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Arizona Wildfire Threatens New Mexico; Jurors to Hear Forensic Evidence; Report: V.A. Rape Cases Mishandled; Senate Probe Warns of Afghan Future; Representative Weiner Fights for His Job; Double-Dip Recession?; Weiner's Wife Top Clinton Aide; Eight-Alarm Fire Guts 112 Year Old Mill; USS Carl Vinson Docks in Oahu; Adolf Hitler Letter Unveiled; TMZ: Willie Nelson to Plead No Contest; Flav: Spent $2,600 Daily for Crack; Afghanistan's Murky Future

Aired June 08, 2011 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 10:00 on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Parts of Arizona and New Mexico waking up to an extreme fire risk, a wildfire as big as New York City threatening to get even bigger as the day goes on. More than 5,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

Watch for prosecutors in Orlando to bring out more forensic evidence against Casey Anthony. She is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Yesterday jurors learned how a trained dog alerted to the smell of a human remain in Anthony's car in a corner of her parent's yard.

And a new government report claims nearly 300 employees and patients were sexually assaulted within the V.A. system over a three-year period. The report also says many of the cases were not even reported to the proper V.A. leaders.

Just out this morning, a bombshell congressional report. It says Afghanistan's economy is in danger of collapse when U.S. troops leave. Talk about timing. This morning, President Obama video conferences with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Odds are they'll discuss the troop drawdown slated to start next month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: By us killing Osama Bin Laden, getting al Qaeda back on its heels, stabilizing much of the country in Afghanistan so the Taliban can't take it over. It's now time for us to recognize we have accomplished a big chunk of our mission and it's time for the Afghans to take more responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But Defense Secretary Robert Gates is warning the White House not to move too quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Nobody wants to give up the gains that have been won at such a hard cost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So here's where the war stands right now. We have about 100,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan and the U.S. is spending about $10 billion a month there according to Senator John Kerry.

And the latest CNN Opinion Research poll shows that only 42 percent of Americans actually support the war. Let's bring in Nick Paton Walsh on the ground in Kabul.

Nick, you've been in Afghanistan, on and off now for the last four years. What do you think will happen if the U.S. speeds up its troop withdrawal?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the practical side there are some suggestions on some parts of the country on the eastern border with Pakistan, the areas from which NATO, who's withdrawn, leaving the Afghans to handle security.

But the insurgents are kind of back in full throttle, almost perhaps controlling some area, something that NATO strongly contests. On a more sort of basic symbolic level, there's constant discussion about how quickly the U.S. and NATO can afford to leave.

There's haven't quite a strong psychological impact here. Imagine your ordinary Afghan trying to work out, which side to fall on. Do you go with the government and help build society here or do you wait out for the insurgency?

There's the guys who were leaving. Are the people who were here yesterday or here now and will definitely here tomorrow, that's the Taliban? So really this discussion about the pace of withdrawal is doing nothing to assist the government of Afghanistan, already weak, but surely further weakened by this message being given out, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nick, you probably heard it at the top of the hour, we're talking about the Senate report that was released talking about an enormous amount of money flowing into Afghanistan, but we're not seeing the results that we had all hoped for. So by your experience, what have you seen happening to the cash, huge amount of cash flowing into that country?

WALSH: It's absolutely remarkable, totally disproportionate to what was really one of the poorest rural societies in the world before this war started. We're talking about large amounts of money not spent on building mud walls or digging wells, the development work which this country so badly needs.

But it's the money need to persuade people to assist NATO forces, who the insurgent considers to be occupiers. I mean, one amazing statistic in that report is a suggestion that about 97 percent of the economy here is somehow bound up in the war effort or helping development to that particular end, so real fears that once suddenly that cash withdrawals, the agricultural section is so weak that it's not going to provide livelihood, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Nick, thanks so much and later this hour, we're going to talk to someone who had a key role in monitoring the war. Retired Marine General Jim Jones served as President Obama's national security adviser. He's going to join me live right here, 10:25 Eastern Time.

Disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner fighting for his job and for the most part, he's fighting alone. Republicans say the sexting scandal should cost him job even leaders of his own party are backing away from him.

"The New York Times" reports that the New York Democrat spent much of the past 24 hours apologizing over and over to congressional colleagues, and the newspaper quotes, fellow New York Democrat, Nitia Velazquez, "how can you explain that somebody can be so smart, but so stupid?"

Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill. Kate, another Democrat turning against Weiner and also former Democratic National Chair Tim Kaine now coming out saying he should definitely resign?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra and Tim Kaine maybe the biggest name, the most prominent Democrat so far to come out to explicitly call for Anthony Weiner's resignation, but you can be sure that other big name Democrats like the Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi.

They're not running to Anthony Weiner's defense as you can very well see in calling for an ethics investigation. On the Republican side, you have very big name, on the House Republican leader Eric Cantor calling for Anthony Weiner to resign.

And then the telling comment from the top Democrat in the Senate, Harry Reid when asked what advice he would give to Anthony Weiner if Weiner asked him for advice, he said, I tell him to call someone else.

So we're going to be looking today, of course, already making calls to see how this list of -- how this list grows, if there would be growing calls for him especially Democrats for Anthony Weiner to resign, but you can see this already, Kyra.

That while he is facing a potential ethics investigation it seems that Anthony Weiner's political troubles are worse.

PHILLIPS: Well, and also now some Democrats apparently trying to get rid of campaign contributions that they actually got from Wiener?

BOLDUAN: Yes, a show of the political fallout widening for Anthony Weiner. At least two Democrats that are in competitive re- election campaigns are unloading the campaign donations that they have received from Congressman Wiener, $1,000 for one candidate, $3,000 for another candidate.

One of them is Ohio Democrat Betty Sutton, and the other is Minnesota Democrat Tim Walsh, both announcing that they're giving the donations that they received from Anthony Weiner to local charities.

This comes after the Republican Committee who's in charge of trying to get more Republicans elected to Congress came out asking the very question, if in their words, if these embattled - not so much embattled Democrats, but Democrats in tough re-election campaign would be getting rid of this Weiner's tainted cash as they put it.

They put out statements, too, these two Democrats and more than a dozen others. So it shows that Democrats are trying to move as far and as quickly away from Anthony Weiner as very much as possible, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kate Bolduan on the Hill. Kate, thanks.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And let's not forget the one person that's probably suffering the most here. In just a few minutes, we're going to take a closer look at Weiner's wife. In many ways, it's a marriage of opposites and her popularity in Washington may actually work against him. CNN Alan Duke will take a closer look.

And we've all been stressed out about the economy. Stocks haven't been doing so well. Home prices are falling again. Manufacturing growth is slowing, but should we fear the worst, a double-dip recession? President Obama says no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I'm not concerned about a double-dip recession. I am concerned the fact that the recovery we're on is not producing jobs as quickly as I want to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Alison Kosik, what do you think? Double dip or no double dip?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know what, Kyra economists are pretty much adamant in saying no, no double dip. Now keep in mind, only one group can declare a recession that's the National Bureau of Economic Research.

But the problem here is that NBER, it doesn't have a technical definition of a double dip. Basically, it's a recession followed by a short recovery then another recession. So let's go ahead and look at pictures, picture often help.

I want to show you what you can see is we've had a recession, the orange bars there, and then we've had a recovery, but following recession hasn't happened. Now, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke came out yesterday and spoke -- he said the economy is still expanding, albeit slowly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BEN BERNANKE, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: U.S. economic growth so far this year looks to be somewhat slower than expected. Overall the economic recovery appears to be continuing at a moderate pace albeit at a rate that is both uneven across sectors and frustratingly slow from the perspective of millions of unemployed and underemployed workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: The bottom line here, Kyra. Recoveries are usually what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke often call uneven, meaning we see progress in some areas. We see sluggishness in others, but it is very unlikely that we'll see GDP or economic growth in the U.S. decline at any point this year. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: All right. But still what do you say about the weak economic reports that we got last week?

KOSIK: Exactly. I mean, you know, they show that the recovery, Kyra, is slowing, but you know, it's not another recession. It's just weak growth. When (inaudible) individual sectors, they can slip into recession.

And some economists are saying that housing may be ripe into falling into a double-dip recession because home prices have fallen to new lows, but jobs are still being created. That's a good thing.

Manufacturing is still growing, retail sales are still solid. So all of this isn't at the pace we want, but it is growth nevertheless. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: All right, and apparently we're getting some developing business news right now. We're seeing a big spike in oil prices.

KOSIK: Yes, this was immediate. We saw oil prices jump over almost 1 percent now. They're up almost 2 percent. What happened is OPEC is actually deadlocked on whether or not to raise output. So OPEC is going to go ahead and keep production levels at the same - where they are right now.

What they're going to do, they could meet again in a few months, but this is pretty unexpected for OPEC to do. We're seeing a lot of conflict in the decision making going on. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: Alison Kosik in the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks, Alison.

And a letter written by Adolf Hitler is made public. Wait until you hear what it says.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left the U.S. last night for a week-long trip to the UAE and Africa. Her top aide is with her as well, Huma Abedin, Congressman Anthony Wiener's wife.

Abedin has been close to the Clintons for many years. So you might think that Huma and Hillary will have a lot to talk about over the next week.

Let's get straight to CNN's Alan Duke. He is in Los Angeles. You know, Alan, Huma is definitely well respected and well known among Democrats, but a lot of us know very little about her.

ALAN DUKE, CNN PRODUCER: She's a fascinating lady from a very interesting background. Her father is from India. He is an Islamic scholar, a college professor. Her mom a college professor from Pakistan studying sociology and women and children issues especially in a Muslim world.

She was born actually though in Kalamazoo, Michigan moving at age 2 to Saudi Arabia, where she stayed until it was time to go to college and then she returned to the U.S. and attended George Washington University.

It was then at about age 20 that she got an internship at the White House. Incidentally, right about the same time Monica Lewinsky was serving at the White House so was Huma. That's where she was assigned to the press office of Hillary Clinton.

She had requested - actually the first lady's office - she had requested the press office because she said she had decided at age 15 that she wanted to be the next Christiane Amanpour instead she's the right-hand person to the secretary of state.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk more about this relationship between these two women. Do you think that Huma will lean on Clinton for advice and support, probably already has?

DUKE: Well, as you said, they just last night boarded a flight. They're in the United Arab Emirates right now. I'm sure they talked about it. She was in New York when her husband confessed to her on Monday morning and then later, the next morning flew to Washington where she was with the secretary of state.

But you know, she was there with Hillary Clinton when Hillary Clinton -- at least working for her. When Hillary Clinton found out about Monica Lewinsky and she saw her go through that, and perhaps there are some lessons learned.

PHILLIPS: Yes, there's no doubt. It's got to be the toughest thing she's ever dealt with. Alan Duke, thank you so much.

Well, checking other stories cross country now. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, firefighters are still on the scene of a massive eight-alarm fire at the old Alice Mills plant. That huge blaze ignited before 8:00 last night. Nearby residents evacuated, and hundreds of people lost power.

In Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Navy ship that buried Osama Bin Laden at sea made its first stop on U.S. soil yesterday. The crew of the "USS Carl Vinson" will spend the next few days on Oahu before returning to its home port of San Diego.

In New York, the Simon Wiesenthal Center unveiled what's being billed as Adolf Hitler's first-known written stance of his intolerance of Jews. The hand-signed letter from 1919 goes on display next month in Los Angeles.

Almost $6 million in six years. That's how much money rapper Flava Flav says he spent on his crack cocaine addiction. What a waste of money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, no blues this morning for country music legend Willie Nelson. It looks like he cut a deal on his recent drug arrest. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer is here. So, A.J., how did he get out of this one?

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, I was hoping this original plan would hold, Kyra, but it turns out Willie Nelson didn't have to sing his way out of trouble like the prosecutor originally wanted.

Willie Nelson's lawyers negotiated a more typical deal. The singer has to pay $500 fine and according to his lawyers, the charges will disappear from his criminal record as long as Willie stays clean for the next 30 days.

You might remember this, the West Texas prosecutor handling the case previously suggested that Nelson could pay just a $100 fine, like the money matters to him, if he would serenade the court with his 1975 hit "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."

So the judge overruled that plan. They said that the courtroom was not a jester court. Still would have liked to have seen that happen. Nelson is a known user of marijuana, but clearly he's got nothing on this next unbelievable story about Flava Flav.

PHILLIPS: And that - I mean, we couldn't believe this especially when we started crunching the numbers of what that money could have gone towards. So he talks about this huge crack cocaine addiction, A.J., $2,600 a day?

HAMMER: Yes, these are some staggering numbers. Flav is talking about his drug use and a lot more in a new book that he has out called "Flava Flav, the Icon, the Memoir" and while promoting the book, he just told pop eater he spent that $2,600 a day every day for six years. That's almost $5.7 million worth of cocaine.

That's not the only surprise that he apparently has in print. Listen to this, he talks about his seven kids with three women. Kyra, he lost his virginity as a 6-year-old. He said he was 6 and it happened with a girl his own age. I'm having a little trouble understanding exactly how that happens.

PHILLIPS: I'm having trouble with this whole story, period. A.J., just to drive home of point of what this guy could have done with all that money. All right, so if you take $2,600 a day, OK, we thought how much would that be in gas?

All the people that are struggling in this economy who need to get to work, it could have pay for 693 gallons of gas a day based on prices from AAA. But take a look this one, A.J., $2,600 a day that this guy spent on drugs?

OK, we could have fed at least 86 families a day, or 31,633 families a year. Those were -- we based the numbers and money according to USDA estimates. Can you believe that? Think of what he could have done for homeless or families that are struggling in this bad economy just to eat. And this guy is blowing $2,600 a day on crack.

HAMMER: You know, it puts all that in perspective and all of the things he could have done. The fact that he didn't wind up dead is pretty dumbfounding to me.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it is. All right, A.J. It's always good to kind of vent with you here and there. Good to see you.

All right, if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. is your guy. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" tonight on HLN, 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right, straight ahead, American troops supposed to start leaving Afghanistan next month, but we still don't know how many and how fast.

Coming up, a tough look at where things stand and where they're headed. I'll talk live with former National Security adviser General Jim Jones.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Afghanistan is front and center for President Obama today. He's got this morning's video chat with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He's got to make some decisions on U.S. troop levels, and he's got to deal with a scathing new report on Afghanistan from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

So who better to dig into all of this with than General Jim Jones, President Obama's former National Security adviser and also, I want to add that he served as NATO's Supreme Allied commander in Europe. General, it's good to see you this morning.

GENERAL JIM JONES (RETIRED), FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Thank you, Kyra. It's good to be here. Welcome back.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much. It's great to be back.

Well, let's go ahead and start first with this congressional investigation that was just released this morning. We had a chance to take a look at it.

It actually says that as soon as foreign military and money for development are gone, that Afghanistan would actually slide into a, quote, "depression." Do you agree with that?

JONES: Well, I don't know that I would be quite that confident. There's been a lot of effort going into Afghanistan for many years by many, many countries, and there are some encouraging signs in the Afghan government, in the various agencies.

There are some real talent there. So I think that it depends on how you measure it, but by Afghan standards. I think Afghanistan is going to, you know, be whatever it's going to be, and there's -- there's hope there, I think, for the future. But it's certainly not going as fast as we would like.

PHILLIPS: Well, you say there is hope for the future there, so for the Americans, who are sitting at home right now, looking at the $10 billion a month that's being spent in Afghanistan. How do you justify those troops that are there are on the ground right now?

How do you say to the American that they're watching the men and women die on the ground? They're reading or hearing about this report this morning, how do you make the case to them that we should still be there?

JONES: Well, first of all, it's not just about Afghanistan, it's about the region. We adopted -- the administration adopted early on a regional strategy that included Afghanistan, Pakistan, and of course, a very strong developing relationship with India.

So it is more than just about Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of the essential elements of it, since that's where our troops are fighting, but 18 months ago when we committed to the surge of about 30,000 U.S. troops and 10,000 NATO troops, we did that so we could buy time so that the Afghans could bring about their development in the Afghan army, which they have done to the tune of about 80,000 more soldiers.

And I think that they will be better off as a result of this effort and we will be strategically better off if in fact on the other side of the border with Pakistan, which I think is probably the one country that could -- if it did certain things that we've asked them to do and they know they need to do, would actually hasten a better solution in Afghanistan. It's not just about Afghanistan.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, then let's talk about the strategy then in Afghanistan that will impact the entire region. We've heard from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently. I want to quote him. He said, it would actually be, quote, "premature to make any significant changes to the military campaign in Afghanistan before the end of the year."

However, as you well know, the White House continues to argue that cuts in the numbers of troops will be, as the White House aides have been reported to say, real. So what's your opinion when it comes to a drawdown?

JONES: Well, I think there is going to be a drawdown. Obviously, I think this is the moment where the White House and the Defense Department and our military leaders are debating just exactly what that will look like.

But I don't think there's any question in this strategic formulation of what it is we intended to do in Afghanistan that that has been on the table all along. Significantly the international community has also agreed that by 2014 there will be a major hand-off to the Afghans.

So this 2014 date is really important. How you get there is also very important. I have no doubt that the president and the secretary of defense and the chairman and General Petraeus will all get together and figure out how to start this.

But there's no question, at least from my standpoint when I was in the White House, that the president is very determined to start the process this year. What that --

PHILLIPS: Do you support that? Because I know there's been a lot of debate in that situation room, and you haven't always agreed with the tough voices in that room. Do you agree with his strategy right now?

JONES: I do agree with the -- the general parameters of the direction. I participated in the discussions. So, I think that the increase in troops has bought us time. The Afghan army is bigger and more capable. There probably isn't as much progress in the field of governance, rule of law, and the battle against corruption in that society as we would have liked to have seen, but -- and the safe havens in Pakistan still exist.

So it's a complex issue, but we've been at this for almost -- well, it will be over a decade. It's time for the Afghans to stand up and be counted and to take charge of their country, and I agree with President Karzai on that.

PHILLIPS: Oh, OK. Interesting. You agree. I think a number of people would agree with you as well, and I want to ask you about Hamid Karzai. You mention the corruption in that country. As we well know, Hamid Karzai has been shrouded in corruption, and I've had key military leaders tell me on the ground there in country, that they don't trust Hamid Karzai.

And so, right now the president of the United States, he actually could be talking to Hamid Karzai right now via this teleconference. Do you believe that Hamid Karzai can be trusted, knowing his background and knowing what he's been involved with?

JONES: Well, a couple points, Kyra. One is I have known President Karzai since I think we met in 2004, and worked with him quite closely during his first term. Not quite as closely the second term, because I retired and was working at the White House.

He is the elected leader of Afghanistan, has been reelected. He is who we have to work with, and despite the fact that many of us have pleaded for years with efforts to bring about better governance and rule of law, to work hard on reducing corruption, there's still a lot of work to be done, and that's unfortunate. However, there is progress in terms of security. There's progress where the army is concerned. The police are still a bit further behind. And, again, I have to say that it's been complicated by what hasn't happened on the other side of the border in Pakistan. Anytime you're fighting an insurgency and you have safe havens somewhere, that is a disadvantage for our efforts.

PHILLIPS: You mentioned that Hamid Karzai, yes, he is the man that has been elected to lead that country. But would you trust him?

JONES: Well, what I think doesn't really matter. The fact is that the Afghans have elected him. He is the democratically elected leader. I wish, and I think all of us wish, there could be more and faster progress in certain areas.

I think there are three things he has to worry about. One is his economy. He has to be able to provide for a brighter future for his people and their children. Second is governance and rule of law. And the third pillar, of course, is security. All three of those things have to be working together. And we've spent an awful lot of time on the security pillar. The other two have been lagging, and those are things that he can do something about.

PHILLIPS: General Jim Jones, sure appreciate your time today.

JONES: My pleasure, Kyra. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Checking other top stories right now. Syrian refugees fleeing to Turkey to escape violence in their own country. The U.N. says more than a thousand people have been killed in antigovernment protests over the past three months.

And Joran Van Der Sloot due back in court in Peru. He is the man suspected in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager. Talking about Natalee Holloway. But this time he faces murder charges in connection with the death of a 21-year-old student.

And the man President Obama picked to be the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan is being grilled on Capitol Hill this morning. A confirmation hearing take place for career diplomat Ryan Crocker.

"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, good friends with Congressman Anthony Weiner. Or maybe you heard. It turns out Weiner-gate has hurt Stewart on many levels. Check out his mock news conference last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(VACUUMING SOUNDS)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": That's not good.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: I'm probably going to need to go to the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There's definitely no rest for the Weiner in today's "Political Buzz." The Buzz is our rapid-fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. And each of our brilliant political observers gets 20 seconds to answer three probing questions. We probably all need margaritas right now.

Cornell Belcher is a CNN contributor, Democratic pollster who leans to the left. Dana Loesch is a CNN contributor and Tea Party leader who leans right. And Robert Trainham is the D.C. bureau chief for the Comcast Network.

All right, guys, first question. Broken glass on "The Daily Show," broken alliances on Capitol Hill. Is it worth defending Weiner? Cornell?

CORNELL BELCHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Ah, no, and I would like to reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker, for the other questions.

PHILLIPS: Oh! OK. My goodness. Dana, why don't you go?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I agree with Cornell. I don't think there's any way he can be defended. Pelosi and Reid have already thrown him under the bus, for crying out loud. It's done.

PHILLIPS: Robert?

ROBERT TRAINHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: No, and I reserve the balance of my time for a margarita with the four (sic) of you.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Amen! All right, let's see. We've got about half an hour, folks, I'm off.

All right. President Obama says that he's not worried about a double-dip recession. But money talks, as we know, especially to voters. So, should the president change his tune. Dana?

LOESCH: Oh, I think he should. There's no way he can really answer this, though. There hasn't been a president since FDR that's been elected that's seen unemployment rate above seven percent. And we're at over nine percent right now.

So, it's a dangerous time for him politically. I don't think there's anything he could have said that would have made it OK, that would have been safe for him to say.

PHILLIPS: Cornell?

BELCHER: I think as a president, he has to reassure the country that things are moving in the right direction. We are having bumps, but he's got to reassure the country -- look, it took eight years to tear down the piece of prosperity that Bill Clinton built. He's not going to return this overnight. So, he has to reassure the country that we're on the wrong (sic) track, even though the country is feeling pain right now.

PHILLIPS: Robert?

TRAINHAM: It's always about the economy, stupid. 1979, Jimmy Carter begged Ronald Reagan to run for the presidency. Jimmy Carter got defeated in 1980 because of the economy. In 1991, the Bush folks were begging the Clinton folks to run against them, and look what happened in 1992.

If in fact the president is not more substantive and more caring about the economy, I'm afraid he very well could go down in history books as another president that may lose reelection.

PHILLIPS: All right. Third question, and time for the "Buzzer Beater." Ten seconds only, unfortunately. Michele Bachmann's new top strategist, Ed Rollins, dismissed Sarah Palin as, quote, "not serious" in a radio interview. We've been talking about this this morning. So, it begs the question, Palin versus Bachmann. Is this the matchup to watch? Cornell?

BELCHER: It is the matchup to watch, and Ed Rollins is crazy like a fox here. He's got to remove Sarah Palin from the space because they occupy the same space. If Sarah Palin's removed from that space, I like Bachmann to be the second person standing, the number two person standing -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

BELCHER: -- in the Republican primary.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

LOESCH: It will be the cat fight of the century. I'm not a fan of Ed Rollins. I can't tell when he speaks - I can't tell him from a progressive. I don't know why Bachmann has him.

PHILLIPS: OK! And finally, Robert?

TRAINMAN: This is what primaries are all about. It's Republicans and Democrats sometimes eating their own, going back and forth. This is a fight to watch. Stay tuned.

PHILLIPS: Now, can you imagine Bachmann and Sarah Palin drinking margaritas and then going into the ring? That could be even more interesting, yes?

BELCHER: You betcha!

TRAINMAN: Very interesting. I would watch that.

PHILLIPS: All right. Yes, tell me about it! We all would.

Dana, Cornell, Robert, it's 5:00 somewhere. Thanks, guys.

TRAINMAN: Thank you.

LOESCH: You too.

PHILLIPS: All right.

It could be another sign that the end of privacy is near. And that's definitely no laughing matter. Facebook is adding new technology that could identify people in every picture that you upload.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. So, here's how it works. You upload images to your Facebook page. New technology then scans the photos and suggests names for the people in them. Facebook then sends a note to the people you put on your Internet page. And all this could begin in just a few weeks.

Alison Kosik, so why is Facebook doing it?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Facebook is doing this for several reasons. For one, they say that it's really going to make it a little easier for you to go ahead and put names on the photos that you upload. And also, you know, other people are chiming in who are on Facebook, you know -- many people calling it creepy.

I put the question out on Twitter. Asking if it's creepy or genius. Everybody said it was creepy because what it does is it basically allows Facebook to build this database of what its users look like. Now, Facebook recognizes you, then suggests that your friends tag you.

You can opt out of this by setting a few buttons on your privacy settings. But one problem with this, opting out only means that you won't be tagged. Now, Facebook's database will still know that picture of you because as a Facebook user, you're automatically included in this big database.

Now, if you're wondering because a lot of people can actually do this right now. This was tested out late last year, but it is going to be going nationwide in a few weeks.

Now, to fake this out, to fake out the system, critics say you can upload a random picture of a tree and tag yourself as being that tree. That will kind of fake out the system.

All right. Taking a quick look at stocks right now. Stocks are pretty flat right now after Fed chief Ben Bernanke didn't give the rosiest of outlooks for the U.S. economy. Right now, the Dow down about seven points. The NASDAQ off about 11.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Alison, thanks. A new setback for Tiger Woods. He announces he's peg out of next week's U.S. Open.

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PHILLIPS: Well, Tiger Woods will miss next week's U.S. open. His doctors have advised him actually not to play. On his Web site, he said that his knee and his Achilles tendon have not fully healed. What's aggravated his injuries at the players' championship last month citing - or exiting, rather, after only nine holes. Woods recently slipped out of the top ten world rankings for the first time since 1997.

Then in the NBA finals, Dirk Nowitzki struggled with a 102 degree fever, but hey, put Dallas up for pretty much with this basket. You get that? Mavericks beat Miami 86-83. Let's see it again. The series is tied at two games each.

Well, a Kentucky company has brought back lost jobs to the U.S. The company purchased and relocated a bowling pin factory from Mexico and is actually able to increase pay while cutting costs. CNN's Tom Foreman has the story.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are 7,000 places you can bowl in America, and they buy almost 250,000 sets of bowling pins each year. So in Hopkinsville, one company is betting big on bringing bowling pin manufacturing back to the States.

At Ebonite, the CEO is Randy Schickert.

RANDY SCHICKERT, CEO, EBONITE INTERNATIONAL: It always happens the other way around but we really felt that with moving the product here, we have much better control over our manufacturing, our quality, and really our cost structure.

FOREMAN: When Ebonite bought this factory last year, it was in Mexico, employing 27 people and the labor was cheaper. But company officials believe they could move all the equipment here, apply the latest time and labor saving techniques, and a dozen American workers could produce just as much.

SCHICKERT: Yes, we do pay them more than what they were making in Mexico, but our actual dollars of labor per pin is less here in Hopkinsville.

FOREMAN: The wood for these bowling pins comes primarily from Pennsylvania and Ohio, so the move cut shipping expenses. And by bringing the factory under closer supervision, they've also improved their ability to make sure each pin is precisely like the next one. That's critical.

PETE MOYER, BOWLING CENTER DIRECTOR, EBONITE: You can't have different reacting pins on different lanes in the same bowling center, because that brings an inconsistency in the scorability of the pins. FOREMAN: Ebonite, which has long been a giant in the manufacture of bowling balls expects to make 150,000 American-made pins in the new factory's first year. And they're aiming for five to six times as many down the line.

Tom Foreman, CNN.

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PHILLIPS: Still ahead, a police shooting in Miami Beach. A burst of gunfire and an outcry of accusations. This morning, our response from the police department.

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PHILLIPS: Well, we've got an update on a video that we showed you yesterday. Police swarm a car and open fire.

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PHILLIPS: Now, here's what happened. One person who shot the video of that incident says when the shooting stopped, the police intimidation began. So, now the Miami Beach Police Department is responding.

Our Brian Todd joins us with the latest. Brian, what do you know?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the Miami Beach police are brushing back on that allegation, as you mentioned. This was video shot at ground level by a man named Narzis Benoit of that shooting incident that you just showed. The ground-level video, as you see there, shows a policeman approaching Mr. Benoit's car and appearing to at least level a gun at the car.

He and his girlfriend accused them of intimidation, of trying to confiscate the phone, of taking their cell phone that they shot the video with, smashing it on the ground and putting him in handcuffs on the ground. The Miami Beach Police deny smashing the phone. They actually released two pictures of the phone. There you see the back of the phone. This is a picture released by the Miami Beach Police. There's the front of the phone, and you can se a crack on the right- hand side of the LCD screen there. The Miami Beach Police deny smashing it, and they say that damage could have come in another incident. They're basically saying that they did not smash the phone.And Mr. Benoit's attorney told me just a second ago that damage that you see there is consistent with what Mr. Benoit described.

But also, the Miami Beach Police issued a statement along with that denial, saying that because Mr. Benoit matched the description of one of the suspects just reported fleeing the scene, and further because he ignored repeated commands as he quickly walked toward and entered his vehicle, he was detained by officers. So, they're kind of going a step further saying Mr. Benoit matched a description of a suspect. Again, we spoke with Mr. Benoit's attorney just a short time ago, and he says the police never told him or his clients that Mr. Benoit matched any description of a suspect, and he says Mr. Benoit's girlfriend, Erica Davis, certainly didn't match any description of a suspect. And police, according to Benoit and Davis, police pointed guns at both of them in that incident, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll continue to follow the story. Brian Todd, thanks so much.

Stories making news later today. President Obama talks about jobs training next hour in Virginia.

And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expected to discuss the Libyan conflict later this afternoon in the United Arab Emirates.

Then at 3 p.m. Eastern, President Obama welcomes national college football champs Auburn University, the Tigers.

Protecting future generations of athletes, the NFL and NCAA now asking states to make laws designed to prevent and properly treat concussions in young athletes. They say legislation should be modeled after a law in Washington state named after a youth football player who almost died. Says kids must be removed from a game if they're suspected of a concussion. And only a licensed health care professional can clear that kid to return.

Well, coming up new in the CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway goes to court on a separate murder charge in Peru. A hearing today could reduce Joran Van der Sloot's potential sentence from 35 years to just three years. A live report from Lima explains why.

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PHILLIPS: All right. House Democrats who face close races in 2012 are feeling some fallout now from the Anthony Weiner scandal. No surprise. CNN political editor Mark Preston joining us to talk about the issue of the campaign donations. Hey, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra. How are you?

Yes, you know, Democrats are starting to distance themselves now from Anthony Weiner who, of course, brought at lot of shame upon himself and Democrats think, brought a lot of shame upon his party. In fact, two Democrats, Tim Walz from Minnesota, as well as Ohio representative Betty Sutton, have decided to return some of their donations, or rather they're going to give them to charity. They want to distance themselves from Anthony Weiner.

This comes as Tim Kaine, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, he's running for Senate in Virginia now, told a television station last night that Anthony Weiner should resign.

Let's quickly talk about 2012, Kyra, and two candidates you don't hear a whole lot about. First is Rick Santorum. He's a former senator. The second one is Herman Cain. He is a very successful businessman. They're both seeking the Republican presidential nomination. They'll both be in New Hampshire at the CNN debate on Monday night. And they both are running as the conservative candidates. Very interesting. We'll see what they have to say on Monday night.

Rick Santorum, a two-term senator, again, up here on Capitol Hill. He thinks he's the most conservative candidate. So does Herman Cain. So, we'll see how that plays out on Monday. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Mark. Thanks so much.

Well, that does it for us. We'll be back here bright and early, 9:00 a.m. Eastern - what is that -- 6:00 a.m. out West. How can I forget my family out in California? Got to do a shoutout for them, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. They're Tivo'ing you, anyway.

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PHILLIPS: OK? I'll tell you what happened. Have a great show.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Kyra.