secret, but they kept a secret.
Would you prefer if the secret continued? Because we are getting so much information that continues to come out. We have heard Leon Panetta, we have heard the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, we have the defense secretary say the deal was, we weren't supposed to talk after this operation.
But so much is out now. Is it a little disturbing to you that so much is still coming out and we're still talking about it?
MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: Yes, no, you raise a very good point. And it is disturbing, and it's disturbing to anybody who's worked in the intelligence world.
It's puzzling to some degree why there is this constant sort of dribs and drabs of information. And you're right, I mean, and the president raised a good point, which was that one of the amazing things about this was the fact that, from that summer of 2010, until the operation took place, they were able to keep a lid on it.
And that's not an easy thing. And, you know, it should be recognized as pretty amazing in this day and time. But right afterwards, as Secretary Gates pointed out, you know, in the Situation Room, they thought they had an agreement that they would just zip it basically and no one would be opening their yap.
And, as Secretary Gates said, that appeared to fall apart the very next day after the operation. And we started getting these multiple versions of what was happening. And then strangely enough, oddly enough, there was this, you know, this sudden talk about the intel trove.
And, frankly, that's one of the more disturbing parts. There was no need to talk about what was hoovered up in that compound. We should have just gotten busy, as the professionals did and are doing, analyzing and exploiting, getting the actionable intelligence out to the field.
But there was no need to know on the part of the public about what we picked up in that compound.
HOLMES: Is this kind of how just you all are built in the intelligence community, CIA in particular? Yes, it's nice for the boss to come by and say, thank you for your work, but are you all kind of built, you could take it or leave it, and you know how to do your jobs and you know you're not going to get glory? BAKER: Well, you know, I mean, it's -- it would be disingenuous to say that -- I mean, everybody appreciates a pat on the back on occasion.
And it's important, I think, and it was important for the president. I mean, he went and he thanked the team members, the SEAL team members. And that was incredibly important.
HOLMES: Right.
BAKER: But those teams couldn't have gotten to that compound without the seven or eight years of incredibly painstaking and hard work done by the CIA and other members of the intel community. Now, to your point, you know, the agency is -- you know, they're -- they're used to operating off the radar screen.
And they understand that, you know -- and they don't do their job to get those pats on the back. They understand that they're going to be off the radar screen and what they do goes unnoticed, unrecognized. And that's the way it should be for the most part.
HOLMES: Well, Mike, let me bring in something else here we're getting from the Department of Homeland Security. We just got word that some of that information -- and the president said it was one of the largest -- or it was the largest collection of information ever taken from a terrorist leader, all that information that came out of the bin Laden compound.
Well, apparently, from that, the Homeland Security Department put out some warnings to local police departments, warning them about al Qaeda possibly wanting to target oil tankers and commercial oil infrastructure at sea, saying this is part of their continuing interest, is what the statement said.
Tell me what you make of that. And also tell me, can we expect to see more of those types of warnings as they continue to go through this treasure trove of information?
BAKER: Well, yes, I think we will.
To your latter point, I think we will continue to see these pieces of information come out. I mean, one of the first things they do when they're scouring all this information that we have been talking about is, they're looking for the imminent threats.
It's just like if you were to pick up somebody off the battlefield or you have immediately captured a -- you know, a high-value target, one of the first things you're looking for, do they have any information about an imminent threat or an operation that is in the final planning stages? So they're looking at that.
But we have a process in place where you take the information that relates to homeland security and possible threats, and it gets fed to the local and the state and the federal authorities, and then the decision is made, does it get out to the public? Is it specific enough to warrant dissemination to the public? And what we're seeing is kind of a halfway step. I mean, we're seeing, again, sort of because there's this bizarre, you know, desire to get some of the information out about what we have been picking up out of the compound -- the idea that they're looking at oil tankers or, you know, shipping lanes, not a big surprise.
We have known that, just as we knew previously last week, when they were talking about trains being a possible target. So, you know, for al Qaeda and for the like-minded minions, it's been a bit business as usual. We know they are always looking at possible targets. They're, you know, typical. They're looking for soft targets.
HOLMES: Right.
BAKER: And we have to game against all of those. We have to plan for all of those various scenarios.
HOLMES: Well, Mike Baker, it's always good to chat with you, always good to get your perspective and expertise. We appreciate you. You enjoy your weekend.
BAKER: Appreciate it. You, too. Thank you.
HOLMES: All right.
Well, a busy day for the president. Earlier, he hosted the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yes, the two men were sitting side by side in the same room just a day after the two traded barbs from afar.
Our Ed Henry is at the White House for us to tell us how this meeting all went down.
Also, another developing story we're following right now. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he could be on the move any time now, waiting for his release from Rikers, but there was a hitch. Will he really be allowed to get out of jail any time soon? The latest on that.
Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, you saw the president here a moment ago giving those comments, saying thank you to the CIA for the work they did in tracking down Osama bin Laden.
Well, before he met with them, he had another important meeting that probably went a little differently, met with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon at the White House. A lot of people were guessing this would be a pretty tense meeting between the two. It comes just a day after President Obama's comments on the Israeli/Palestinian peace process, those comments part of his larger speech on the Middle East.
And Obama said that the acceptance of the pre-1967 borders needs to be the starting point for further negotiations. That sparked a pretty terse response from Netanyahu, called that idea indefensible.
This isn't the first time the two have had a frosty session, if you will. They also met in March of last year right after tensions erupted over Israel's refusal to suspend settlement activities.
Let me bring in CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry now.
Ed, I know we saw the public face that they put on, but any idea of what happened behind closed doors?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're digging on that.
HOLMES: Yes.
HENRY: What's interesting, from what we know, is that this meeting went far longer than it was supposed to. It went over 95 minutes.
And that blew out the president's schedule a bit. And that gives you a sense that they were talking pretty intently behind closed doors. And for most of it, it was really one-on-one, which is interesting, because principals tend to do that, kick the staff out of the room, if you will, when they really want to get down to business and sometimes air some real differences, so that it's less likely to leak out if there's fewer people in the room exactly what went down.
From reading the body language, I think, on one hand, there's a lot of people looking at what Prime Minister Netanyahu did. And it looked like, in some ways, he was sort of lecturing President Obama ever so slightly about the history of this whole process.
On the other hand, I note that Prime Minister Netanyahu kept looking in the eyes of the president throughout, not avoiding eye contact, not looking away, intently looking at him throughout.
You know, people tend to do that when they are trying to work out their differences. So, look, we can spend all day trying to read into it, but in their public remarks, the bottom line is they both tried to downplay the tension over the 1967 borders from the president's speech yesterday, in fact, the prime minister at one point saying, look, we're going to have differences here and there.
But they both also showed a commitment to trying to work this out long term. This process is off the rails. Let's all face that. There's no peace process right now. And yesterday maybe caused some more tension. But both men pledged to try to fix this. We will see whether they can do that.
HOLMES: All right. Stay here with me for a second, Ed. I'm going to roll one sound bite, something that the president said that we have here that got some of our attention at least. I will listen to it and ask you about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I also pointed out, as I said in the speech yesterday, that it is very difficult for Israel to be expected to negotiate in a serious way with a party that refuses to acknowledge its right to exist, and so that, for that reason, I think the Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that's been made between Fatah and Hamas.
Hamas has been and is an organization that's resorted to terror, that has refused to acknowledge Israel's rights to exist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, Ed, so where are we supposed to go from here, if you have somebody at the table that won't acknowledge the right to exist of Israel? Israel refused to negotiate with them. The 1967 borders are a nonstarter. Where are we in this process, then, Ed?
HENRY: Well, I think the technical term for what the president was doing there was throwing his colleague a bone. I mean, he was basically laying out the Israeli position there, a day after frustrating the Israelis, was trying to make clear, look, I get the fact that the Israelis say, we can't go to the table right now, because, as you note, the Palestinian government and the Palestinian Authority right now has -- has entered into a reconciliation deal with Hamas, which Israel says very clearly is a terror group and they're not going to negotiate with terrorists.
What the president was trying to do yesterday was throw the Palestinians a bone and say, look, come here to the table, the negotiating table, because we want to go to the 1967 borders, which you want in terms of territory.
The Israelis are saying, look, why are you throwing them a bone on that, when they're sitting down with terrorists? We're just not going to go to the table.
That's part of the reason why we're at a complete stalemate right now, T.J., and it's hard to see how you get out of it, because all sides are pretty dug in right now.
HOLMES: All right.
Our Ed Henry for us at the White House.
And, Ed, you will be reporting for me on CNN Saturday and Sunday morning, too; is that right?
HENRY: Yes. What time do we start, about noon, or -- no, no, 6:00 a.m., right?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Yes.
HENRY: You're not on at 6:00, are you?
HOLMES: Yes. Just answer the phone, Ed. Appreciate you, buddy.
HENRY: I think I'm sleeping in.
HOLMES: Appreciate you, buddy. Always good to see you, my man.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Thanks so much, our Ed Henry at the White House.
Well, we have been standing by all day today anticipating that Dominique Strauss-Kahn would be getting out of jail, walking out of Rikers Island, you know, the former IMF chief now accused of trying to sexually assault a maid.
Well, in two-and-a-half minutes, I will explain what may be a delay and may be holding up his walking out of jail.
Stay with me for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: So, we're at the bottom of the hour here now.
We've been waiting and watching for powerful money man-turned-sexual assault suspect Dominique Strauss-Kahn to bond out of Rikers Island jail in New York. It was right here on this show yesterday that a judge granted him bail. He, of course, is the former chief of the International Monetary Fund.
Now, Strauss-Kahn has put up $1 million cash. He also pledged another $5 million in assets to get out of jail.
But, as I bring in our national correspondent Susan Candiotti, he is not quite out of jail yet.
And do we have a real hiccup now?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question. In fact, it's unfolding right now in a court. First of all, it was about an hour ago when, finally, we received the paperwork. This is the bond and the bail that he put up. The $1 million cash bail, as well as a $5 million bond. And all morning long, we've been hearing it was just a matter of signing the paper work, cross the T's, dot the I's.
Then, as the day wore on, we heard there would be a hearing. Now, because there were some sort of -- oh, something had to be worked out, and we still don't know what that particular item was. Simultaneously, we're hearing that there may be an issue with the apartment where he's going to be living with his wife. It sounds like, in court yesterday, that the judge said it was signed, sealed and delivers. Rather, the defense attorneys, presented to the court that they had a place to stay and it was all worked out.
Well, that may or may not be the case. All we know is this, T.J.: that at least a half hour ago all the parties showed up in court except for the defendant in this case. He's still at Rikers. And the lawyers and the district attorney immediately went into an anteroom off the side of the judge's chambers to discuss whatever the issue may be. So, we can't hear exactly what's going on.
We do know this: when they come back out, then some sort of a pronouncement will have to be made. But, certainly, if there is a housing issue, this will be critical because, clearly, even though the judge has signed off on the bail and the bond, he certainly can't be wandering the city looking for a place to stay unless they have that nailed town.
HOLMES: OK.
CANDIOTTI: So, hope to find out what the issues are when this hearing is over with.
HOLMES: Yes. And you said he's not there. So, that means he's still at Rikers Island right now -- hanging tight, waiting.
But the house arrest we're talking about here -- and this is a live picture outside of the jail there at Rikers Island. Susan, the house arrest, I mean, security has to deal with. He has certainly a place he has to pay for as well. Who's paying for all of that in the meantime?
CANDIOTTI: You know what, T.J.? He has to foot the bill. And it's been estimated that the cost for all of this elaborate procedure and preparations and surveillance and 24/7 armed guards that have to be posted outside his apartment building, wherever that may be, is going to run upwards of $200,000 per month.
HOLMES: Wow.
CANDIOTTI: That's a chunk of change. Of course, perhaps not for a man of his means and certainly reportedly his wife also comes from money.
Nevertheless, it's going to be an expensive venture for him to have to pay for all the security. But, certainly, the state wasn't going to do it, and this was part of the agreement in order for him to make bail.
HOLMES: All right. Susan Candiotti, who's been on this case for us as we continue to standby, see what the issue is. As soon as you find out, Susan, please let us know. They're waiting to come back out into the courtroom.
CANDIOTTI: Oh, we will.
HOLMES: Susan, thank you. We'll be probably chatting soon.
To our viewers, we're going to turn now. You remember the horrible Tucson shooting that killed a number of people and also wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Well, the accused shooter in the case -- people had questions about him a long time before that shooting ever happened. And I'm about to share with you in 2 1/2 minutes e-mails that prove that point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Newly released e-mails are giving us a better image of accused Tucson gunman Jared Lee Loughner and they are from Pima Community College in Arizona. Loughner attended classes here off and on from 2005 until 2010. Hundreds of e-mails are out there, and they're from professors, staffers, as well as campus police, with descriptions of Loughner as, quote, creepy. Also lacking in, quote, "behavioral inhibitions."
Listen to some of this.
A Tai Chi instructor wrote, "I could tell he had emotional problems."
Another from a writing professor saying, "I'd like to do everything we can to have him removed from class."
Also, the commander of the college's police force wrote, "While the student has not made overt threats, it is apparent that his behavior is being noticed."
Also, the college's program manager noted that professors and a counselor complained about classroom actions, writing, "Poor insight, poor judgment, no behavioral inhibitions. Students reported concerns with his behavior, scares them."
These emails showed that college was worried about Loughner. But could they have done more than just suspend him?
Earlier today on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and a clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere weighed in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This was weird behavior. He was a creepy kid. But, you know, the world is full of eccentric, unpleasant people who don't do anything that is threatening to other people. I mean, it was definitely weird, but it was not -- at least it seemed to me -- the kind of red flag that would make you think this guy was going to go out and kill people.
So, you know, is there more they could have done? Frankly, I suppose there is more they could have done. They could have gotten the police more involved. Although they did check whether he had any sort of weapons.
I think the answer is yes, but I found myself sympathetic to the school.
JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Finally, they expelled him and said to his parents, the only way that he can come back is with a psychiatric evaluation. And I guess that is the way that they had informed the parents, hey, your son has some real mental health issues. But you're right, we see this all the time. People, perhaps, who we don't think are homicidal, but who are very eccentric or even psychotic. And the psychiatric hospitals won't accept them because they're able to talk their way out of it. The patients are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Loughner's last day at Pima Community College was late September of last year, some three months before the shooting rampage which wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others. Six people died in that attack.
Well, I have some news to bring you here now about Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana. No, it's not that news. Rather, he has been taken to a hospital and released after being injured during a workout today. Governor Mitch Daniels, you're seeing him there. Of course, the Indiana governor which many believe may be jumping into the Republican contest for president -- apparently, he had to be taken to the hospital after he was struck by a door after a workout today.
His office is telling us that the door suddenly swung open after his workout in Indianapolis. He was hit in the forehead. And listen to this -- he had to get 16 stitches. We're told he's now at home. He is recovering, told he is OK, from what we're seeing here.
But this happened around 1:30, I assume this is local time there in Indianapolis. So, a few hours ago. But hit in the head and 16 stitches.
So, I assume the next time we see him out publicly, he might look a little different. But Governor Mitch Daniels, you assume when you saw news about him, I might be telling you that he was in the race, officially. But, no, not just yet. He is recovering after being hit in the head by a door, 16 stitches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have high unemployment and a labor shortage going on at the same time. And that's just weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, where did all the skilled laborers go? There are jobs waiting for them. Good jobs. But Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs," he is going to be joining us next. He knows where you can find those jobs. He's joining me in just a second.
But, first, our "Human Factor' series, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a man trying to improve the safety of everyday technology after his own battle with brain cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Alan Marks, being in the real estate business for 30 years has been a passion.
ALAN MARKS, REAL ESTATE AGENT: I like building homes and seeing people move into them happy.
GUPTA: But three years ago, his life changed.
MARKS: I had a seizure. I don't remember it.
GUPTA: The cause of that seizure: a malignant brain tumor. Now, the surgeons were able to remove the cancer, but he says the recuperation was challenging.
MARKS: Took a long time. Even now, I have some deficits. And you try to find ways to overcome them.
GUPTA: And there's something else. Marks feels responsible for his own cancer.
MARKS: I know what it is. It was my cell phone use. I -- there's no way you could put something to your head for 20 years and not have it cause something.
GUPTA: And while there are some studies suggesting cell phones pose a health risk, many others do not. As a trade group representing cell phone manufacturers tells CNN, "Numerous experts and government health and safety organizations around the world have reviewed the existing database of studies and ongoing research and concluded that RF products meeting established safety guidelines pose no known health risk."
But, still, there are many cell phone manufacturers that recommend that you do not put the phone next to your head. And that is something Marks and his family support.
MARKS: I still use my phone. I usually use the speakerphone or I use the headset.
GUPTA: Marks and his wife are urging lawmakers around the country to require manufacturers to put warnings directly on the phones. They believe having the safety information in the manual simply isn't enough.
Today, Marks is able to provide for his family again and is back on top in the real estate business.
MARKS: Do you roll over or do you fight? I'm a fighter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Sounds good.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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HOLMES: I want to go quickly back to Susan Candiotti in New York with news of the ex-IMF chief accused of sexual assault, trying to get out of Rikers Island.
Will he?
CANDIOTTI: Well, it's possible. But the thing is, there is a hitch about the housing. So, the judge came out of this closed door hearing and announced that, in fact, there was a problem with where he was going to live. The defense team found a temporary apartment for him to live but learned that he could stay there three or four days until next week, and then he'd have to find some place else.
The issue with the new location is said it is near Ground Zero and there are security concerns for him and for the area and the like, and so, because of all the security that will be involving him and, of course, because of the media interest in this case. So, the judge is apparently signing off on this temporary location for now while they find a permanent one.
There's also a concern that he will be allowed to leave if he has a medical emergency, but he will have to give six hours notice at the very least if he has to leave for some other reason. He will have to notify the district attorney's office in order for that to get cleared.
So, they're still working things out. We don't know exactly when he'll be leaving Rikers. But he has a bail approved. So, presumably it could come as early as today.
HOLMES: All right. Susan Candiotti. We'll be checking in with you again getting more details still out of that hearing today. Thank you so much.
We want to turn to this week's focus here at CNN, in-depth. We're looking at the job hunt in America.
One man who says it's time for America to get its hands dirty. You probably know him, Mike Rowe. He's from the TV show, "Dirty Jobs." He's getting his job as the creator and host of that show.
But he has another job as well. He's the head of a foundation called Mike Rowe Works. He says there's a skills gap in America and thousands of jobs are going unfilled because American workers aren't being trained for them. He's testifying on Capitol Hill about getting Americans back to work.
He joins me right now from San Francisco.
Mike, good to have you here.
And let's start by getting you to reconcile this for the American people right now. You're telling me we got high unemployment. A lot of people are out of jobs. But at the same time, we have a shortage of workers. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
MIKE ROWE, EXEC. PRODUCER & HOST, "DIRTY JOBS": Yes. You may be overestimating my abilities to really speak to the guts of the issue. But, look, I'm not an expert. I don't have any real bona fides.
But I've had 300 really dirty jobs and I've met thousands of people who do this kind thousands of people that do this work for the last seven years. And the big takeaway from me is that the skills gap really is just a reflection of what we value. And what we value in this country has shifted over the last 30 to 40 years. We no longer encourage kids to take the time to learn a skill and master a trade. And at the same time, we've actively discouraged people from getting dirty.
You know, blue and white color jobs are the traditional factor in the way that we separate our workforce. But you can't have separate and equal. It doesn't work with anything.
And the reality of that is we've been focusing on a different sort of job in terms of what we aspire to. And, right now -- again, not an expert -- but right now, it seems to me that we are reaping the consequences of that.
HOLMES: But, Mike, you talk about the shift there and I know there's a big push and they say we're not going to have enough kids who that have training in those stem fields -- you know, the science technology, engineering, and math. We're going to have a shortage of those folks as well. So, they are trying to get those folks trained.
We've shifted to that. Do you think we need to shift back to those jobs where people get dirty or do we need to find a better balance?
ROWE: I think we've got to stop working at clean jobs over here and dirty jobs over here and white collar over here and blue collar over here. We have to realize that they are the two sides of the same coin. The facts are pretty clear.
You know, a year or two from now, an hour with a good plumber is going to cost more than an hour with a good psychiatrist, at which point, we're all probably going to need both. We're just out of whack.
I mean, look, if you really think about , 40, 50 years ago, college needed a PR campaign. We need more people to get excited about the notion of really digging in and studying. But the PR campaign that college got was so effective, it wound up happening at the expense of a lot of other very basic, very fundamental jobs.
Look, this is not about the poor tradesman not being represented. This is about society not being tended to in four or five years.
And I don't want to make a mistake. But right now in Alabama -- I mean, it's bad and it's not because of the tornadoes down there. They've got a third of their workforce north of 55. They are retiring fast. And there's nobody there to replace them.
So, some pockets in the country are more problematic than others. But on the whole, we're just seriously out of whack.
HOLMES: All right. So, a PR campaign. I know you say you're no expert, but it sounds like at least you stepping out can get some attention to this, and you've reminded folks that it's okay to get dirty.
ROWE: Hey, look, the people on my show have been very good to me over the years. I've done well. And the thing -- and the challenges facing those industries are for real. So, you know, if I can give something back, why not?
HOLMES: All right. Mike, sir, it's good to talk to you. You enjoy the rest of your weekend. Don't get too dirty out there.
ROWE: I can't make any promises, T.J. I can't make any promises about that.
HOLMES: I know. We'll see you down the road. Mike Rowe, it's good to talk to you. Have a good weekend.
ROWE: All right. You, too.
HOLMES: All right. We are just getting new information in about possible terror plots against the U.S. The al Qaeda apparently targeting America's oil and gas supply. That is coming up.
Also up next, President Obama may be on the verge of breaking the law. He must get approval from Congress for a certain aspect of the operation in Libya. Well, time is up to get that OK. Find out what some lawmakers are now threatening to do.
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HOLMES: Well, Dana Bash is joins me now with the latest on the CNN Political Ticker.
Dana, always good to see you.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, T.J.
HOLMES: Can you put this in context for me today? The president is effectively breaking the law. We need some perspective.
BASH: You know, it actually is potential true. The issue is the 1973 War Powers Act, T.J. It was passed in response to the Vietnam War. And it says that the president does not get congressional authorization 60 days after military action, the mission must stop within 30 days.
Well, guess what? Today is the 60th day deadline for military action in Libya. The president hasn't asked Congress to act and congressional leaders in neither party has really shown a sense of urgency to act.
So, this is actually doing something pretty rare these days, T.J. It's bringing together rank-and-file lawmakers from the right and left who are furious that President Obama is effectively violating a law of the land. One Democratic congressman told me that he's shredding the Constitution in order to bring democracy to Libya, ironic there. And a Republican senator told me that he's appalled of this terrible precedent for the military to be going so long in an operation without congressional action.
So, it certainly is stirring up some debate -- a little bit below the radar, though, T.J. HOLMES: OK. Well, Dana, wrap this up for me about 40 seconds. The White House is concerned about this. They are not going to show up and arrest the president, are they?
BASH: You know, the White House press secretary was asked about this today. He was kind of nonchalant about it. He said, we welcome congressional action, but they're certainly not asking for it. You know, Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman told me yesterday he suspected that the White House would just ignore today's deadline and it looks like he was right.
But I would just have to underscore that part of the reason that's happening is because there's just not a lot of pressure for this authorization from high ranking members in both parties. But there is pressure from rank-and-file lawmakers and from "The Washington Post" editorial page and others who say that this is just a bad precedent.
And I just want to mention that people out there might be -- here, they might not be talking about it, but people out there are interested. This is certainly getting a lot of traffic on CNNPolitics.com. This story, a lot of people are interested in this.
If you want to join in, you can go in there and look.
HOLMES: Yes. With the headline that the president is breaking the law, that will make you stop and read that.
Dana, good to see you as always.
BASH: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: We're going to check in with John King in New Hampshire for the next political ticker.
Also coming up, will Dominique Strauss-Kahn get out of jail today? We've got some drama going right now in New York.
Our half hour, our next hour is starting after a quick break.
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