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Police Firefighters Let Man Drown in San Francisco Bay; Debt Ceiling 101; Street Value Of Your Prescriptions; Talk Back Question; Cloud Computing Concerns
Aired June 01, 2011 - 12:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
I want to get you up to speed.
Heavy fighting rocks Yemen's capital before dawn today as the country inches closer to all-out civil war. The government is battling three opponents: anti-government protesters, tribal fighters and Islamic militants. Several generals who defected say the regime targeted them with four missiles last night. The government is denying it.
(CHANTING)
MALVEAUX: In Syria, the death of a 13-year-old boy breathes new life into the anti-government movement. Amateur video shows women and children on the streets protesting his treatment. Video of the boy's brutally tortured body was posted on YouTube.
A criminal trial for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is now scheduled to begin on August 3rd. Now, he is charged in the deaths of anti-government protesters this past winter. Mubarak is in custody at a hospital where he's being treated for heart troubles and high blood pressure.
Casey Anthony's brother Lee testified at her closely-watched murder trial in Orlando today. Prosecutors contend that the Florida woman killed her 2-year-old daughter, then made up a story that she was missing.
Earlier, Anthony's mother tearfully told the jury her granddaughter was missing for a month before she found out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S MOTHER: Casey was on the floor crying, and I overheard her tell me that Caylee's been gone for 31 days, and that Zanny had taken her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: House Republicans went to the White House today to discuss spending cuts with President Obama. GOP lawmakers want some $2 trillion in cuts before they're going to agree to raise the country's borrowing limit.
The government has already hit the current debt limit of $14 trillion. Now, unless Congress raises it by August 2nd, the government cannot pay its bills.
The Atlantic hurricane season opened today. Government forecasters see a busy six months ahead. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there will be 12 to 18 named stormed and three to six of those will be major hurricanes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there's a gorgeous view of the space shuttle Endeavour as it's coming in for a landing. Gear down and locked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: After 25 space flights spanning two decades and 122 million miles, Endeavour returned to Earth overnight for the final time. The shuttle will spend its retirement at a Los Angeles museum.
Well, city leaders in Alameda, California, are getting an earful from angry residents after a drowning death. Firefighters and police stood by and watched as a suicidal man drowned in San Francisco Bay. Dozens of other people witnessed this drowning.
Our Dan Simon is in Alameda.
And Dan, give us the basics here, how this actually could occur, because it is hard to believe that this actually happened.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. This is a situation where you sort of take a step back and you say to yourself, something clearly is not right here.
And what happened is, on Memorial Day, about 11:30 a.m., a man, apparently intent on taking his own life, 53-year-old Raymond Zack, goes into the frigid San Francisco Bay behind me. He's fully clothed.
His mom calls 911. First responders, firefighters show up here with minutes, but because of a bureaucratic policy that forbids firefighters from attempting land-to-water rescues, all they can do is stand idly by and watch this man die. Apparently, there is also a situation here in Alameda where the funding was stripped that prevented firefighters from getting training to enable them to learn how to do ground-to-water rescues, so that was also at play here.
After about an hour or so, a woman who was watching all this unfold, a 20-year-old woman, she goes in, standing right next to the firefighters. She goes in and attempts to do a rescue. By that time, the man is already dead -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: It really is unbelievable, Dan. The last hour, I had a chance to speak with Alameda's intern fire chief, and we pressed him on this point. And this is how he explained it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL D'ORAZI, ALAMEDA INTERIM FIRE CHIEF: The policy that was put into place is changed, and there won't be any question about that in the future. Under the same circumstances, again, though, with a crime scene, with an individual who could be unstable and potentially dangerous, we would have to take that into consideration before we attempted a rescue.
MALVEAUX: As a firefighter, isn't that part of the job, it's a dangerous situation, we might meet up with somebody who's dangerous, but we're going to take the chance anyway because we committed ourselves to saving lives?
D'ORAZI: Absolutely. And, you know, I know, Suzanne, that those firefighters who were on the beach yesterday, they were incredibly frustrated by this whole situation, because I know them.
They wanted to get in. They want to take action. They want to do their jobs, and they feel like they're handcuffed. So it's really an untenable situation for our people.
MALVEAUX: If this was your father who was in the water, who was drowning, would you say this is a frustrating situation? Wouldn't you get those crews in the water to save him?
D'ORAZI: You know, I'm sure if that was something that, you know, was touching me personally, absolutely. And I understand the community, the feeling from the community. I understand, you know, obviously the family.
We feel terrible for the family of the individual, but I can't go back and change the circumstances that took place on Monday. I can only change wait we do things going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Dan, what are the local folks saying there? Is that good enough for them?
SIMON: Well, you know what? There is outrage. Understandably, there is outrage.
There was a city council meeting last night where people who live here took to the microphones, blasted the city council, blasted the fire department. The city council put this funding back in place. We're not talking about an enormous sum of money, $20,000 to $40,000 to get these firefighters trained.
In addition, the fire chief, as you talked to him, he said that they changed their policy where, basically, they're going to allow firefighters to use common sense, basically use their own discretion in terms whether or not they can go in and attempt to do these rescues -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Simon, thank you very much. Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question: Has Congressman Anthony Weiner said enough on the Twitter photo?
And that controversy, Carol Costello has that story.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, people are fired up about this one.
MALVEAUX: I 'm sure.
COSTELLO: You may have heard about this lewd photo of a man with bulging underwear sent from Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter account to a college student. Weiner, an outspoken liberal, married Democrat, says his account was hacked. If that is true, that's a crime.
So why not alert the police to help get to the bottom of it, or even just say, hey, that photo is not of me? Which Weiner has yet to do. He seems incapable of a yes or no answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can you just say why you haven't asked law enforcement to investigate what you are alleging as a crime?
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: You know, Dana, if I was giving a speech to 45,000 people, and someone in the back of the room threw a pie, or yelled out an insult, would I spend the next two hours responding to that? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you send it or not?
WEINER: If I were giving a speech to 45,000 people, and someone in the back threw a pie or yelled out an insult, I would not spend the next two hours of my speech responding to that pie or that insult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Did you follow her on Twitter? And if so, how did you find her, what was the reason?
WEINER: Do you know, I have I think said this a couple of ways, and I'll say it again. I'm not going to permit myself to be distracted by this issue any longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. I know, a right-wing blogger with questionable tactics did break the Weiner Twitter story. But before we start referring to this as just another partisan political fight, maybe it's worth asking, should the congressman have to answer these questions? After all, don't we demand that of our public officials? Or is the issue, as he says, just a distraction?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEINER: I'm not going to permit it to continue on for three, four, five or six more days. If that's not satisfactory to you, I apologize.
But I think that what people really want to talk about are things like the debt limit vote tonight, or things like the oppressive disparity between the very well-to-do in this country and people that don't have as much. Or the fact that it's more and more difficult being the middle class in this country. That's what I'm here to work on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the "Talk Back" question today: Has Congressman Weiner said enough on the Twitter photo?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.
MALVEAUX: It's his "pie" moment. Someone's throwing a pie at him. This is the moment.
Oh, by the way, he's going to be on "THE SITUATION ROOM" and "AC 360" later today.
COSTELLO: So he's continuing the conversation even though he says he wants to put it behind him.
MALVEAUX: Let's see if he answers the questions.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see.
MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're covering over the next hour.
First, is the debt ceiling debate confusing? Well, we're going to have a quick 101 to explain that.
And after weeks of devastating tornadoes, hurricane season. Yes, that starts today. Chad Myers is going to give us the forecast.
And then jurors hear the bizarre twists and turns in the Casey Anthony murder trial. We're going to play you some of the 911 tapes.
Plus, Republicans in the presidential race. A look at the list of contenders. And finally, how America's pill-popping touches everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see this in every demographic in L.A., you know, from people down on Skid Row, all those people taking Oxy, all the way to upper-middle class and rich kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: "CNN In-Depth: Medication Nation."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here are today's "Choose the News" selections.
First, if you've got a computer, chances are you're putting your personal information at risk every time you log in to a social media site or access or your Web e-mail.
Second, a lot of the commuters in the nation's capital are slugging their way to work. It's a way to deal with high gas prices.
And third, a young boy in Joplin, Missouri, sells lemonade to help tornado victims.
So, here's what you do. Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Cloud Computing Concerns"; 2 for "Slugging to Work"; or 3, "Joplin Lemonade Boy."
The winning story is going to air later this hour.
Republicans had what they described as a very frank conversation with President Obama about dealing with the nation's debt. The president invited all the House Republicans to the White House for a meeting, and they spoke as they left just a short time ago.
And Republicans are calling for huge cuts in spending before increasing the amount of money that the country can borrow -- or the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warns of devastating financial consequences if Congress does not vote to raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd.
So we want to talk more about exactly what the debt ceiling is, why it matters so much. And Carl Azuz is here to break down some of the numbers here.
Carl, thank you very much.
First of all, explain to us exactly what is the idea of this debt ceiling.
CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm happy to say it's pretty simple, it's pretty easy to explain.
The debt ceiling is a cap, simply a limit, set by Congress on the amount of debt that the federal government can legally have when we're spending more than we can afford to pay off. So you can think of this kind of like a credit card.
You've got a credit limit, which is the maximum amount you're allowed to borrow. Now imagine all of America's debt all being on that credit card.
We maxed it out a long time ago, and we have had to raise that credit limit time and time again. In fact, we've raised it 74 times since the 1960s. In order to raise that credit limit, though, Congress and the president have to sign off on it.
Now take a look at the national debt over the past 10 years. Through the roof. Expenses like Social Security, military operations.
Now, we're way up, at over $14 trillion worth of debt. We maxed out that card again, and that's got a lot of people ticked off.
If we do not increase the debt ceiling, the United States will have to default, or, to continue the analogy, not make our credit card payment. And that could be really bad for the value of the dollar -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: So, if the U.S. can't borrow enough money to keep the government running, what happens next?
AZUZ: Then Congress would have a very imminent and very difficult choice to make. They would either need to raise taxes or to cut spending imminently in order to continue to meet its obligations in full.
And according to Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary, not raising the debt ceiling would have some very tangible consequences right away. It could affect military salaries, retirement benefits, as well as Social Security and Medicare payments.
We also wouldn't be keeping up on our interest on the debt, and unemployment benefits can be affected as well. But there is a tab of more than $14 trillion and counting, so there are no easy answers, and that's why this fight is getting ugly in Washington -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: That's why it's so important to see whether or not this is a clean bill, they raise the debt ceiling, or whether or not it's accompanied with cuts in spending, which the Republicans are insisting.
AZUZ: And either way, they're saying we've got to raise that ceiling or else it's going to hurt everybody.
MALVEAUX: All right. Carl, thank you so much.
AZUZ: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.
(WEATHER REPORT) MALVEAUX: Creating jobs, it's been very tough in this economy. Well, today, another troubling report. We're going to go live to New York for those numbers.
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MALVEAUX: A reminder to vote for today's "Choose the News" winner.
Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Cloud Computing Concerns," how do you safeguard your identity in a virtual world? Tex 2 for "Slugging to Work," an innovative way to save money on gas. Text 3 for "Joplin Lemonade Boy," helping tornado victims one glass at a time.
Well, the winning story will air later this hour.
Not good news for the economy. A new jobs report is out, and it shows the private sector created a lot fewer jobs than expected last month.
Our Alison Kosik, she is with us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, give us a sense. How bad is this?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty darn bad, Suzanne, to be honest with you.
Payroll processing firm ADP came out with this report. And I'll tell you what, it was a big miss.
The expectation was that private companies added 175,000 jobs in May. Guess what we got? Thirty-eight thousand.
So, you ask, how bad is that? Take a look. The average job gains in the past six months sat at around 205,000. So what you're seeing now is the number today is below the recent trend.
And then you take even a closer look and you see where these jobs were cut, they were cut in construction, in financial services, in manufacturing. And it's really that decline in manufacturing that we're really noticing, because that sector had really been growing, and there were some hopes pinned on manufacturing that that would really pull us into a more of a stronger recovery. And what this essentially does, this report, it sets us up for a weak government jobs report that we're getting on Friday.
And guess what, Suzanne? Analysts are already cutting back their estimates -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: So, Alison, what does this mean? We saw this really depressing housing report yesterday. Now you have this out. What is the bottom line here?
KOSIK: The bottom line is, you know what? The recovery, it's slowing down. So, companies aren't hiring.
You know, not such a huge surprise. The writing has been on the wall for weeks.
We've had weak housing and manufacturing reports. We've watched reports on consumer confidence. They fell last month.
State and local governments are cutting jobs because of big budget problems. And you look at companies like Nokia and HP, they're predicting weak sales in the next -- for the rest of the year, in some cases. And this weakness is now the main focus on Wall Street.
The Dow and Nasdaq, S&P 500 all fell one to two percent in May. It's the first monthly decline since November. And we're seeing big declines today.
If you take a look, the Dow, right now, down 189 points. The Nasdaq off 36. This is definitely being felt here on Wall Street as well -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Alison, thank you very much. Appreciate the report.
Well, a tearful mother takes the stand against her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY: Casey was on the floor crying, and I overheard her tell me that Caylee has been gone for 31 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The latest turn in Casey Anthony's murder trial. Our guest helps us fill in the blanks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown on some of the stories that we are working on.
The defense accuses Casey Anthony's father of sexual abuse during her murder trial. We're going to have the latest twists and turns jurors are hearing.
Then, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump meet for a slice of pizza in the Big Apple and talk politics. What this means or doesn't mean for the Republican presidential race.
And at 12:45 Eastern, how prescription pills go from our medicine cabinets to the streets. A "CNN In-Depth: Medication Nation."
Well, the headline-grabbing trial of a mother accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. Members of Casey Anthony's family are testifying at her trial in Orlando, and the jury is hearing two versions of how little Caylee Anthony died.
CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at the trial so far. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Florida courtroom where Casey Anthony's life is at stake, an electric moment. Her lawyer describes her father, George Anthony, finding his 2-year- old granddaughter Caylee drowned in a swimming pool.
JOSE BAEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She immediately grabbed Caylee and began to cry. And cry and cry. And shortly thereafter George began to yell at her, "Look what you've done! Your mother will never forgive you and you will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your freaking life."
FOREMAN: The defense says it was the culmination of a lifetime of sexual abuse and secrets.
BAEZ: And it all began when Casey was eight years old and her father came into her room and began to touch her inappropriately.
FOREMAN: That's the reason, they say, Casey Anthony joined in a cover up.
BAEZ: This is not a murder case. This is not a manslaughter case. This is a tragic accident that happened to some very disturbed people.
FOREMAN: But the prosecution and even Casey Anthony's own parents say, it's just not true. No accidental drowning, no cover-up, no sexual abuse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever sexually molested your daughter Casey Anthony?
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S FATHER: No, sir.
FOREMAN: Prosecutors paint the accused woman as a cunning, self- centered killer who suffocated her child with chloroform and duct tape, stuffed her into a laundry bag and dumped her in a swamp, then went on a month-long spree of partying, drinking, even entering a hot body contest at a nightclub while her family wondered where the little girl had gone. Taped conversations with family members are also in evidence. This one with her brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY (via telephone): There's nothing to find out. There's absolutely nothing to find out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
CASEY ANTHONY: If I knew where Caylee was, do you think any of this would be happening? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: This one with her mother. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S MOTHER (via telephone): If anything happened to Caylee, Casey, I'll die. You understand. I'll die. If anything happens to that baby.
CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY: Oh, well, -- oh, my God. Calling you guys, a waste. Huge waste.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And then there is this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got within three feet of my daughter's car and the worst odor that you could possibly smell in this world, and I've smelled that odor before. It smelled like a decomposed body.
FOREMAN: Some witnesses describe a different person, a caring mother close to her child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was amazing that Casey and Caylee had a very special bond.
FOREMAN: But which version of Casey Anthony the jurors buy will determine her fate.
Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Joining us to talk more about the Casey Anthony trial is Holly Hughes. She is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.
Thank you, first of all, for joining us. You've been following this closely.
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes.
MALVEAUX: First of all, you talk about the testimony of the mother, of Casey Anthony's mother, and that it is really the most compelling and most significant part of the trial. Tell us why.
HUGHES: It is, Suzanne, and this is why. Because when you've watched Cindy Anthony -- no matter what you think of her, and we've been watching this family for three years. Let's face it. There has been a lot of media coverage up until the point we actually started the trial. And she'd done some kind of goofy things we might think, hey, that's a little nutty.
But no matter what you think of her, when you watch her on that stand talking about her granddaughter, this two-year-old baby, it is so evident that she loves this child and the raw grief that we see emanating from her. That's what we expect from the mother. From the defendant, Casey, and we're not getting that. We're listening. You listen to the 911 tape, where Cindy has to actually report the baby missing after 31 days. And the dichotomy. Cindy is crying, and she's panicking. She's yelling, this is a three-year-old. Get me help. Casey doesn't even want to get on phone. And when Cindy forces her to, she's like, yeah, mm-hmm, sorry, what? Yes, my daughter's been gone -- she might as well be reading off a laundry list or her grocery list.
No emotion. No affect. And that's why when we see Cindy dissolve on that stand, no matter what you think of her, Suzanne, your heart has to break for her, because that's real, true love.
MALVEAUX: And what do we think about the defense's case here? We hear her talking about the fact this was an accidental drowning, and she was forced to cover it up because she was allegedly sexually abused by her father. Is that playing well with the group? With the jury inside that courtroom?
HUGHES: I can't believe it is, and here's why. Common sense will tell you -- I was a prosecutor here in Atlanta for many years. So I know a lot of sexual abuse survivors. They will lie to cover up the abuse because they're ashamed.
But they don't invent imaginary people. They don't make up nannies. They don't invent nonexistent jobs. They don't lie about everything. They're not pathological, Suzanne. They are hurt and they are ashamed, but they don't lie about things that it's completely unnecessary to lie about.
And there's no other evidence to back this up. One of things you and I were chatting about on the break was the important thing to listen for is evidence. And when Jose Baez stood up, he gave a loud compelling argument, but he didn't give us the name of any witnesses that could testify about this abuse or any piece of evidence that's going to prove that it actually happened. It's just accusations.
MALVEUAX: And real quick, what's the next step in this case? Who are we going to hear from next? What do we suspect.
HUGHES: We've gotten through a lot of the lay witnesses. We're probably now going to get into the law enforcement officers and chronologically follow the investigation as it unfolded once law enforcement was called.
MALVEAUX: Holly Hughes. Thank you so much. Fascinating case, all of us watching very closely the developments. Thanks for breaking it down for us.
HUGHES: My pleasure. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thank you.
Well, both say they're not running, right? For anything. So, why are Donald Trump and Sarah Palin soaking up so much of the Republican limelight? We'll bring in and ask a Republican strategist.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Not much time left to "Choose the News." Text your vote to 22360. Text 1 for cloud computing concerns, two for slugging to work and or three for Joplin lemonade boy. Winning story is going to air before the top of the hour.
Two of the most highly publicized people not officially running for president sit down over pizza to talk politics. Sarah Palin and Donald Trump met in New York for what Trump called " alow-key dinner." They discussed the potential field of GOP candidates. Trump recently announced he was not running for president after weeks of political grandstanding. Palin, who's on a mystery bus tour, won't say whether or not she's running.
She talked with CNN after last night's dinner with Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: How was dinner?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Dinner was great. Great pizza. Wasn't that good? It was real New York pizza. Fun to get to be there, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What has been your favorite part of the trip so far, Governor?
PALIN: Oh, my goodness. We always love the OTRs. We love getting to just, you know, hop off the bus and get to meet the nice folks who are the hometown characters, basically, in some of these small towns that we get to stop. I love it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) pull over at a coffee shop somewhere. It would be nice for you? I mean, other candidates --
PALIN: What I'm most comfortable doing. I know that. I love being able to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people don't realize in the last race, you were sort of known as a retail politician. I mean, if you do run -- I'm not going to ask you if you're going to run, because I know the answer's going to be the same, would you -- would that one- on-one interaction still be possible for you as a global celebrity now? Is that something you'll be able to recapture?
PALIN: I would hope I never -- I would never lose that ability or that desire to get to be kind of what they one-on-one relationship with people. I think it's the most valuable thing that a person, a professional politician, anybody, can have, is that desire to have that one-on-one relationship with people. That's how you learn and grow and figure out what the needs and concerns are so that you can know what to concentrate on to help meet those needs.
So, yes. If someone was to lose that, you become a typical politician, and that's pretty tragic in my eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEUAX: Sarah Palin talking to our own Peter Hamby.
So, how is it that the people who are not officially in the running are getting so much attention? Well, we want to take a closer look how the field of GOP candidates is taking shape. The Republicans who are officially running so far: former House speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas congressman Ron Paul, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, and businessman and radio talk show host Herman Cain.
Joining us to talk about the Republican race for 2012 is Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez. Been a long time. Great to see you.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Likewise. Thanks so much.
MALVEAUX: Sure! Let's start with Sarah Palin taking a front seat. She's on this one-nation bus tour, has all the trapping of a political tour and says -- she has not said whether or not she's going to run. What do you suspect is her strategy here?
SANCHEZ: Oh, my gosh! That's the million dollar question. You know, I love the intro. What brought them together and created this media storm? I have to do a shout-out to Mark Brunette, the reality star guru, created "Survivor," "The Apprentice," but he also created and produced "Sarah Palin's Alaska." And it's interesting those two powerhouses come together.
It is what it appears to be, this media froth of interest. And that is what these two characters, candidates, whatever they were. Donald Trump as a celebrity. But Sarah Palin as a post-candidate celebrity is able to do that no other individual on the right or left can do. She creates a lot of light on interests -- areas of interest that she has.
And one thing that's interesting from 2008 to now, the issue was that she was seen as an empty suit who didn't really deserve to be a serious candidate. I think moving forward, the media has learned to take her more seriously. That she is somebody who can captivate an audience, raise tremendous money, and put focal points, like she did in 2010, on other candidates and helping them win elections. This time, she may do it for herself.
MALVEAUX: And let's talk about Mitt Romney real quick here. He's going to be officially announcing tomorrow, but he essentially seems to have been taking a back seat somewhat. Does it help or hurt that he's throwing himself into the race really so late in the game?
SANCHEZ: It's really not late. I think there are going to be other candidates who watch probably more so what Sarah Palin does to determine whether or not they're going to also throw their hat in the ring.
But one thing about Mitt Romney, he is one of the only candidates so far who has the full experience of running a presidential campaign. How to get that political organization going, gain support. That is going to benefit him tremendously.
He has a lot of money, a lot of resources. Has gained a lot of respect. To the issue of religion and such, has had four years to play out. People kind of have an understanding where he is. And ultimately, he may be the last man standing. He has that experience behind him. So, it's still very early in the Republican field to see who's going to shake out.
MALVEAUX: And Leslie, quick here, New Jersey governor Chris Christie says he's not running. Has said it many, many times. Even Iowa Republicans travel to New Jersey to try to recruit him. Today you have this report that he's under fire for allegedly using the state helicopter funded by taxpayers to attend his son's baseball game. Do you know anything about that?
SANCHEZ: I personally do not. I would say this. It's a reporter's dream, especially - it's a Democrat's dream and a reporter's dream to have a story like that. It's bad optics if he is a candidate who would decide to run on a presidential level. But right now, staying internal to New Jersey. Something people will poke fun at. Other governors have done it in the past. It's an issue of, you know, good judgment and optics. This case, hard to say. Doesn't look like a win for him.
MALVEAUX: All right. Leslie, as always, great seeing you. Thank you very much for your perspective.
SANCHEZ: Oh, thanks so much.
MALVEAUX: From the medicine cabinet to the street, the illegal sale of prescription drugs close to becoming a billion-dollar industry.
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MALVEAUX: This week we're going in-depth on medication nation. American's have been led to believe by doctors, advertisers, the pharmaceutical industry, that there is a pill to cure just about everything. Well, CNN Networks look into the politics and the pills. The cost of prescription drugs can sometimes leave you with sticker shock at the pharmacy. But those drugs can cost even more when they're sold illegally on the streets. Poppy Harlow of cnnmoney.com joins us from New York with more on prescription drug trafficking.
And, Poppy, I understand that this has actually become a very serious problem.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: A very serious problem and a very lucrative business. What experts tell us, Suzanne, is, it is now a billion dollar business on the streets in big cities like L.A. and New York, Miami, to sell these prescription drugs. It is by far the biggest drug problem in America right now. It's not those illegal drugs you think of, it's prescription drugs. And I just want you to look at these numbers because they're astounding. When you look at some of the most popular prescription drugs on the street, Oxycontin, Oxycodone. Hydrocodone. Look at Oxycontin. One pill goes for $50 to $80. If you buy it legally in the pharmacy, it's $6. A similar story with Percocet and Vicodin.
Now, we talked to and we got sort of behind the scenes with a sheriff in the L.A. -- with a sergeant in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and he told us he bought literally that bag of pills you see right there, he says he bought it on Craigslist. And when it comes to, Suzanne, who is taking these pills, it's not just one group, like you might think. It really spans across a number of different demographics. So take a listen to what he had to say about who is taking these pills and buying them illegally.
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SGT. STEPHEN OPFERMAN, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We see this in every demographic in L.A. You know, from people down in skid row, homeless people taking oxy, all the way to, you know, upper middle class and rich kids, you know, to Hollywood celebrities. So pretty much every demographic in our city is abusing this particular drug.
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HARLOW: And, of course, we couldn't show you his face because he is on the streets policing this, busting people that are selling this right now and doesn't want his identity exposed, Suzanne. But pretty amazing how many people this is touching.
MALVEAUX: Why has it become such a big problem? I know that the elderly are falling victim to a lot of this.
HARLOW: Well, they certainly are, and we'll get to that in a second.
Kids think, experts say, that it's safer because their parents take these prescription drugs. They're taking them because they think it's safer. One of the drug that a lot of kids are taking now is called Sextasy. It's a mix of ecstasy and Viagra, believe it or not. That's a party drug, we're told, is very popular. Medicare fraud, $60 billion fraud every year in the country. Billions of that comes from traffickers who target elderly folk whose need cash, Suzanne, and they offer to pay them cash for their monthly prescription drugs. That is happening in droves across this country.
We've got a lot more -- and a lot more behind the scenes with the sheriff's department. you can see it right here on our home page at CNN Money.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Poppy Harlow. Thank you very much, Poppy, for bringing that to our attention. Appreciate it.
We have some breaking news here. This just in. Information about the Libyan oil minister, his name is Shokri Ghanem, he has told CNN in Rome, Italy, today, that he has defected from the regime of Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi. He is considering now joining the opposition's transitional national council. The opposition movement there. Ghanem saying he left because of the suffering of the Libyan people and he said it was becoming too much and that Gadhafi's political structure is now in shambles. Ghanem also said he does not know how long he's going to stay in Rome or out of Libya. But a significant development here that you have such a high level individual, an official in Libya defecting from Gadhafi's regime.
Today's "Talk Back" question, has Congressman Weiner said enough on the Twitter photo controversy? Regina says, "seriously? People's FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, e-mail accounts get hacked all the time. Do you think the police would really investigate every single hacking case? Give it a rest already." More of your responses up ahead.
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MALVEAUX: The pressure is mounting on Congressman Anthony Weiner to answer questions about the photo that was posted on his Twitter account, which brings us to today's "Talk Back" and Carol Costello with your responses.
Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: A lot of people on Anthony Weiner's side. "Talk Back" question, has Congressman Weiner said enough on the Twitter photo?
This from Michael. "Carol, I've seen Weiner's passionate work and commitment. Whether hacked or he errored, let's let him do his job. He's right, let's focus on what really matters. Investigate as we should, but he has said enough. Time to focus on many other matters."
This from Shauna. "As a female college student, obviously I wouldn't want a lewd photo sent to me from a congressman. However, I really wouldn't want the media to cover it at least once every single hour instead of covering the topics that Representative Weiner mentioned. What will we remember a month from now, a silly lewd photo scandal or the important legislation being debated in Congress?"
This from Parsia (ph). "For goodness sake, consider the source. Breitbart has been involved in so many sleezy, untrue smears, ACORN, et cetera, the press ought to be focusing on him. How did he get it, when, from whom, did he pay money, et cetera."
This from Trumane (ph). "So what if he doesn't contact the FBI to investigate the hack. The hacker did not link any government defense secrets. This is a non-issue. Move on. This is just what the right wing enjoys -- distractions from the real issues facing our nation and economy."
Whoo. Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Carol.
Well, you told us what you wanted to see. Your "Choose The News" story, the winner, moments away.
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MALVEAUX: You told us what you wanted to see. Here's your "Choose The News" winner. CNN's Deb Feyerick explains how you safeguard your identity in a virtual world.
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DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You do it. I do it. In fact, hundreds of millions of people do it every day. Each time you log into your web e-mail or visit social media sites, like FaceBook or Flickr or stream TV shows or movies, you're accessing a virtual world anyone can share from anywhere. Welcome to the cloud.
JOHN C. ABELL, "WIRED" MAGAZINE: They allow you to not use expensive, a bulky storage space here on earth. And, instead, allow you to put things in somebody else's computer for free or for very little cost.
FEYERICK: John Abell writes about the cloud for "Wired" magazine and warns with innovation comes risk.
ABELL: Assume that your stuff will be looked at. Assume that it will be lost.
FEYERICK: There's no guarantee your data in the cloud is ever 100 percent secure. Recent breaches at Sony PlayStation Network, Epsilon Data, even RSA Security affected upwards of 100 million people.
DALE MYEROSE (ph): Pretty much open season.
FEYERICK: Dale Myerose served as chief information officer for the United States intelligence community.
FEYERICK (on camera): So if I were to touch it, I would be touching the cloud?
MYEROSE: You would be touching the physical case that performs cloud functions. A single rack of equipment could literally (INAUDIBLE) IT technology enterprise of a global Fortune 500 company.
FEYERICK: It's a huge machine.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Myerose and his team at Harris Corporation took us on a tour of the first of its kind, state-of-the-art cyber integration center, designed to secure critical information for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. The key?
MEYEROSE: It is being able to prove through continuous monitoring and (ph) are you getting a level of trust that you signed up for and paid for?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): As virtual information storage becomes even more popular, experts warn safeguarding your data will be an even greater challenge. MEYEROSE: There is a cat and mouse game between security people and, you know, dark hackers.
FEYERICK: The only way to protect your most precious information in the cloud may be not to put it there in the first place.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Virginia.
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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: If you're curious about a win or if you just want to check out the runners up, I'll have links of them on my page at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye, who's in for Ali Velshi. Hi, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you very much.
