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New Photos of Rep. Weiner Surfaced; Giffords to Outpatient Rehab Soon; Gingrich Restarts Campaign; Thousands of Syrians Flee to Turkey; Reports Says Veterans Being Abused; Formaldehyde Added to Cancer-Causing List of Chemicals; Obama to Talk Jobs on Raleigh Visit; Getting to know Jon Huntsman; Mavericks Win NBA Title

Aired June 13, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hey there Kiran. Thanks so much.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

Here are some of the stories that had us talking this morning. The presidential campaign season ratchets up with tonight's first big debate. Seven Republican hopefuls will square off in New Hampshire in a debate you can watch live right here on CNN.

Gas prices on the slide; the national average dropping 17 cents a gallon over the last three weeks; the new average, $3.74 and prices could drop even more.

The Dallas Mavs hoisting the NBA championship trophy. The underdogs beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat last night.

And we begin from muscle shirts to just a towel. More pictures of disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner surfaced. These pics posted on TMZ allegedly showing the congressman in the House of Representatives gym. This is as he slinks off to treatment.

Weiner isn't saying what kind of help he is seeking or where exactly he's going. But his office does report that he'll take a, quote, leave of absence. Critics from both parties say that's not enough, though. They are still demanding for Weiner to resign.

Let's get to Capitol Hill and CNN's Kate Bolduan.

Kate, Congress back in session for the first time since the scandal came out. So what do you think? Is the pressure going to be even stronger on Weiner to resign?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If this weekend is any evidence, Kyra, then absolutely.

Let me read you just one statement from one top Democrat that came out this weekend. "Anthony's inappropriate behavior has become an insurmountable distraction to the House and our work for the American people." That's from Steve Israel, a fellow New York Democrat and the top Democrat in charges of getting Democrats elected to the House. He's one of just a growing number of top House Democrats that came out over the weekend. They had, until this point, been very hesitant and resistant in coming out to explicitly call on Anthony Weiner to resign. That seemed to definitely change over the weekend. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, DNC CHAIRMAN: I think Anthony Weiner needs to resign so he can focus on his family, focus on his own well- being.

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY WHIP: It seems to me extraordinarily difficult that he can proceed to represent his constituents in an effective way, given the circumstances of this bizarre behavior.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: One thing seems to be clear while there still is a lot of unclarity, if you will, Kyra, one thing seems to be clear, House Democrats did not want to have to come back for the third week in a row, talking about this scandal instead of talking about their agenda.

Distraction is the word that everyone has been using now. And they all seem to be coming out, trying to change the attention to something else, as Anthony Weiner now goes to -- taking a leave of absence, going to an undisclosed treatment center for undisclosed treatment, I guess we could say, for an undetermined amount of time. So we're watching for that.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kate, appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

PHILLIPS: Well, now new photos of another member of Congress. But these images capture the resilience and remarkable recovery of Gabrielle Giffords. It's the first time we get to see her smile since she suffered a gunshot wound to her head five months ago.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with a closer look.

So, Sanjay, as we look at these photos, is there any way we can determine what this means about her recovery?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is the first time we're obviously seeing her in six months. Let me just show you again.

People have seen this photo now. Probably a lot of people. She looks great. I mean she's obviously keeping great eye contact with the camera. A great smile.

Couple of things I want to point out quickly, Kyra, in terms of -- from a medical, from a neurosurgical perspective. It's this area here that we focus so much on, where that bone was removed. This picture taken before she had that bone substitute placed back in. So she'll have a more normal contour here.

Also scars up here which were from the initial injury and then down here as well, sort of a pretty typical tracheostomy scar. But again, you know, it's hard to say exactly since obviously just one picture. But she looks pretty good overall in terms of how she is doing, what -- you know the fact that she's able to actually maintain in that picture.

PHILLIPS: And we look at those pictures and we think, wow, she looks great. She's smiling. She -- you know, she looks fantastic. I mean everybody has been talking about those pictures. But what does it say or what do we know, I guess, about her cognitive skills?

GUPTA: Well, it's interesting because we know, for example, she's going to go to outpatient rehab now. And that's a milestone because, you know, you're on your own kitchen, you have your own bathroom, your ability to live on your own starts to really become the focus and gets tested to some extent.

Cognitively, you know, there's always this belief that she could understand what people were saying. She was following commands all along. Her -- what we call receptive capabilities were fine. It's her expressive abilities that are more in question, her ability to speak in longer, more complicated sentences, her ability to transmit what she's thinking, you know, in terms of communication.

Also left side of the brain, Kyra, controls the right side of the body. So the strength on the right side of the body still going to need work. And they say months, months down the line, still, before, you know, we start to see anything.

PHILLIPS: And you think of Bob Woodruff, we were talking about this.

GUPTA: Right.

PHILLIPS: ABC News, had the head injury during the war.

GUPTA: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Took a long time. But we see him on the air now. He's talking. He -- you know, he's --

GUPTA: I think he's a good model. You know everybody is going to be a little bit different. In Bob Woodruff's case, as you know, it was an explosive sort of force that injured his brain, and not as much of it penetrating force as the gunshot wound. So every injury is going to be a little different.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

GUPTA: But yes, I think that that's a good model. You know your ability to find words upon recall, your ability to speak extemporaneously. Your ability to get around, you know, without much difficulty. Bob can do a lot of those things now obviously and -- but it did take a long time.

PHILLIPS: We want that for Gabby, for sure.

GUPTA: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Well, as Republicans prepare for tonight's presidential debate right here on CNN, brand new poll numbers show that two of the most popular picks for president haven't even declared that they're going to run.

Senior political editor Mark Preston joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire.

So, you know, Mark, it's good for them if they do decide to run. Boy, they save a lot of money.

(LAUGHTER)

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, no doubt, right? And you know, I'll tell you what, Kyra. If you are Sarah Palin right now and you are Rudy Giuliani, why do you need to declare a run for president if you are polling so well?

In fact, let's take a quick look at it. These are new numbers out from the CNN Opinion Research Corporation. It's the horserace. We're still very early right now. But let's look at these numbers coming in.

At first Mitt Romney at 24 percent, Sarah Palin comes in second at 20 percent, Rudy Giuliani down at 12 percent. Here is the big, big surprise, Herman Cain, a businessman from Atlanta, at 10 percent and Newt Gingrich at 10 percent. So they're all in double digits.

Let's look at the bottom five right there. Ron Paul at 7 percent, Michele Bachman at 4 percent, Tim Pawlenty at 3, John Huntsman at 1, Rick Santorum at 1.

So what does this tell us right now? Tells us it's all about name ID, Kyra. The big surprise of this right now, again, Herman Cain, the Atlanta businessman. Not a lot of people know him nationally but certainly the Republican voters are starting to get to know him.

Herman Cain could surprise a lot of people. It'll be interesting to see how he performs tonight on stage here at the Saint Anselm College -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll be paying attention, that's for sure. Now we finally heard from Newt Gingrich after his senior staff bailed out. What did he have to say?

PRESTON: Well, you know, interestingly, he made reference of it last night at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Let's take a -- let's take a listen to what Newt Gingrich had to say about the turmoil that his campaign has faced over the past couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As someone who has been in public life for nearly 40 years, I know full well the rigors of campaigning for public office. In fact, I've had some recent reminders.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there's Newt Gingrich last night at Los Angeles at the Republican Jewish Coalition, brushing by some major controversy that has rocked his campaign. He has lost all of his major staffer, all of the key staffers in states such as New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina.

And Newt Gingrich has said, though, that he is regrouping, his campaign starts anew. On Sunday, tonight, he'll be here in New Hampshire. It'll be interesting to see if Newt Gingrich is able to show that this controversy hasn't knocked him off his game.

A lot is riding on the line tonight, Kyra, for Newt Gingrich. We'll all be looking to see how he performs -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we will. All right. Mark, thanks so much.

The big debate tonight. We're going to have coverage all day long and then join us as the Republican hopefuls face off in New Hampshire, 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

We're also keeping our eye on the Middle East, particularly Syria, where via -- or video, rather, via cell phones and YouTube continue to show us how brutal the violence continues to be . Thousands of citizens still fleeing from their homes amid fears of a government slaughter.

Zain Verjee in London.

Zain, what are you hearing now?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, at least 5,000 Syrians have fled a town on the border between Turkey and Syria into Turkey. The accounts are pretty chilling from them. Basically what they say is that tanks went in there. Helicopters were in there. There was heavy shelling.

Livestock was killed, people were killed, crops were burned. It's a situation that seems to be deteriorating. There are also reports that there is a mass grave and soldiers were found mutilated with their limbs hacked off.

The Syrian government is saying that they were killed by armed gangs. The protesters are saying that those were soldier that defected basically. They did not want to open fire on civilians and that the Syrian army killed them. We cannot authenticate these reports but the situation appears to be getting worse. PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee, live out of London.

All right, also, I guess we're -- sorry about that, Zain, we are talking about a couple of other headlines that are heading the international scene this morning in addition to Syria which we're keeping our eye on. I apologize.

VERJEE: Yes. We're looking at a couple of opinion pieces, actually. Let me just show you what "Gulf News" is saying. Its headline says "Al Assad Runs Out of Friends and Time."

It says this, Kyra. "With no regime in waiting to reassure foreign powers, the people of the Syrian spring are dealing the cards themselves and the regime is suddenly realizing that it cannot survive as it did in the '80s with only Iran as a powerful friend.

Then, Kyra, check out "The Guardian." This is the headline. "Butchery, While the World Watches." It says, "These talks about talks only underline how limp the response is. Military action is not realistic, but the full range of diplomatic, financial and legal sanctions should come into play."

Kyra, it's great to see you. We missed you.

PHILLIPS: Missed you, too. I was looking forward to seeing you again today, Zain. We'll be talking a lot more in the next two hours.

Zain Verjee, thanks.

Well, veterans sexually assaulted by those who are supposed to help them. Next we'll ask a member on the House Committee on Veteran Affairs what he's going to do about this latest failure at the VA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This morning, we sadly report how the Department of Veterans Affairs has, once again, failed the men and women it's supposed to serve.

Take a look at these disturbing numbers from a new government report. Two hundred and 84 sexual assaults reported in the VA system over a three-year period. And even more shocking, many of those cases not reported to the VA leaders who could have done something about it.

The cases include rape, inappropriate touching and forceful medical exams. And it wasn't just patients. Employees were among the victims as well as the attackers. Both men and women were attacked.

And once again, I want to remind you, this is the same VA that put thousands of veterans at risk over the last couple of years because of dirty surgical instruments.

Congressman Jeff Miller is on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, obviously reacting to this story.

You know, Congressman, we have talked about the medical mistakes for years, particularly on this news program. But you don't think malicious intent when it comes to those types of stories.

Now you've got the lack of safeguards at the VA taking on a whole new meaning with sexual assault. So, you know, were doctors sexually abusing veterans? Do we know exactly the details of who was doing what?

REP. JEFF MILLER (R), COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS: Well, the GAO report doesn't go into specifics as to who it was. But we do know that it was patient on patient, patient to employee, employee to patient. So, it was a myriad of people within the system.

The thing that concerns us greatly, besides the facts that the sexual assaults occurred, is that they did not report it to the upper level folks. So, people like Secretary Shinseki is basically unaware of these issues because they're not being reported as required by regulation.

PHILLIPS: So, let me ask you, those who knew about this and could have done something about it, how are you going to hold them accountable?

MILLER: Well, one of the things that Congress does, and our committee in particular, with our oversight and investigation committee, is to look exactly in depth as to what occurred. I mean, we have the GOA report that was actually requested by the House Veterans Affairs Committee that will be the starting point for us.

So, we have Ann Marie Buerkle from New York will be the lead with the health subcommittee. We're having a hearing this afternoon. But I think we probably will bring the oversight and investigation subcommittee in and actually have joint hearings with the two together.

PHILLIPS: Well, what's sad is that we've heard the stories and we've talked about how sexual assaults have not been reported out in -- you know, in country and within the military. And now, we're hearing about it in the V.A., where vets are supposed to be getting treated and taken care of.

So, are you going to push a change in how these cases, sexual assault cases, are handled from the very beginning and reported to the higher ups?

MILLER: Oh, absolutely. I think it already is required that it be reported. For some reason, there's a culture within the system -- I was in Miami last week and was discussing other issues. And you talked about some of the sterilization issues that have taken place with medical equipment.

There's a culture within the system that people at the lower level are afraid to bring things to the top for fear of losing their jobs. And that's not an acceptable issue at all, especially when you've got criminal intent with sexual assaults like the GOA report has brought forward. And, remember, there are hundreds of residential facilities are out there. And, right now, they've only studied in depth about five of them. PHILLIPS: So, can we or will we see prosecution of these attackers?

MILLER: Well, you know, we wanted to know, in fact, what has happened with the people that have perpetrated these assaults, the rapes, as GAO has called some of them. What has happened with these employees? Are some of these people still within the system? I don't know.

PHILLIPS: They've got to go.

MILLER: The only way to find out is to ask the question. If they're still there, then not only do those people need to go and need to be processed, but certainly, their supervisors need to go as well.

PHILLIPS: Final question, Congressman, before we let you -- how can vets be assured that they can still go to the V.A. for proper treatment and not fear now being attacked?

MILLER: Well, I can say that there is complete focus by the V.A. I have talked to some of the undersecretaries. I want to talk with the secretary this week.

It is not their grandfather's V.A. system. The health care that's provided -- the mental health care that's being provided now by the V.A. is second to none. But when you have things like this, that rock the very foundation of the V.A., I can understand why some veterans would have questions whether they should go into the system or not.

PHILLIPS: We'll be looking to you to see the changes implemented. That's for sure. Congressman Jeff Miller, we'll be following the story. Appreciate your time, sir.

MILLER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Checking news across the country.

Several hundred people protested the release of the transit cop who shot and killed an unarmed man at a train station. Johannes Mehserle served one year in prison for involuntary manslaughter. He shot and killed Oscar Grant in Oakland, California, on New Year's Day, 2009. Mehserle claimed he meant to tase Grant but used his pistol by mistake.

Crews in Arizona say they're making progress against the second largest wildfire in the state's history. But it's a slow process. The fire is only about 10 percent contained and only some of the evacuees are being allowed back into their homes.

A Minnesota family was really looking forward to their new pool until they got a new project -- fixing the garage. Yes, as you can see there, the crane, lowering the pool shell into the backyard, crashed into the house. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

She's been royally busy these last few days. We head to London to get the latest on Duchess Kate, her whirlwind weekend and get this her recycled designer duds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's been a rough day in Christchurch, New Zealand. Three earthquakes hit just outside the city in two hours. It's the same area, by the way, that was rocked by a February quake that killed more than 180 people.

Today's first one started around lunch time. This is amateur video we got in. And you can see the trees actually start to shake and the water is sloshing out of the pool.

Now, the second hit, the very next hour, it was the biggest one. Magnitude 6.0.

Twenty minutes after that, the third. So far, just a few injuries have been reported.

To England now, where Duchess Kate, the royal fashion plate, had a very busy weekend.

Zain Verjee is in London, of course, with the latest scoop.

And, you know, she has very good taste, very good sense, and she always has both of those on display, right?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, she does. You know, I had a very busy weekend, too, Kyra, but nowhere near as glamorous as this. You know, I did not get pulled in an awesome carriage or wave on no balcony.

Well, let's just take a look at the pictures here. Kate Middleton, looking amazing, had a very stylish weekend. Here, you see her going to the queen's official birthday. She's wearing a hat there, looking fabulous.

The thing everyone is talking about, Kyra, is that she actually recycled that hat a little bit later. There you see it again. She went to a wedding later in the day and kept the same one on. It's called a fascinator.

You missed the royal wedding. That's what it's called now.

PHILLIPS: I was watching. Come on now.

VERJEE: All right.

And then check out her dress, Kyra. This is a recycle number two. She wore this to -- well, that's the white dress on the balcony. The kind of dotty one, the polka dotty one is a number that she wore in her nightclubbing days. There's a cool club here called Bijou. I'll get you in, when you come. She wore it there a few years ago.

So, what people are saying is that, you know, it's great she recycles.

And, Prince William -- by the way, check out how he looked. I thought he looked pretty cute there. What do you think?

PHILLIPS: He's a handsome young man. Absolutely. All right.

VERJEE: Wearing one of those high tops.

PHILLIPS: There it is. OK. We finally got the picture up.

Now, wait a minute. How do you know for sure that that is the prince? Please tell me, how do you know?

VERJEE: I have my sources. I have my sources. It's the mouth.

PHILLIPS: I like the little turquoise flare there on the side.

All right. Speaking of fashion icons, I cannot let you go because I've been watching you in the early, early morning. You are obsessed with Superman's new album.

(LAUGHTER)

VERJEE: Holy kryptonite, no red Speedos on the new Superman here.

I don't know -- I don't know what you think, but he's going to get jeans. A lot of people are outraged about this. But basically, DC Comics are saying they need to just rebrand Superman and the idea is that comic book sales of him have gone down. So, they just want to make him more modern.

So, he's going to get these blue trunks but not those red Speedos. I don't know, Kyra. You know, a lot of fans are appalled.

PHILLIPS: He looks like a member of the Village People.

VERJEE: I know. You know, I don't know. What would Lois Lane say? That's the question.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that is. Depends on what kind of jeans, I guess.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right, Zain. I'm going to come visit you. We'll hit Bijou --

VERJEE: You better.

PHILLIPS: -- in our fascinators. I can't wait. If folks only knew how it was to spend an evening with you. Holy molly!

VERJEE: Kyra --

PHILLIPS: Yes?

VERJEE: -- how is baby and the twins?

PHILLIPS: They are doing fabulous. You come visit, Aunt Zain.

VERJEE: All right. All right.

PHILLIPS: See you soon.

Well, does your wallet feel a bit heavier these days, with a bit more cash maybe. Well, it should. After all, gas prices have been falling and, guess what, they could go even lower.

And also coming up, the stage is set. Seven Republicans running for president, they face off tonight in New Hampshire at a CNN co- sponsored debate. Live preview coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Seven candidates line up tonight for a GOP president held by CNN, WMUR, and "The New Hampshire Union Leader." Going into it, something pretty interesting. There seems to have been a shift in what Americans want from their government, their leaders.

Don Lemon is in Manchester, New Hampshire, talking to voters.

So, Don, tell us about the shift.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, but, first -- first, I want to know. Do you have your popcorn, Kyra? You're going to be watching. You're going to be glued to the television.

PHILLIPS: I'm waiting for the Twinkies that you offered me up on Friday.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: They'll be there. FedEx is going to deliver them to you. If they don't, I'll bring them back to you next week.

You know, since the first time that CNN has been taking these polls since 1993, as you said, there's been a shift in what Americans find important. And I want to preface this by saying, if you don't have money, you can't afford the gas to get to the polls, then probably values aren't going to get you there. What's going to get you there is the money -- a candidate who is going to put money in your pocket, a candidate who will get a job for you when unemployment is so high.

Here is what we found. And we can put up the numbers there. Since the first time, people have been -- we asked people about traditional values.

Here's what they responded. Do you want traditional values? Should these candidates be promoting that? Forty-six percent said yes. But there's the interesting thing, it's falling below 50 percent. Fifty percent said no. And that's even since last summer, it's dropped. Those numbers in the summer were 53 percent and 44 percent. And that's simply because of the economy.

And it's interesting. Since we have been here, before this poll even came out, we had been talking to people in New Hampshire and every time we bring up something like values, because that's what these candidates -- especially someone like Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, they're all talking about traditional values. And when we asked them about it, they said, listen, we don't want to talk about it. We want to know about jobs. Am I going to get a job? I'm out of work right now. Is the economy going to get better? Is government going to get smaller? Are we going to stop all this spending? And, so we were talking to them.

I want you to listen and then you and I will talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people promote the values and the values change and society changes. I mean, if you did traditional values, we'd still be in a segregated society. Think about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's -- what people do in their homes is any of the government's business. If people want to do something, as long as they're not hurting anybody else, I don't have a problem with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And also interesting. You might say where does that number fall when it comes to Republicans? Even -- it's down even for Republicans.

Six in 10 Republicans say, you know what, we need to know about job and the economy. We don't really need to know about traditional values. They still think it's important but that number is down. It's down for Republicans, as well, and also for Independents.

So, there you go. When these candidates are up on the stage tonight, people are going to want to hear out of their mouths, how are you going to get me a job, Kyra? How are you going to fix the economy? Stay out of my bedroom, stay out of my personal business. Those are second tier issues and they'll talk about that after they get to work.

PHILLIPS: OK. So looking at the seven candidates then, that will all be debating tonight. Whose name keeps coming up when you talk to these folks? You're talking to them about the issues.

Who are the folks the most excited about?

LEMON: Well, I think the name that keeps coming up the most is probably Mitt Romney, because, you know, from these parts. He's from Massachusetts and it's the neighboring state here so his name comes up. So he's got a lot on the line here. They also want to know what Newt Gingrich is going to say, since, you know, his staff, the bulk of it, resigned last week.

And the interesting thing that I've been talking to Mr. Mark Preston who's sitting right here out of (INAUDIBLE). Herman Cain is really coming up in the polls. People are interested in him. And who would have thunk a virtual unknown and now people are interested. He's starting to pull up in the polls. So it's going to be -- I want to hear what he has to say and I want to really know what's behind his popularity. What's behind his popularity, Mark Preston?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: He's a strong conservative with a great story.

LEMON: He's a strong conservative with a great story. Mark Preston just summed it up. The voice of reason, we'll say, sitting off to my left.

PHILLIPS: I don't know if you, Don, remember when he was here in Atlanta, gave that speech. I listened to it.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And he definitely gets the crowd fired up. He has a way of ad-libbing and getting the crowd energized. So you never know what he's going to say, which is also very interesting, as well.

LEMON: That is. And there's a difference, though, between getting a crowd revved up and also drawing people into the polls and having enough power, really, to win and become really the leading candidate. So I think he's sort of trending right now. But in order to hold that, he's going to have to do a lot more than get the crowds fired up.

PHILLIPS: All right. Don Lemon and our Mark Preston right by his side there in New Hampshire.

Thanks, guys.

You can watch the Republican candidates debate right here on CNN, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. You can also get more info any time at CNNpolitics.com.

All right. Checking top stories right now.

Just a towel or maybe a muscle shirt. Take your pick. TMZ has published more photos of disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner. And despite on all the press for him to resign, he is taking, quote, "a leave of absence to seek treatment."

Now, this is a smile we just can't get enough of. Our first look at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords since she was shot in the head five months ago. She looks fantastic and is expected to leave a Houston rehab center and begin outpatient therapy at the end of the month.

And the "Book of Mormon" took nine Tony Awards last night. The musical satire about religion was written by the creators of, of course, "South Park."

Well, finally some relief at the pump. This time last month gas price were within pennies of that dreaded $4 mark. But how quickly things can change.

Right, Alison Kosik?

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, the Mavs are NBA champs after beating the Miami Heat last night and many Cleveland Cavalier fans are celebrating as LeBron James, who left Cleveland, for Miami, as you know, went down with his Heat teammates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Mavalier fan. We hate LeBron. Go, Mavs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LeBron said he would never stop until he had a parade down Euclid Avenue. People in Cleveland don't forget that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LeBron can kiss my back side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, my. We're going to have highlights of the Mavericks win 25 minutes from now.

Well, if you wear nail polish or wash the dishes, a new government report says you may be exposed to a cancer-causing agent -- formaldehyde. So how can you protect yourself? We'll tell you.

Plus, who is Jon Huntsman? He's a Mormon, he rides motorcycles, he speaks Mandarin, and he's about to join the field of Republican presidential hopefuls. Learn more about him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Formaldehyde. It's a chemical found in many household items and it's been added to the list now of known cancer causing chemicals by the federal government. That move happened after years of delay from industry lobbyists.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to tell us more about what it is and where exactly do we find it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is all over the place. It really is. I mean, you think of formaldehyde, people think of embalming fluid, and it is in there, too. But it's also in all sorts of things that you and I use every day.

So let's take a look at this list, because there are many products that I think people will recognize. It's in things like hair straighteners. You know, you go get your hair straightened at the salon. Nail polish, pressed wood. Carpet cleaners. And, you know, Kyra, when you get a new car and you get that new car smell?

PHILLIPS: Is that formaldehyde?

COHEN: That's formaldehyde.

PHILLIPS: Really?

COHEN: It sure is. Yes. PHILLIPS: So how -- OK so in nail polish -- I mean, these are things we use on a regular basis.

How dangerous is it? Put it in perspective for us.

COHEN: You know what? We don't know -- unfortunately, we don't know how dangerous it is for people like you and me, who just run into these things sort of, for short period of time throughout the day.

We do know that for people who use it as part of their profession, that it is problematic. I mean, studies have shown that. So, for example, people like embalmers, who are around this stuff a lot, they have shown that they have higher rates of certain kinds of cancers, like leukemia, nasal cancers, oral cancers.

So the people who get exposed to this a whole bunch do have those kinds of problems. The question is what about people like you and me? And the answer is, we just don't know.

PHILLIPS: And, is on the label?

COHEN: It's not on the label. Many times it is not on the label and that's part of the problem.

PHILLIPS: That's interesting. That makes you suspicious as to why it's never been on the label.

COHEN: Right. It does make you suspicious. And so with this new proclamation from the federal government, many people think that, first of all, they might start putting it on the label, or second of all, that manufacturers are going to get start and start making formaldehyde-free products and brag about that.

So look on labels in the future for things that say, formaldehyde- free. That's probably the label thing that you'll see in big letters.

PHILLIPS: All right. So, but right now if it's not on the labels then how do we protect ourselves?

COHEN: OK. One thing you don't want to do, when you get a new car is sit in the car and go -- ah, the new car smell.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Right. Everybody does that.

COHEN: Right. Everybody does that. You don't want to do that. You want to stay away from that. So you want to open up your car doors, you want to ventilate as much as possible.

The same thing when you get a new carpet. Sometimes you get that new carpet smell.

PHILLIPS: Yes, same smell.

COHEN: Open up those windows, ventilate. Stay out of the house, if possible, you know, be smart about it. And we have some other tips. If you look on CNN.com/thechart, my colleague, Matt Sloane, wrote a wonderful blog with all sorts of great information.

PHILLIPS: Matt's so good with the online stuff.

COHEN: Matt's wonderful. He is.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he is.

All right. Elizabeth, thanks.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, President Obama's focus is on job growth. But politics are sure to come into play. He meets with some of the most powerful chief executives in a state with one of the highest unemployment rates. So is that visit going to help or hurt him? We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in just about two hours, President Barack Obama will be in North Carolina to discuss job growth. He is meeting with the jobs and competitiveness council for advice on ways to strengthen the economy.

CNN' senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is at the White House with more. So Ed the President is pushing green jobs. In January the President proposed a plan to create approximately 17,000 manufacturing green jobs. The question is how many of those jobs have actually been created?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And the answer is "almost impossible". Because the Labor Department will not really break out into that kind of a sector clean energy, green energy jobs. So it's impossible to know exactly how many have been created.

Now the White House will say that over the last couple of years because of stimulus spending there's been a couple hundred thousand in this clean energy sector that have either been saved or created by the President's programs.

But I think when he goes to North Carolina today -- he's about to leave the White House here in the next few moments and goes to this clean energy place, it's the company Cree (ph) that produces these -- these high energy efficient lighting fixtures and whatnot.

It's an uphill battle. This is a microcosm the battle he's having on clean energy jobs with the microcosm of the broader battle he has, convincing Americans all around the country that his policies have created as many jobs as he predicted with the stimulus -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, so North Carolina unemployment rate is what, 9.7 percent in April.

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: It's worse than the national average.

PHILLIPS: So the state is -- ok. All right, so the state is also considered key in the 2012 elections, too, right? So is that why --

(CROSSTALK)

HENRY: Yes, I think it's both.

PHILLIPS: Ok.

HENRY: Yes, I think you're right. I mean no doubt about it that this is a particularly hard-hit state. But you're right, I mean this was a president who carried North Carolina on the Democratic side for the first time since 1976 with Jimmy Carter.

There's a lot of states like that. North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia that Barack Obama turned to the Democratic column, but they're all really struggling with jobs, high gas prices, et cetera. And so the Republicans are very eager to flip them back to the GOP column. He's going to be hitting these states like North Carolina a lot between now and November 2012 -- Kyra.

HOLMES: Ed Henry, it's great to see you.

HENRY: It's good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Here are some stories developing later today. 11:00 a.m., former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress makes his first public appearance since he was released from prison. He served 20 months on a weapons charge. The National Urban League says that he's expected to make an important announcement.

President Barack Obama meeting with the jobs and competitive council in Raleigh, North Carolina, as we just mentioned. That's going to happen at 11:05 this morning. The council is set up to advice the President on ways to strengthen the economy.

And at noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, an important hearing begins in California on gay marriage. That issue, is whether the judge's original ruling declaring Prop 8 unconstitutional and if it should be tossed out.

Well, coming up, he's a Mormon, a former governor who wants to be president and he's not Mitt Romney. So who is Jon Huntsman? Candy Crowley tells us all about him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking news happening across country now. The prosecution could wrap its case against Casey Anthony this week. She's accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter. Some pretty gruesome information coming from the witness stand over the weekend. A bug expert said that flies in Anthony's car truck suggested that a body may have been in there for days. More than 30 people camping in the Cascade Mountains of Washington were rescued from a giant wall of mud. It was ten feet deep and 200 yards wide in some places. Rescuers got them out by punching a tunnel in the mud.

And Bob Maxwell of Oregon has another accomplishment to go with his Medal of Honor. This war hero finally got his high school diploma -- are you ready for this -- at the age of 90? Sir Maxwell had to drop out of school during the Great Depression to work on the family farm. Congratulations, Mr. Maxwell.

Well, you won't hear from him at tonight's GOP debate, because he hasn't officially joined the race, but Jon Huntsman has sure been out there stumping. The former Utah governor, better step it up though, since most Americans, even most Republicans know next to nothing about him.

Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley tells us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He looks like a candidate, walks like a candidate, talks like a candidate.

JON HUNTSMAN (R), FORMER UTAH GOVERNOR: We're in a deep funk in this country.

CROWLEY: Jon Huntsman has held more New Hampshire events in the past 30 days than anyone else, but he is not a declared candidate, though that is pretty much nuance.

HUNTSMAN: We're right at the end point. And is your family supportive? Yes, you check that box. Do you think you can rally enough financial support to make it happen? Yes, you check that box. Do you think on the ground in the key early states New Hampshire and South Carolina and Florida you can -- you can create the presence and the excitement and enthusiasm that will work? Yes, you check that box.

Hey, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you, sir? How is Angel?

CROWLEY: He is a motorcycle riding Mormon who speaks fluent Mandarin, the soft-spoken father of seven with eclectic political connections. Former Republican Governor from Utah and former ambassador to China for President Obama, a man Huntsman once described as a remarkable leader. Therein lies a primary problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the problem isn't so much that he served as ambassador, but that he just gushed over policies that made no sense.

CROWLEY: Huntsman hopes to stand out as the strong, silent type, strong on issues, soft on rhetoric. He goes through hours of campaign trail time without mentioning Barack Obama. He steps away from softballs in the strike zone.

(on camera): Do you think that Barack Obama has had a failed presidency?

HUNTSMAN: On the economic side, there are no signs of success, very little.

CROWLEY (voice-over): He shows no instinct for the kind of go get them jugular rhetoric that the party faithful expect.

(on camera): And so you don't -- you think he has failed on the economic side?

HUNTSMAN: Failed on the economy front.

CROWLEY: How about on the foreign policy front? How do you think he's done?

HUNTSMAN: Well, we have different world views.

CROWLEY (voice-over): More than 70 percent of the country doesn't know enough about Huntsman to know whether they like him. And the field is crowded; a basic tenet is to define yourself before your critics do.

Still Huntsman declined a CNN debate invitation. For now he is biding his time and holding his tongue.

(on camera): Huntsman will not bide for much longer, another ten days or so and he'll be all in. But in a political world that thrives on campaign slugfests, we'll see how long he holds his tongue.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Ok. We're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Don Lemon -- Don.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has uncovered Kyra a big shift in what's going to get Americans to go to the polls. And these voters believe that many of the candidates are out of touch. I'll have that coming up at the top of the hour.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill. Congressman Weiner takes a leave of absence. What that means for his future up here and what his colleagues are saying about it? I'll have more at the top of the hour.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And new pictures, the first pictures of Gabby Giffords since her injury back in the beginning of January. What do these pictures mean and what does the future hold for her? I'll have that at the top of the hour as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks guys.

And we're talking about pictures I guess all hour. Because we have amazing pictures as well out of Chile. Cloud of volcanic ash blocks out the sun and grounds flights an ocean away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the Dallas Mavs on top of the NBA world after beating the Miami Heat for their first-ever title. Jason Terry led the Mavs 27 points, including this basket off a steal. Terry was prophetic. He had a tattoo of the championship trophy that's on his right bicep before the season even began.

The Mavs star forward Dirk Nowitzki didn't dominate though, like he has much -- well has for -- much of the post season. But he did score 21 points including a couple of baskets as the Mavs pulled away in the fourth quarter. The final score: the Mavericks 105, the Heat 95. Mavericks win the finals in six games.

After the game, well, Heat star LeBron James said, quote, "Of course it hurt, but I'm not going to hang my head".

Milestone for Jeff Gordon; his 24 car takes the flag at the Pocono 500. The fifth time he's won that race. It gives him 84 Nascar wins. Good enough for a third-place tie for career titles, by the way.

And redemption for PGA golfer Harrison Frazar; Frazar had a chance to win the St. Jude classic, but on the 18th, his ball hit the green -- you'll see it in just a second here and then in the drink. Frazer he went into a sudden-death playoff with Robert Carls by the way when (INAUDIBLE) on the third play, I recall Frazar won, his first PGA win in his 35th try.

Frazar, who's 39 had been thinking about quitting the tour, but now he says, no way, I'm staying on.