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Witnesses Versus Casey Anthony; Weiner Defensive Over 'Prank'; House GOP and Obama Talk Debt Ceiling; Syria Frees Political Prisoners; Lack of Patient Privacy; FAA Cracking Down on Laser Pointers; The Safety of Hotel Maids; "Butcher of Bosnia" Facing Trial; Crime Fighting Armored Glove; Shape Shifters
Aired June 01, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you very much.
I want to play you some video right now, and you tell me what you're watching.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the way, cameraman! Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: It is not "American Idol" auditions and it is not black Friday. It is the daily pre-dawn stampede to grab one of the 50 seats open to the public in the first-degree murder trial of Casey Anthony in Florida.
And that's where we start this hour. In a crowded courtroom where prosecutors are again using Anthony's own family, her father, mother, now her brother, to try to put her away. Lee Anthony told jurors today about bar hopping in Orlando, not for kicks, but to try to find Casey in the days after Caylee.
Casey's 2-year-old daughter disappeared, that was in the summer of 2008. More than a month went by before Casey led on to her family that Caylee was gone, at which time she accused a nanny of taking her. Lee said he never knew Casey had a nanny and no such person has ever been found.
Casey is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and several other crimes and could get the death penalty if jurors don't buy the defense case that Caylee drowned in her grandparent's pool and her grandfather helped cover it up.
I want to get some insights now from Steve Hallen, he's covering the trial for "People" magazine, and he joins me on the phone now from Orlando.
Steve, this case certainly illustrates how Caylee's death has shattered this family. Can you tell from your vantage point how jurors are reacting to so much damning testimony from the defendant's closest relatives? STEVE HALLEN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well you know, they're definitely paying very close attention, and it's obvious to everybody in the courtroom that they're giving some sort of weight to these people who are her closest relatives who've defended her for three years. So, I think right now it's very damning for the defense, because Casey is not looking likable, but yet her family actually is.
KAYE: And do you know how this works? I mean, were Casey's mother, father, brother, were they all compelled to testify?
HALLEN: Well, yes, they were all subpoenaed, but you know, I had spoken with their attorneys, and their attorneys basically say that the Anthony family supports the truth, that they support justice. So, they want the truth to come out and they're happy to do the -- you know, to do what they need to do to have the justice and truth come out. It's painful, obviously, we've seen that on the stand, but they're doing it because they want to be a voice for Caylee.
KAYE: And we know that early on the defense dropped this bombshell by claiming that Casey was sexually abused by her father. He promptly denied it on the stand. Did that burn whatever bridge might still have existed between the two of them?
HALLEN: I think it did, I really do. You know, and George Anthony, of course, the last time I spoke with him, he said, you know, he still loved his daughter, but that was before the bombshell hit. Now, I think at this point, it's almost like they're saying, we've done all we can, and now we just need to let the criminal justice system take care of this.
KAYE: Was there anything that stood out to you in Lee Anthony's testimony today?
HALLEN: Well, one thing that stood out to me that was not part of the testimony was that Casey tried to catch Lee's attention, tried to catch his eye, and then he looked over at her and she smiled at him, and he quickly looked away without smiling back. It really was obvious to anybody who saw that, that was not a -- a gesture of support on Lee's side. I think at this point, you know he has been accused of molesting Casey as well, and I think, at this point, he doesn't have any smiles left in him.
KAYE: And how does it appear she's holding up as these days continue?
HALLEN: You know, Randi, I wish I could answer that question and know. It's so strange, she had no response to so many things that you'd think she would have responses to. You know, being face-to-face with her friends and family, some of them the first time for three years, there's no response, it's blank. It's almost as though -- and you know, I, of course, am no body language expert, but it's almost as though she's not connecting with what's happening.
KAYE: I know you're obviously down there covering the story for "People." Your upcoming issue, I would imagine, has a lot on this case. HALLEN: Yes, that's our cover story this week, so --
KAYE: All right. Well, we'll be sure to pick up a copy of that and we can all get caught up on the latest moments from the trial there in the newest "People" magazine coming out.
All right. Steve, appreciate your time. Thank you.
HALLEN: Thank you, Randi. Take care.
KAYE: You, too.
And you can watch special coverage of the Casey Anthony trial all day long on our sister network HLN.
Our "Sound Effect" is the sort of thing that takes place almost every day on Capitol Hill. Reporters pressing lawmakers to say more than they want to say, but it's not every day a Congressman is grilled over a raunchy photo that somehow gets posted on his Twitter account, posted and supposedly intended for a 21-year-old female follower. Representative Anthony Weiner says his account was hacked, the photo planted, and the whole thing a prank he no longer wants to discuss. He really doesn't want to discuss it, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: You know, look, I'm not going to talk about this anymore. You know, I think that if I was given a speech to 45,000 people and someone stood up and heckled in the back I wouldn't spend three days talking to him. I'm going to get back to the conversation I want to talk about.
DANA BASH, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Why did you hire a lawyer, why not let (inaudible) channel this?
WEINER: I have put out a couple of statements over the last couple of days, I will refer to those to answer these questions and I understand you're doing your job, but I'm going to go back to work now.
TED BARRETT, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL PRODUCER: Can you say that if you're concerned about if there's hacking going on with members of Congress, I mean that's a serious thing. I mean, aren't you concerned that somebody's looking at your sensitive information?
WEINER: I'm going to return to working on the things I care about. You know, I participated in the story a couple of days now, giving comments on it, this is a distraction and I'm not going to let it distract me.
BASH: This distraction might go away if you'd answered some of the questions.
WEINER: I'm not going to answer that, I'm not going to answer that.
BARRETT: Was it hacked or was it a prank?
WEINER: I'm not convinced there's any value of anymore of me talking about it, and I understand you've got to do your job, but I'm get back to work. You know, this is -- there's enormously important things and I believe this has been a distraction and I'm not going to let it be so anymore.
BASH: Can you tell us why you were following a 20-year-old college student --
WEINER: I appreciate -- appreciate the questions and -- but I understand you're doing your job but this is now a couple of days later, I've got to finally get back -- get back to work and focus on things I want to focus on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: OK, certainly a little uncomfortable maybe but civil. Then things got a little testy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEINER: While you do the questions, I'd be answering to this jackass interrupts me? How about that as a -- as the new rule of the game? Let me -- let me -- let me just -- let me just --
BASH: Go ahead.
WEINER: Let me just -- let me just give you an answer. The objective of the person who is doing the mischief is to try to distract me from what I'm doing. So, for the last couple of days that has happened, I've made a decision, I'm not going to let it happen today, I'm not going to let it happen tomorrow. You're free, doing your job, I understand it, just go ahead and do it but you'll have to do it without me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: All right. So now, I want to bring in the man whom Weiner calmed that impolite name. Not sure if you heard it clearly there. But CNN Senior Congressional Producer Ted Barrett was on the receiving end of that.
Ted, you've been on the Hill a long time. I assume you've been called worse than jackass?
TED BARRETT, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL PRODUCER: Well, you know, that's the first time someone has gotten that testy with me. I -- there is always a back and forth between reporters and lawmakers up here, there's no question about it.
This was the case that it was -- in my view, and my colleague, Dana Bash's view, was less about the hellacious details of the photograph and the Twitter account and more about whether or not the Congressman was being straightforward in his responses, and it seemed to us that in the strategy that he was playing out yesterday, in terms of his dealing with the media, that he did not want to answer the questions forthrightly, and that's why we pushed as hard as we did.
KAYE: Yes, I was going say because I mean when you watch that whole exchange, which went on for quite some time, you were certainly pressing him hard, but he wasn't answering the questions. What were you looking for?
BARRETT: Well, we were looking for some sort of explanation as to why this photograph, this lewd photograph, was sent to a 21-year- old college student. Perhaps it was a prank, Perhaps it was hoax, perhaps -- certainly he had nothing to do with it, there could be a very plausible explanation for that.
But what stood out in his responses at this news -- at these two news conferences that he did yesterday was that he was not directly answering the question, and since he could not affirmatively deny that he had sent the photograph or explained in some way why he had not done anything wrong, it just -- it was problematic.
KAYE: Right. And what is his reputation there on Capitol Hill?
BARRETT: He is a very shrewd and feisty politician and is someone who is -- has indicated he would like to be the mayor of New York City, at one point.
He is very message centered, he's very media savvy, and that is also one of the reasons that we were somewhat wary of the answers that he was giving, because he is so good at being in the media, that he seemed to be trying to get back to his talking points and not directly answer the question about these salacious details. Which again, that really -- that was what this was about, but it wasn't what we were mostly interested in. It was more about whether or not he was being forthright in his responses.
KAYE: Right. And by the way, did he ever apologize to you for calling you that name?
BARRETT: I haven't heard from him, and I don't anticipate I will. But that's OK.
KAYE: All right. Ted Barrett, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Representative Weiner, by the way, will be a guest on CNN's "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. He'll also be on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight. So, be sure to tune in at 5:00 and 10:00 to catch both interviews, once again.
The nation's debt ceiling is a hot topic on Capitol Hill right now. President Obama met with Congressional Republicans today after what many Democrats say was a dangerous political stunt. The GOP controlled House last night, defeated a measure to raise the nation's debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion.
The measure did not have any deficit or spending cuts attached. The vote was scheduled by Republican leaders to show that any attempt to increase the debt ceiling without cutting spending could not win Congressional approval.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), CHAIRMAN, BUDGET COMMITTEE: We have a debt crisis coming, we want to deal with this. If we want to grow jobs and the economy, we've got to get our spending under control, we've got to get our debt under control. And if we try to demagogue each other's attempt to do that, then we're not applying the kind of political leadership we need to get this economy growing and get this debt under control is basically what we're saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Democrats argue attaching conditions to an increase of the debt ceiling is like playing a game of chicken with the economy.
Under intense pressure, Syria has freed hundreds of political prisoners today, according to the French Press Agency, but human rights activists point out thousands more still remain in jail. This comes a day after president Bashar al-Assad said he would give the Muslim Brotherhood and political prisoners general amnesty.
There are retirees ready to get back to work for one last critical mission. Why these seniors are volunteering to put themselves in harm's way. They've been dubbed the suicide corps. We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Nearly three months after Japan's earthquake and tsunami, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency says Japanese officials underestimated the hazard posed by tsunamis to nuclear plants. But the preliminary report released just today also praises the country's response to the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
We're also now learning hundreds of retirees are volunteering to work inside that crippled plant. They've been dubbed "the suicide corps."
CNN's Kyung Lah report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this cramped office, these seniors are leading the charge to get retirees back on the job, for one last and critical call.
(on camera): You want to do this.
YASUTERU YAMADA, RETIREE: Yes, sure. Why not?
LAH: Why?
YAMADA: I'm the one of the eldest people.
LAY (voice-over): Age, says 72-year-old Yasuteru Yamada, is a plus, when the work site is the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, a place still dangerous, highly contaminated with radiation after the tsunami caused a full meltdown in at least one of the reactors. These workers are the frontline to control the national crisis at high risk of exposure and long-term health impacts. The elderly, says this group, don't worry about much, anything belong term.
"Death becomes familiar as we get older," says 69-year-old Kazuko Sasaki. "We have a feeling death is waiting for us. Not that I want to die, but we're not afraid of it."
She's not the only one. Two hundred and fifty volunteers, all over the age of 60, are now compiled in this database. Calling into the group, volunteering to work at the plant, a team calling themselves the "Skilled Veterans Corps." An idea that Japan's point man to the nuclear crisis initially brushed off last week, saying, quote, "our principle is we should stick to procedures that would not require such a 'suicide corps.'" A label these seniors reject, saying they prefer doing what's right.
"My generation, the old generation, promoted the nuclear plants. If we don't take responsibility, who will?"
(on camera): We called TEPCO at their Tokyo headquarters. They would not speak to CNN on camera. A spokesperson had this to say, though, about the elderly volunteers, "Thanks, but no thanks. We have plenty of employees."
The seniors, though, don't buy it. The government has already told a nuclear regulatory agency that it needs to come up with a system to boost the number of workers, implying they are concerned about a worker shortage.
(voice-over): Workers like Hikaru Tagawa, a temp who once worked at the Fukushima plant. "Nothing can make me go back to work there," he says. He calls the levels of radiation too dangerous.
Whether concerns of a worker shortage or the persuasive seniors, just this week, the same government point man who called the seniors a "suicide corps" appears to be less resistant to the idea of elderly volunteers. He now says, "I met the leader of the group," says Goshi Hosono, "and we have started a discussion, looking for any possible, practical next step."
(on camera): Do you think that the government will let your group work at the plant?
YAMADA: Yes, sure.
LAH (voice-over): One more chance, say these graying citizens, to truly serve in the twilight of their lives.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: A company that knocked off some of the biggest names in gaming is run by a 14-year-old boy. In just two minutes, we'll be talking to one of the most interesting teens you will ever meet. So don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
All this week we're taking a special look at pint-sized entrepreneurs who are shaking up the business world. At age 14, my next guest create a game called "Bubble Ball" that was downloaded more than 2 million times within two weeks of its launch. Not bad considering that the average mobile game receives a few hundred downloads. And this January, the game "Knock The Monster" hit "Angry Birds" by Rovio Mobile, seen here, out of the number one most downloaded free game spot in the Apple app store. The puzzle game has been downloaded more than 7 million times to date.
The eighth grader and, yes, the CEO, Robert Nay, joins me now from Utah.
Robert, this is really amazing. I mean what accomplishments you've already had at such a young age. What inspired you to go from playing games, like most kids, to creating them?
ROBERT NAY, CEO, NAY GAMES, LLC: Well, I'd always enjoyed programming computers and making websites and someone suggested that I try doing it. And I thought it would be a cool, new thing to try. And so I eventually made it.
KAYE: And how did you go about doing it? Had you -- you just knew how do to it or was it a complicated thing to try for the first time?
NAY: I had never done any mobile or game programming before. So there was definitely a lot of new stuff to learn.
KAYE: So what did you do, go to the library and figure it out? Is that what kids your age do?
NAY: Uh-huh. I checked out books on the topic and then I eventually found a software building (ph) kit that was really useful that you program in easy language called Lua (ph).
KAYE: So you pretty much taught yourself, then, how to create a game?
NAY: Uh-huh. Yes.
KAYE: All right. That's pretty cool. Listen, with 7 million downloads, do you regret not charging anything for your game?
NAY: Well, I didn't know it was going to get that many downloads, because it was my first thing and I didn't know how well it would do. So I just wanted to make it free.
KAYE: So no regrets?
NAY: Not really.
KAYE: That's very nice. That says a lot about you.
What's next for you?
NAY: We're doing a lot of cool new stuff for "Bubble Ball" in the works. So more level are going to come out soon and then something really cool after that.
KAYE: Any big company secrets you can share with me on the air today to help us break some news?
NAY: Then they wouldn't be secrets.
KAYE: Oh! Very smart, Robert.
So what would you tell other kids who want to follow in your footsteps?
NAY: I would say they should just try it, because that's what I did, I just tried it, because -- yes, because you don't know what's going to happen.
KAYE: All right. Never doubt yourself, huh?
NAY: Uh-huh.
KAYE: All right, Robert, you're a very accomplished eighth grader. I appreciate you coming on the show today and sharing some of your success with us. Thank you.
NAY: Yes. Thank you.
KAYE: Looking at the clock right now, it is 24 minutes past the hour and it is time to update our top stories.
After more than 15 years in hiding before this arrest last week, Ratko Mladic will make his first appearance at the U.N. war crimes tribunal Friday. Mladic was the commander of Bosnian Serb forces during the civil war in Bosnia Herzegovina, the bloodiest of the conflict that accompany Yugoslavia's breakup in the 1990s. He faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws of war.
Today is the first day of hurricane season and government forecasters are predicting an above average number of storms think year. They are expecting 12 to 18 named storms and three to six major hurricanes.
In California, officials in Alameda say they will reinstate water rescue training after a suicidal man drowned as police and firefighters stood by and watched. They were not certified for water rescue, preventing them from being allowed to get into the water. They weren't certified because Alameda cut its water rescue team two years ago to save money. Up next, did you know that people are making money off of your medical records? We'll show you what you can do to keep your information private right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This just coming in to CNN. There is a tornado watch underway in New York. So I want to get us right to our Chad Myers, who is watching this for us.
Chad, what can you tell us at this point about it?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, we've had storms cloud pop on and off all day long and --
KAYE: Why don't you come over to me?
MYERS: Yes.
KAYE: Probably had a camera over there for you, but, you got a mike on?
MYERS: I had a microphone, but now I have yours on.
KAYE: OK. I'll lean in.
MYERS: I like talking to you.
New York City proper could have some strong weather coming in later today. So -- I know my mike's around here somewhere.
KAYE: I can hear you.
MYERS: You can hear me?
KAYE: Yes, I think everybody at home can hear you.
MYERS: (INAUDIBLE) my microphone. Here we go. Oh, I can't hear you. There we go.
KAYE: OK.
MYERS: See, we did know what we doing, just for a second, because I was on the air without -- we were going to do some -- the hurricane update. All now all of a sudden the tornado watch pops up for New York City. That doesn't mean that there's tornados on the ground. That just means that some thunderstorms could rotate, that could produce a storm strong enough that we could get a tornado on the ground at some point in time. Not F-4s, not F-5s. Not a 200 mile per hour storm that happened in Joplin, Missouri. But if there's -- if you get this potential risk, that increases the chance that some storm that comes through the city could be significant. So we'll keep watching it.
KAYE: New York City we're looking at?
MYERS: Absolutely. All the way really almost from Boston all the way down into Philadelphia.
KAYE: Oh, wow. OK. You keep an eye on that for us.
MYERS: OK.
KAYE: All right, thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
KAYE: People are making money off of your medical records. Did you know that? Well, in fact, it has become a very big business. Alison Kosik joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with an in- depth look at what is going on with this.
Alison, what do patients need to know?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. Yes, this may come as a bit of a surprise, but did you know your medical records aren't necessarily private anymore? Some pharmacies, they're selling your prescription information to marketing companies. And what they do is they sell everything from your doctor's name, the drugs that are prescribed, your age, your sex, pretty much everything but your name.
Now these drug companies, they believe in that old adage, knowledge is power. And what this does, it lets the drug reps to know exactly which drugs to push when they visit the doctor for a sales pitch.
But the kicker here is that some doctors say they have no idea the prescription information is being bought and sold and it's a privacy issue with big repercussions.
KAYE: And what's the other side saying about this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE ORIENT, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS: What goes on in the medical office is no longer really confidential. Being that patients are afraid if certain things become known to people who don't have their best interests at heart, then they will be reluctant to confide in their doctors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And you were asking what the other side is saying about this, Randi? What they do is they point to the positives. IMS Health one company that collects information and it says that data mining actually helps it monitor diseases.
You know, at this point, for them, for their point of it, they also say if there's a drug recalled, let's say, drug companies know exactly which doctors to contact. And if there's a groundbreaking or a next generation drug that's developed for let's say, diabetes, drug companies will be able to get to diabetics faster because they know which doctors are treating it -- Randi.
KAYE: And what can people do then if they want to keep prescription information under wraps?
KOSIK: That's really the question, right? Well, it's almost impossible to stay out of the system and keep your information completely private.
But what you could do is you can talk to your doctor. Doctors can actually opt out. It's similar to the do not call list. So that prescription information winds up staying somewhat private. But, you know what? Many doctors, they have no idea about this and some say that list really didn't do enough to keep the information private. It's almost like we have to put our hands up and say what can you do -- Randi.
KAYE: All right. Alison Kosik, thank you. Appreciate it.
So here's a question for you. Would you want a blind pilot flying your plane? It could happen. That's exactly why the FAA is cracking down. Details in just 80 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: All right. Let's catch you up on the latest headlines and some stories that you may have missed.
Sarah Palin and Donald Trump together. Palin met up with Trump for some pizza stopping in Manhattan on her "One Nation" bus tour. The two have a few things in common, including reality shows and a knack for keeping people guessing about their presidential ambitions. So what did they talk about? Palin says specific candidate, potential candidates and their perceptions of each. She says they are on the quote, "same page."
The FAA is cracking down on people who point lasers into airplane cockpits. Officials are expected to release a plan that imposes civil penalties against violators. The numbers of pilots who reported being temporarily blinded by lasers nearly doubled last year to more than 2,800. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is illegal in some states and legislation is pending in Congress to make it a federal crime.
And now, I want you to take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so after a journey of 6.5 million miles Endeavour landing in darkness but illuminated by the ingenuity, dedication of ever astronaut, scientist, engineer, flight controller, mechanic and dreamer that helped it fly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You are watching history. That was space shuttle Endeavour as it landed at Kennedy Space Center for the last time early this morning. The shuttle returned after a 16-day mission to it international space station. The shuttle Commander Mark Kelly led its 25th and final flight. Endeavour, which first launched in 1993, has orbited the earth 4,671 times. After two recent high-profile arrests for sexual assault, the safety of hotel maids is now in the spotlight. What's being done to keep them ouch harm's way? We'll go live to New York and find out, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: On the heels of former International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn being accused of sexual assault against a New York maid, an Egyptian businessman has been accused of the same offense. The Pierre Hotel where the latest incident allegedly occurred says it is now giving maids panic buttons just in case. This highlights the fact that hotel maids can never be too sure what they're walking into.
Mary Snow has been following this story and joins me now live from New York.
Mary, what have you found out?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi, the request for those panic buttons came from the union representing hotel workers. And the way they described it, they say it's a small device where a worker would be able to carry it with them and press a button that would alert security if there is a problem.
And there's an effort underway right now in New York to equip all hotel workers with those kinds of devices, given these two alleged attacks in the past couple of weeks. And as you mentioned, this is also highlighting some of the dangers hotel workers face, hotel housekeepers in particular.
And one woman who has been outspoken about the situation that these workers face is Andria Babbington. She is right now a union official in Toronto, but had she worked at a luxury hotel for 17 years and she said that she had been harassed many times while she was on -- working and that many times women like her are afraid to speak up. She has been speaking up. She says she's gotten a positive response from women working inside hotels.
Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRIA BABBINGTON: We are really happy that I am actually talking about it because it's happening so often with them that they're just not sure what to do about it or if they speak up if anybody will even do anything. So they're quite happy that at least somebody is stepping up to talk about this. But at the same time, they're also reminding me that you were go to worked for many years and experienced that, that it's still happening to them today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Andria Babbington told us that many of the housekeepers working inside hotels are immigrants, like her. And she said, many times they are very afraid to speak up, fearful that they'll lose their job. So that is one big factor -- Randi.
KAYE: All right. Mary Snow, thank you for the update.
Well, from the days of the butcher of Bosnia to detention in The Hague. A look at what's next for former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: On Friday, former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic will be forced to face something he went to great pains to avoid for over 15 years -- face the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague. Mladic was extradited from Serbia to the Netherlands, yesterday. He's accused of genocide and other crimes against humanity including massacre of 8,000 Muslim boys and men in the early 1990s.
Nic Robertson joins us from the Hague.
Nic, if you can, tell us where is Mladic right now and do we know how he spent his first night?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's about a mile away from me at a U.N. detention facility. What you've got behind me is the tribunal building and he'll be appearing here on Friday morning. But he has spent his time in detention. He's had checks with doctors making sure that he doesn't have any major medical issues and all the indications are that he doesn't, that he seems to be OK.
But he hasn't been able to mix with any of the other prisoners. He's been in his cell. He's got a television there, he's got a computer there. He'll be given books as well. But he hasn't been allowed to mingle with any of the prisoners so far, Randi.
KAYE: And what do you know about Friday's hearing? What can we expect?
ROBERTSON: Well, he can expect to get into the court, to face the prosecutor, to see the judges and to have all the charges read out against him.
Now, the indictment has been sort of tightened up a little bit, if you will. The court here has already charged a number of people with very, very similar crimes. The massacre of more than 7,000 men and boys in Srebrenica, for example. The killing of about 10,000 people in Sarajevo by shelling and sniping fire.
So the has been able to sort of tightened up the charge. But that's what he can expect Friday, Randi.
KAYE: And what about his health? I'm curious. Do you think it might slow down the proceedings?
ROBERTSON: You know, it doesn't seem that it will. One of the interesting things that has come out today, the man in charge of Mladic in the detention facility, what they call here the registrar, says that Mladic has been incredibly cooperative and he's been very talkative, that he's engaged in long conversations. And the checks he's had with the doctors seem to show that he's relatively in physical good shape and certainly mentally capable of going through the process.
So at the moment, there's nothing that may slow this down. He has to choose a lawyer. And if he decides to defend himself, that really could slow the proceedings down because, he's not a lawyer and he would have to spend a lot of time going through all the documents.
So that's a concern here, Randi.
KAYE: Yes, and just before we let you go, any word whether he'll be tried alone or with his war-time political boss?
ROBERTSON: No. I mean, there was a thought that that might happen, but Radovan Karadzic, the political leader there, Ratko Mladic the military commander, there was a thought at one time to put them in the doc together, try them together. But because Karadzic arrived here several years ago, they're really well ahead with that case. So it does seem that they'll be run separately.
And what's interesting here is will those two men be able to meet inside the jail? And the prosecutor today and the registrar both sort of avoided giving details on that. So there's an indication that may happen in the future. Interesting for the two men accused of the same crimes might be able to meet and talk together in the jail here.
KAYE: Yes. That certainly would be interesting.
Nic Robertson, thank you for the update from the Hague.
And time right now, 45 past the hour. Checking top stories.
The trial for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons has been scheduled for August 3rd. Mubarak is accused of agreeing to a plan to kill protesters during a revolt that ousted him from power in January. If convicted, Mubarak could be executed.
The World Health Organization says cell phone use may cause cancer. It now lists mobile phone use in the same carcinogenic category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform. A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries reviewed previous studies on cell phone safety, not new research. They found enough evidence indicating that cell phone use is possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Take a look at the crime-fighting glove. Just take a look at this. Think it looks like something from the future, or maybe even a comic book?
Well, if my next guests have their way -- there they are, they got the glove on, they're showing it to us -- it will be on the arm of every police officer, packed with stun guns, cameras and loaded with life.
We demo what one of these can actually do with these guys right there, coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone.
Every day on the show we do a segment called the "Big I." It's all about big ideas, innovations, and solutions to problems. And in today's "Big I," we're talking about this amazing glove our guests have created for police officers that looks a little like something from the future or maybe even a "Batman" movie.
To put it simply, it is a crime-fighting armored glove packed with stun gun, cameras, even laser pointers. "Popular Science" magazine calls it one of the top inventions of the year.
The inventor, David Brown, and ArmStar president, Andrew Quintero, join us now from Los Angeles.
Hi, guys. Thanks for coming on and showing us this.
David, let me start with. First tell us a little about it. Just briefly, what inspired you to make this?
DAVID BROWN, INVENTOR, THE BODYGUARD: Hi. Well thanks for having us on, first of all.
The original inspiration, a lot of people may not know, but it was a mountain lion attack that happened to two women in Orange County in 2004. So, that is when the idea was originally birthed, and it kind of evolved over time.
But actually that day, the mountain lion attacked two women, but it actually killed a man named Mark Reynolds, and that was kind of in my home mountain right behind my house, so --
KAYE: So how does it work?
BROWN: -- it hit home for me.
KAYE: Can you demo for us just a little bit and show us how it works?
BROWN: Yes. The basic concept was to take the weapon out of your hand and attach it to your arm so it is kind of spontaneously available.
ANDREW QUINTERO, PRESIDENT, ARMSTAR INC.: Yes. So, before the demo, actually a little background on it.
It started out with the inspiration that David just talked about from the mountain lion, but then Kevin Costner is actually who David works for, and there was a lot of think-tank meetings at Kevin's house and it started evolving and brainstorming into what this could really evolve into.
So what you're going to see here is a demonstration of something that's more than just a stun gun, but it is actually a hand's free, less lethal weapon that's really meant to deter and deescalate situations that might be with crowd control or prison cell extractions.
So what you're going to see is a compliment of technologies and video-enhanced situational awareness that will do live video streaming back and give GPS location. So it is really a device that will evolve into something that will protect law enforcement officers, it is going to go into DOD and hopefully, deescalate situations and make it more safer for the crowds and everyone.
So we'll show you a demo of the various features.
KAYE: OK. Show us how it works.
BROWN: This is the original prototype, this is the one that you actually see in "Popular Science." Andy is wearing the next version here.
But when I -- in the palm of my hand, there is a trigger, so I just squeeze. And -- you can see the effect of defending yourself is a natural thing to have a shield here. So if someone coming at you with a knife or baseball bat, it is a primal reaction to go like this anyway, so you should have a shield here anyway.
QUINTERO: And first and foremost, that usually gets your attention. So after that, then you can turn on the live video camera, right here is a high-definition video camera and it's got a microphone, so you can actually start doing facial recognition, you can do language translation, you can do retinal scanning and a whole host of other things once you've enable that capability.
It also has a built-in flashlight so you can look around. We actually used this out at the mock prison riots recently, and the force protection equipment.
And it's also got the built-in laser.
You want to turn on the laser as well?
So that the laser actually help you to point to people, put it right on their chest. If I pointed it right at David's chest, he knows he is videotaped right now. You could spot a car, a car racing away. So the laser pointer has come in handy.
And we recently came back from the mock prison riots where they actually were suited up and testing them in real life, so we were validating what scenarios this would work in so that we could finalize this and we're planning on going into production later this year.
KAYE: Yes. So just quickly, who will use these?
QUINTERO: Well, first and foremost the law enforcement folks. We have been speaking with people out at the L.A. Sheriff's Department, they have been giving us some advice and they have an emerging technology program, and we planning on getting involved in that. So prison cells, correction facilities for going in to take prisoners out, and crowd control where there is crowds and riot situations.
It might make its way into soccer games. We're actually working with some folks in Brazil that want it to the World Cup and the Olympics coming on. And we've had strong interest from the international community abroad.
So we are in active discussions with those folks right now. And the military folks that we're primarily talking to through the Pentagon are the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program, and we are exploring different versions of this that can be made for that, because this will all modular. All of this converted modular so you can swap different things out.
KAYE: It is fascinating. I love that there is a video camera on it. I think that's a great deterrent for people who might be approaching an officer or a soldier or something like that.
So thank you both for coming on and demonstrating it, and best of luck with the product.
And for much more on the armored glove, you can check out our blog at CNN.com/Ali.
Another Republican is thinking about running for president, and what do people think of the GOP Medicare plan? We will check today's hot political headlines just ahead.
But first --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Material changing shape or even color on demand. It's called programmable matter, something that you have probably seen in movies.
DANIELA RUS, MIT: There is definitely inspiration from the science fiction, "Terminator II" as an example, of programmable matter.
TUCHMAN,: A lab at MIT is building robots that can shift, bend, and build shapes on their own. The robots from the "Transformer" movies are probably the most famous example of shape-shifting robots, but the lab is starting with bots that are a lot thinner and smaller.
Right now, these robotic sheets can only turn themselves into different shapes, but in the future, could transform into anything that you may need.
ROBERT WOOD, HARVARD: You have your sort of Swiss Army-type of tool that can fold you into a wrench or a hammer or a spoon or fork.
TUCHMAN: These universal objects will not only be handy in day- to-day life, but also cut down in cost and energy that we spend on production.
RUS: Our ability to program matter is the natural next step in the frontier of computing.
TUCHMAN: And a smarter way of living that could be closer than you think.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just about the top of the hour, it is time now for a CNN Political Update. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins me now from Washington.
Paul, if New Jersey Governor Chris Christie isn't running for president, why on Earth is he headed to Iowa? Is this a family vacation or what?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I don't know family vacation. Everybody is buzzing about this because, you know, a lot of Republicans would love to see him run for the Republican presidential nomination; he keeps saying forget about it.
So CNN has confirmed he is going to Iowa, but you know what? Aides tell us he's going there to talk at an education summit, hasn't changed his mind, not running for the White House. Iowa, of course, votes first in the race for the White House.
Let's talk about somebody else who also has been saying no to running for the Republican nomination, that is Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. He is very popular and influential with Tea Party activists and other conservative grassroots people across the country.
He just said in an interview with "The Hill" newspaper yesterday that, you know what? A lot people are asking him to run for the White House, he says now, well, I'm thinking maybe I'll listen to them. But an aide tells me, forget about it. He is not going to be running. It is really not going to be happening.
And let's talk about Medicare, that Ryan plan, Paul Ryan, the House Republican Budget chairman. You know, it has been a lot of controversy about that plan which would alter Medicare for those under 55.
Look at this, our brand new poll from CNN/the Opinion Research Corporation, 58 percent of Americans say they oppose this plan. Maybe it's more evidence, I guess, Randi, that this plan could, could be political poison for Republicans, but stay tuned on that one.
Randi, back to you.
KAYE: We will stay tuned on everything. Thank you, Paul.
Your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is one hour away.
