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Second Day for Defense in Casey Anthony Trial; Immigration Law Hits Farmers; New York Same-Sex Marriage Fight; Teased Child Became Rock Star; Man Spoils City Water Supply; Women Drive, Defy Traditions in Saudi Arabia
Aired June 17, 2011 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for Friday, June 17th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let him go! Let him go!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A brawl broke out today among spectators hoping to get a seat at the Casey Anthony murder trial. Police were called to break up the fight.
The defense is in day two of its case. So far, the focus is on challenging the forensic evidence. Anthony is charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
More critical fire danger warnings in Arizona and New Mexico. High winds and dry conditions are helping spread several big wildfires. The so-called Wallow Fire, the biggest Arizona's history, is just one-third contained. More evacuations could be ordered today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lost apprehension in you and your life, because maybe you're next, and everything you've worked for, you have got -- all your memories could be gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Violent protests against tax hikes and social welfare cuts in Greece are not stopping government efforts to restructure its debt. A new finance minister was sworn in today, part of a cabinet reshuffle. Investors worry that Greece's financial crisis could impact the global economy.
Well, it's been a drag on U.S. markets this week, but right now the Dow is trading in positive territory.
A refugee camp in Turkey is ground zero today for protests. These Syrian refugees are showing solidarity with many anti-government demonstrations happening across the border in their homeland. More than 9,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey to escape a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.
Smoke billows over Tripoli after several powerful new explosions today. NATO's air assault on Libya has gone on for about three months now, and Moammar Gadhafi still maintains his grip on power.
The former International Monetary Fund chief accused of sexual assault initially claimed diplomatic immunity. Well, that's according to a document the prosecution filed in the case of Dominique Strauss- Kahn. He later backed off the immunity claim. Strauss-Kahn has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a hotel housekeeper.
Congressman Anthony Weiner's future has a big question mark today after his resignation over the sexting scandal. Weiner announced yesterday he was stepping down. He says the distraction he created made it impossible to do his job.
In an ABC interview, President Obama offered Weiner encouragement in repairing his personal life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish Representative Weiner and his lovely wife well. Obviously, it's been a tough incident for him, but I'm confident that they'll refocus and he'll refocus and they'll end up being able to bounce back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: After losing the Stanley Cup, some brokenhearted Vancouver Canucks fans lost control Wednesday night, flipping, torching cars. Now Vancouver police are turning to social media to try to identify the worst offenders. They're poring over photos of the ruckus that was posted on Facebook.
Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign seemed to be gaining some momentum, but now he's coming under fire for some comments that he made.
It brings us to the "Talk Back" question for today: Can rich politicians relate to ordinary Americans?
Carol Costello joins us from Washington with that one.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne.
You know, it's tough to be one of the guys when you're worth more than $200 million. After all, deserved or not, the rich are not exactly popular right now.
Go ahead. Google "I hate rich people" and see how many articles pop up.
Mitt Romney may have been trying to overcome that in Florida with a group of unemployed voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I should also tell my story. I'm also unemployed.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you on LinkedIn?
ROMNEY: Yes, actually, and I'm networking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He was joking. It was a joke. But it did not take long for Democrats to slam him for being out of touch, sort of like what then-candidate George W. Bush did in 2004 to his opponent John Kerry.
Bush, a wealthy man himself, released a campaign ad showing a super-rich Kerry windsurfing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In which direction would John Kerry lead? Kerry voted for the Iraq War, opposed it, supported it, and now opposes it again. He bragged about voting for the $87 billion to support our troops before he voted against it. He voted for education reform and now opposes it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You get the drift. But the windsurfing part really stung. It's not exactly a blue collar sport.
I'm thinking Donald Trump might have it right. If you're a super-rich guy, embrace it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: Part of the beauty of me is that I'm very rich.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the "Talk Back" question today: Can rich politicians relate to ordinary Americans?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later on.
MALVEAUX: Trump was just funny. You've got to admit it, Carol.
You know, even Obama, he got ripped for that as well. I mean, he was well off when he was in the campaign. Not as well off as some of the other previous candidates, but he couldn't bowl very well, and he really got a lot of heat for that. Remember that? COSTELLO: Oh, yes. He was a bad bowler. But he could play basketball. He should have concentrated on that.
You know, politicians always drink beer, too. That's another way to show that they're down home and one of you.
MALVEAUX: Just one of us, yes.
COSTELLO: Slamming down a beer. Right.
MALVEAUX: That's a great question, Carol. We'll see you in a little bit.
COSTELLO: OK.
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering in the next two hours.
The defense drops a bombshell in the Casey Anthony trial. And people are literally, right now, they're fighting to get inside the courtroom.
Also, in Michigan, a man shoots a police with a nail gun. We're going to tell you what set him off.
Plus, we're going to look at the impact of Georgia's tough immigration law two weeks before it actually goes into effect.
And women in Saudi Arabia fighting for their right to drive.
And finally, New York moves a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage. Could an issue as important as this be decided on a state or federal level?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually think it's a state issue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A federal issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, I would say it's a state issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be nice if it was a national thing, but I don't think it would ever happen nationally. So let the states deal with it and let it be more realistic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let him go! Let him go!
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Police responded to a brawl outside the courthouse. That happened today where Casey Anthony is on trial for murder. Our affiliate WKMG says two men tried to cut in line and then a fight broke out. People started lining up at 5:30 in the morning for one of the 50 seats that's open to the public.
Well, inside the courtroom, the defense is in the second day of its case. Casey Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter. The defense team is trying to poke holes in the prosecution's forensics evidence.
And joining us to talk about the latest developments, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes.
Holly, thank you so much, as always.
I mean, first of all, is it not incredible that people are fighting outside of the courtroom just to get in? I mean, I've never seen anything like that before. Have you?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No. Madness ensues everywhere, Suzanne. Not only do you have the crazy antics happening in the courtroom, now it's spilled out to the general public. Everyone is so caught up in this trial.
MALVEAUX: And there was explosive testimony yesterday that you described. What actually happened?
HUGHES: Well, yesterday, Jose Baez, who is the lead defense attorney for Casey Anthony, got to start his case. He was able to start presenting his evidence.
He started off kind of slow with a little bit of boring testimony from an Orange County deputy and some scientists, but his big bombshell was right before lunch. And I can guarantee you this was strategically done at 11:59, while he is questioning a DNA expert from the FBI and asking her, was blood found on all of these clothes that were seized from Casey's house, pursuant to a search warrant, and then, all of a sudden, he slips in, "Were you asked to perform a paternity test to see if Lee is the father of Caylee?" At which point in time Jeff Ashton, our lead prosecutor --
MALVEAUX: Lee being?
HUGHES: Her brother.
MALVEAUX: Her brother.
HUGHES: The defendant, Casey Anthony's brother, yes, which is one of the allegations that the lead attorney, Jose Baez, made in opening, was that Lee had sexually molested her. So, by asking that question, what he's signaling to the jury is, hey, even the FBI thought there was something to because they asked for this paternity test, which is not true. It's misleading the jury.
And this is why the lead prosecutor, Jeff Ashton, says we have to approach. The judge says, OK, jury go to lunch. And so the whole time they're at lunch, that's what's in their head, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: So they're wondering whether or not the brother has sexually molested this woman who's accused of murdering her child. Why is that important? Are they trying to discredit the brother, discredit the father?
HUGHES: What they are trying to do is explain the defendant, Casey Anthony's kooky behavior. That's not a legal term, but it's a term everybody gets, Suzanne. OK?
Because this woman did not report her child missing for 31 days, then went out partying and dancing on poles, and acting as a shot girl, stole from her best friend, emptied out her checking account by going on shopping sprees. And the defense has had to what I call embrace the nuttiness, because you certainly can't explain it away.
So, what they say is, well, she's used to hiding secrets because she was molested by her father George and her brother Lee. And so her whole life is about hiding the truth and keeping those feelings inside. That's why she was acting like that.
MALVEAUX: And they're trying to discredit the brother and father in all of this.
HUGHES: Well, they're trying to blame them for her crazy behavior.
MALVEAUX: And finally, there seems to be some sort of reaction that the jurors are having to the defense attorney.
HUGHES: Yes.
MALVEAUX: How is that playing out? How can we tell what's going on there?
HUGHES: Well, the bottom line is, you don't really want to listen to somebody you don't like. Let's face it, Suzanne, you walk into a party, you're going to talk to someone you like. You're certainly not going to seek out somebody you don't trust or you think is dishonest and have a conversation with them.
And what we're seeing, the reaction in the courtroom is, when Jose Baez, lead attorney for Casey, stands up and smiles at the jury and tries to ingratiate, "Good morning," they don't smile back, which is really interesting, because you pass a stranger on the street, and if they smile, you just naturally, "Hey, have a nice day."
They will not respond in a positive fashion to him, which tells you they don't like what's going on in that courtroom from his side. Maybe personally. It's not against him, but they don't like how the defense is going. They don't like what they're presenting. And if they don't like you, they're not going to listen to you in closing and believe what you have to say when you say she's not guilty.
MALVEAUX: All right. Holly Hughes, thank you so much for joining us. Have a great weekend. HUGHES: You too.
MALVEAUX: All right.
We will hear from an attorney who says that the paternity issue was a great move by Anthony's lawyers. Criminal defense attorney Richard Herman joins us in the next hour with more insight into the Casey Anthony trial.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: On July 1st, Georgia's new immigration law goes into effect. It allows police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects, and it requires employers to check the status of new workers against a federal database. There is a chance that a federal judge could block the law, but scores of farm workers, they're not waiting around to see if that happens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDILBERTO PEREZ, FARM WORKER (through translator): He says he'll take all of his family and many friends with him. It will be hard, because his U.S.-born children will have to move to a new place where they know nobody and start their life all over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: CNN en Espanol's Gustavo Valdes found farmers in south Georgia who are already feeling the effects of this new law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSCOE HUTCHINSON, FARMER: I'm in the worst shape this year I've ever been in. I've been in it 10 years, and this is the first year I didn't have enough labor to get on my crop.
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hutchinson says up to a third of his crop is likely to rot on the vine if he can't find more workers.
HUTCHINSON: Now I stand a chance at losing my house and my land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Georgia governor, Nathan Deal, wants to encourage ex-convicts and those with court-mandated community service sentences to fill the jobs in the fields.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R.T. STANLEY, FARMER: It's according to how they're going to handle it. I wouldn't want anybody on my farm that was dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: So I want to bring in our business news correspondent, Alison Kosik, into the conversation to give us a sense of how this law is impacting people.
Alison, we already know, we've seen, that it's scaring off immigrants, and farmers across Georgia, they now don't have enough workers to actually harvest their crops.
What kind of situation are we dealing with here?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's exactly what you said. And, you know, when you look closer at the numbers, they're really stunning.
These farmers are getting 50 percent to 70 percent fewer workers. This number coming from the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
You know, no one is going to be working the fields, so these crops are going to die. One farmer says that he lost 60 percent of his squash plants and 40 percent of his pepper crops. Next planting is in August, and some farmers are considering not planting anything. You know, there's no point in spending the money to plant if they can't make the money back -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: So, Alison, you've got -- what does this mean for the price of groceries?
KOSIK: You know what? Believe it or not, the Georgia Growers Association says it's not going to have an impact on pricing. And that's actually the silver lining here, is that fruits and vegetables are plentiful in the summer, so prices typically drop.
So, instead, what's going to happen is the crop is going to stay the same, the prices will, too. As for the rest of the country, Georgia isn't one of the top food producers, so it really shouldn't have a big effect on pricing -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Alison, is it possible for those who -- the farm laborers who are already working -- can they work overtime to make up the difference here?
KOSIK: You know, we talked with the Georgia Growers Association, and they say, you know what? Not really.
I mean, you think about it, this is really back-breaking work out there. Most of these laborers, they are already working long hours, long 10-hour days. It's hard to work more and come in the next day and do it all over again.
Now, as you mentioned, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, he wants to fill the void with criminals who are on probation. The Georgia Growers Association is open to that, but they say they just need to have some kind of skills, or be willing to learn and willing to work hard -- Suzanne. MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thank you. Obviously, a law that has not even gone into effect yet, and it's already impacting -- having a great impact on the community.
KOSIK: Scaring them off.
MALVEAUX: Thanks again, Alison. Have a great weekend.
Now it's time for you to "Choose the News." Here are your choices.
First, ATF under fire. Thousands of American-made guns are smuggled into Mexico as U.S. agents stand by. Find out why doing nothing to stop it was in fact part of the job.
Second choice, waste in Afghanistan. The U.S. spends $300 million to build this power plant in Kabul, but it sits idle most of the day. Hear why and other examples of money wasted in Afghanistan.
And third, breaking diplomatic barriers by breaking boards. How Taekwondo helped break the ice for North Koreans visiting New York.
You can vote for your favorite story by texting 22360. Text 1 for "ATF Under Fire"; 2 for "Afghanistan Waste"; or 3 for "Breaking Barriers."
The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
Well, have you ever wondered what happens to the bar of soap you may have used once or twice after you check out of a hotel? Well, odds are it's simply going to be thrown away, right? But not if this week's CNN Hero can help it. Derreck Kayongo recycles them to help save lives around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DERRECK KAYONGO, CNN HERO: A child of war can be simply described as a kid caught between a rock and a hard place. It's finding all your pieces and trying to put them back together.
I do have something in common with these kids. You wake up every morning thinking, we just want to survive.
Sanitation is a priority. We have about two million kids that die of sanitation issues, mainly because they don't wash their hands.
I'm Derreck Kayongo. I'm a former refugee. Now I help people fight disease with sanitation.
Do you have some soap for me? This is great.
The issue is not the availability of soap, but the issue is cost. Can they afford it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Housekeeping. KAYONGO: Eight hundred million bars of soap that the hotels throw away in the U.S. alone every year. We're able to get a lot of soap which we can process and make brand new soap out of it. We clean it, melt it, then cut it into final bars, box it and ship it.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.
KAYONGO: Being here in Kenya at this orphanage is (INAUDIBLE), but with good news. It's very important for them to have the bar of soap, but also to use it so they can fight off diseases.
Those are clean. That's very good.
What I think I have learned from the kids is a sense of resilience. To know that they have this central hope and joy is remarkable. Do I feel like I'm having an impact on them? Yes, I think so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Derreck Kayongo and his volunteers have distributed more than 100,000 free bars of soap to nine countries.
So, remember, every CNN Hero is chosen from people you tell us about. To nominate someone that you think is changing the world, go to CNNHeroes.com.
Well, the battle for gay rights in the spotlight now in New York. The state Senate is debating a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. Should the states or federal government be deciding this issue?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think across the board would be nice so people wouldn't have to travel to different places in order just to be happy or to be with someone that they love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.
Next, the battle over same-sex marriage heats up in New York as it gets closer to legalizing it. Why people who support state's rights are conflicted over this.
Then, tradition and intimidation keeps them from driving. But today, in protest, women in Saudi Arabia are getting behind the wheel.
And at noon, these street battles may be happening in Greece, but that country's problems are affecting your bottom line here, right in the United States. We're going to explain how. The battle over same-sex marriage, front and center now in New York. The state Senate is debating a bill to legalize those marriages. It passed the state assembly by a comfortable margin, but the fight is going to be a lot tougher in the Republican-controlled Senate, where one vote might make a difference. Now, that vote could come as early as today.
Right now, same-sex marriages are legal in the District of Columbia and five states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire. Now, the issue is unsettled in California. A federal appeals court is deciding whether the state's ban on same-sex marriages is constitutional.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin, he's on the phone from New York to give us some insight into same-sex marriages and states' rights.
A complicated issue, Jeffrey.
First of all, we saw the Republican candidates overwhelmingly arguing in the debate on Monday night that, despite their positions on individual states' rights, there has to be some uniformity on same-sex marriage, a federal standard or a definition.
Take a listen to what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. I was the co-author of the state law in Minnesota to define it.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should have one law in the country with respect to marriage. There needs to be consistency on something as foundational as what marriage is.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do support a constitutional amendment on marriage between a man and a woman, but I would not be going into the states to overturn their state law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Jeff, do they have a point? Does there need to be uniformity on this basic right?
JEFF: Well, historically, there has not been federal uniformity on marriage. In fact, marriage has been one of the subjects that is very much reserved to the state in terms of how it's administered. Issues like what age you can get married, how close a relative you can marry, all the states have individual laws on that, and that has traditionally been thought of as a state responsibility.
Now, the Republican candidates can certainly propose national constitutional amendments on the subject and those would be binding, but that would be different from how marriage is usually -- has usually been handled.
MALVEAUX: And, Jeffrey, in some states, same-sex marriage is not recognized, so couples can cross state lines and have their unions deemed meaningless essentially. How does it impact same-sex are treated or even considered to be hired for a job, say, in another state?
TOOBIN: Well, this is where the Defense of Marriage Act, the law that was passed under President Clinton and signed by President Clinton, because very important, because the Defense of Marriage Act says that states that don't have same-sex marriage don't have to recognize marriages in states that do. And most importantly, it says that the federal government doesn't have to recognize same-sex marriage.
There is a case that's in the appeals court now where that's been challenged. Where the plaintiffs, who are a Massachusetts same-sex couple, are claiming that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and their cause has been joined by the Obama administration. But at the moment, as long as the Defense of Marriage Act is good law as it remains, states don't have to recognize other states' same-sex marriages.
MALVEAUX: The latest CNN opinion research poll shows a slight majority of Americans, some 51 percent, say same-sex marriages should be recognized as valid; there are 47 percent who disagree. Public opinion on this issue seems to be changing here, particularly among young people. Is the law behind -- basically behind, trying to play catch up to what is taking place in this -- in society?
TOOBIN: Well, certainly, the polls have moved very dramatically on this. You know, in the mid-'90s, the polls showed basically two- to-one opposition to same-sex marriage. Now it appears that same-sex marriage is slightly ahead.
But you know, the forum here is state legislatures. And so far, New York which is a pretty liberal state where polls show considerable majority support for same-sex marriage, the state legislature has not voted it yet. Now that may change as early as today but, you know, we're not governed by polls. We're governed by courts and legislators, and they have not moved on this issue, apparently, as fast as public opinion has.
MALVEAUX: OK. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much. Have a good weekend, Jeff.
Celebrities are a big part of the mix in the fight over same-sex marriages in New York. Their goal? Essentially swaying public opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UMA THURMAN, ACTRESS: I'm Uma Thurman. And I'm a New Yorker for marriage equality.
MICHAEL STRAHAN, FORMER NFL PLAYER: I'm Michael Strahan. NICOLE MURPHY, ENGAGED TO MICHAEL STRAHAN: I'm Nicole Murphy, and we are New Yorkers for marriage equality.
STRAHAN: As a defensive end for the New York giants I always played the game tough but fair. And I feel it's unfair to stop committed couples from being married.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Among the opponents of same-sex marriage, former New York Giants football player David Tyree who spoke with CNN's Kyra Phillips just earlier in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: There are many same-sex marriages and relationships that have a very happy home and are raising very successful children.
DAVID TYREE, FORMER N.Y. GIANTS PLAYER: That doesn't mean that it's natural.
PHILLIPS: I'm still -- I still am trying to understand what you mean by it not being natural.
TYREE: I don't understand what's difficult. A man and a woman are actually, you know, come together to procreate. A man and a man will never procreate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Tyree is well known to New Yorkers for his catch in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLII three years ago.
Well, the fight for gay rights around the world gets a major boost from the United Nations. The U.N.'s Human Rights Council has passed a resolution supporting equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation. That's the first ever such resolution by the U.N. The United States was a key backer of the measure. South Africa introduced it, despite strong opposition from some other African countries.
Kids teased him as a child because of his disability, but this Kiss banned member, he has the last word from partially deaf to rock star.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Every week we bring you stories about people who have overcome a major medical hurdle and beat the odds. In this week's "Human Factor," chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings you the story of a man born partially deaf who becomes a rock star.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To rock 'n' roll all night and party every day, that's always been Paul Stanley's dream.
PAUL STANLEY, KISS: If somebody had told me at 58, 59 I'd be running around on stage without a shirt, you know, and in tights and high heels, I would have said what drug are you taking.
GUPTA: But the road to rock stardom as the front man for Kiss was difficult. Few people know it, but Stanley was born with a condition that should have steered him away from music.
STANLEY: I had a physical deformity called a microtia.
GUPTA: One of his inner ears, the ear canal which conveys sound to the brain, never developed. Figuring out the direction of sound was particularly challenging, and he was also born with an underdeveloped outer ear.
(on camera): Did you get teased a lot? Where there tough comments?
STANLEY: It was horrible. You know, I have to say that childhood was not fun.
GUPTA: You decided to grow your hair out, and that's become a signature look of you and the band. Was that in part because of wanting to hide your ears?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA: You grew your hair out to do that?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA (voice-over): Strength and a bit of defiance got Stanley through the taunting.
STANLEY: Something told me inside that I could do music. And interestingly, being deaf in one ear was not something that I saw as a hardship or something that was a hindrance at all.
GUPTA: Eventually, offstage hearing loss did become a hindrance. So Stanley had surgery.
STANLEY: Basically, you take a power drill and aim into the head.
GUPTA: The surgery was successful, but it does not equal self- acceptance. That Stanley learned over time, and by working with kids.
(on camera): You talk to kids who have microtia. So they're -- right now, they're like I'm getting teased on the play ground, I'm not the rock star.
STANLEY: And how cool it is for them to hear somebody say I was there and look what I did?
You can get through this, and you'll find out how much something means to you by how hard you're willing to work to overcome it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Good for him.
Tim Pawlenty accused of missing a chance to go after a Republican opponent. Well, now Pawlenty is taking another swing at Mitt Romney. Details in our Political Ticker Update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Don't forget to vote for the "Choose the News" story you'd like to see. You can vote for your favorite by texting "22360."
Text "1" for ATF under fire. Gun runners smuggle weapons from the U.S. into Mexico. The federal agents were told to let them go through.
Text "2" for Afghanistan waste. How billions of American dollars invested in community projects in Afghanistan ended up wasted.
And text "3" for breaking barriers. While martial arts students break boards they're building bridges between North Korea and the United States.
The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
Critics say he missed an opportunity during the Republican Presidential Debate, but now Tim Pawlenty is taking a swing at opponent Mitt Romney.
Mark Preston, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the Political Desk in Washington.
Hey, Mark, what are we hearing from Pawlenty now?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Suzanne, on Sunday we heard Tim Pawlenty coin a new term called "Obamneycare," and it's something we expected to hear from him in the CNN debate on Monday night. When John King asked him, Tim Pawlenty, to talk further about him being critical of his rival, Mitt Romney, regarding the whole issue of healthcare, Tim Pawlenty decided to demur. He decided not to address it head on. It caught a lot of us by surprise, and in fact, he was widely panned for it.
Well, Tim Pawlenty last night on FOX News came out and said, look, I made a mistake. I should have addressed it head on. And in fact, Tim Pawlenty today, Suzanne, has a fundraising e-mail put out where he says that, again, he didn't take the right opportunity to go after Mitt Romney but he plans to do so going forward.
So while we saw in the CNN debate that there wasn't a whole lot of jostling or fighting amongst the candidates, perhaps we're going to start seeing Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney arguing over the whole idea of health care.
MALVEAUX: Mark, we are certainly seeing a battle between Romney and the president. There's a new ad, I understand, that is targeting President Obama again?
PRESTON: Yes, Mitt Romney trying to focus entirely on the economy has put out a new web video today, a very interesting web video where he's attacking President Obama and the White House for not doing enough to create jobs right now, talking about the unemployment rate at 9.1 percent.
Now, it's interesting, Suzanne, this is the second video that Mitt Romney has put out in the last week being very critical of President Obama on the whole issue of the economy. And, of course it comes -- look, 24 hours after the fact that Mitt Romney made that, some would say, big gaffe down in Florida where he told a bunch of unemployed Floridians that he, too, was unemployed.
So Mitt Romney, the very successful CEO who really is basing his campaign on the economy, continues to drive that message home this morning -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: We'll see if it works. Thank you, Mark. Appreciate it. Have a good weekend.
For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
A night of drinking ends in an embarrassing and expensive mistake. We'll show you what security cameras caught one man doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question.
Carol Costello is here with your responses.
Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hey, Suzanne.
The "Talk Back" question today: Can rich politicians relate to ordinary Americans?
This from Cindy, "Until they're unemployed, lose their home, can't get health insurance or can't afford to pay their bills or lose their retirement they worked all their lives for, there's no way they can relate."
This from Heidi, "Yes, if they haven't lost all ability to empathize with their fellow human beings. Look at JFK. But do they is the real question."
This from William, "Depends on how they got the money, but in most cases, no. They most cases no they need to be unemployed for a while and their house being foreclosed on to be able to relate to many Americans these days."
And this from Carla, "Perhaps it depends on where their money came from, given to them or earned. I don't know, but the Dems going after this is as ridiculous as Romney's bump in the road ad regarding Obama. Stinks either way."
Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll -- actually, I need to stick around because I understand, Suzanne, you have a fascinating story for us.
MALVEAUX: Fascinating? We'll see what you think about the story.
So I don't know how to put this, but a man who needed to relieve himself picked a very bad place to do this, right?. So Abbey Gibb from Portland, Oregon affiliate KGW, she's got the story.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Here comes our friend. There he is right here.
ABBEY GIBB, KGW REPORTER (voice-over): The surveillance video then shows 21-year-old Joshua Seater unzipping and urinating in reservoir number one at about 1:30 Wednesday morning.
DAVID SHAFT, ADMINISTRATOR, PORTLAND WATER BUREAU: We ended up catching three of them.
GIBB: David Shaft with the Portland Water Bureau showed us the video. He says the moment security spotted Cedar, they shut down the supply.
SHAFT: Somebody did something really stupid.
GIBB: Cedar doesn't deny that.
JOSHUA SEATER, ADMITTED URINATING IN RESERVOIR (via telephone): I had a pleasant buzz. I should have known that.
GIBB: Over the phone he admitted everything.
SEATER: It was a split thing, and as soon as I did it, I was like, oh, man, and when I saw the security guards and police office pull up, I had knew (INAUDIBLE) -- exactly what they were there for.
By daylight, the Water Bureau decided to drain 8 million gallons of water to the tune of $32,700 taxpayer dollars.
SHAFT: More likely than not, a tiny bit urine in almost 8 million gallons of water isn't going to hurt anybody.
In this one, I guess I am responding in part to the yuck factor.
GIBB: City Commissioner Randy Leonard who oversees the bureau agrees. He says that reservoirs are what thousands in east Portland rely on.
RANDY LEONARD, CITY COMMISSIONER: The water is chlorinated, but it is chlorinated before the reservoirs. So the water that's in the reservoirs that you see is literally the water that you drink.
GIBB: Police say Seater could face misdemeanor charges and fines.
SEATER: I would not mind paying for it, but I do not have a job right now. But I'm willing to do community service to clean up the place because I do feel bad and feel pretty stupid about doing it.
PETE SIMPSON, PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU: It's really an unfortunate incident that probably could have been avoided had he chosen a bush.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Carol, it was kind of nice of him to say, though, I will do community service, because I don't have a job or money to pay for all of this.
What do you think? Do you think the city really needed to dump like 8 million gallons of water out because of this one little incident?
COSTELLO: I don't know. But to me, Joshua, the man who relived himself, he still sounded drunk. Didn't he sound wasted?
MALVEAUX: The other questions I have, Carol, is there's like a duck that we see swimming in the reservoir in the water. Like, I don't know, do you think the duck might have contaminated the water?
COSTELLO: I don't know. I just think of going to a public swimming pool and that happens all the time, and -- I don't know. It's a big to-do over nothing. But what do I know. I don't know.
MALVEAUX: They drained it, 8 million gallons, because of one guy. Thousands of dollars, Carol. I mean, maybe our systems are hearty enough to take it.
COSTELLO: It's impossible for me to believe that this sort of thing has not happened before and they did not catch this person doing it. So, it just seems --
MALVEAUX: We probably all survived this many times over. But this was captured on the video, so obviously they had to do something about it.
COSTELLO: Of course.
MALVEAUX: All right. Carol, we will have more after the break.
COSTELLO: I can't wait.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Don't forget to "Choose the News." Winning story will air at the end of the next hour. You can vote by texting "22360."
Text "1" for ATF under fire. Thousands of guns made in America wind up in the hands of Mexican criminals because of a controversial federal program.
Text "2" for Afghanistan waste. How billions of American dollars invested in community projects in Afghanistan end up wasted.
And text "3" for breaking barriers. How tae kwon do is building a bridges between North Koreans and Americans.
Tradition and intimidation keep millions of women in Saudi Arabia from driving, but some courageous women say they have got enough, they've had enough. They are hitting the streets today in protest and getting behind the wheel.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom joins us from Abu Dhabi.
And, Mohammed, tell us about this. How many women are taking part in the protest today?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it's very hard to get accurate numbers as the Saudi government isn't commenting on this; we've reached out repeatedly. But according to the activists and the protestors that I'm speaking with there in Saudi Arabia since last night, it looks like about 20 women have participated in this today. At least 20 women.
And I just can't stress how remarkable this is, in a country as conservative as Saudi Arabia where women are prohibited from driving. They fact that they not only are they doing this, but they're publicizing it, they're putting videos out there on YouTube, they're uploading photos to Twitter.
Now we can't verify the authenticity of these photos and videos, but they do seem to corroborate what I'm hearing from people on the ground. One video that we saw earlier today, it was posted by a woman, it purports to show a woman fully veiled, has her face covered, this was after midnight last night in Riyadh in the capital of Saudi Arabia, she is speaking to the camera talking about how nice it is to be able to drive to the supermarket and how difficult it is to be living in a country where women cannot run the simplest of errands, can't pick up their children from school.
This really speaks to what is going on in Saudi Arabia right now, women that are trying to change the system from within. That because of their bravery are saying the Saudi Arabian government has to make a choice and has to lift the restriction so women can drive and can do the simplest of things. This is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. And the women there that are participating in this campaign have enough and want things to change.
MALVEAUX: And there's a women specifically who was detained before for driving. Do we have a sense of the status, whether or not she's been released, the woman who's pushing for this protest? JAMJOOM: Well, since Manal al Sharif, the woman who you are referring to, has been released, she is not speaking to the media and it's been very difficult to find out exactly what's going on with her, whether she is being restricted from talking to the media or whether it's her own personal choice, but she really is the quiet force behind this movement.
And what she did by posting a video of herself on YouTube showing that she was driving in Saudi Arabia really encouraged and emboldened and inspired so many Saudi women. She is the name that keeps coming up when I speak to the female activists in Saudi Arabia. They are doing this not just because they want to change the system, but because of what Manal al Sharif did and people are really grateful for her to rallying everybody to this cause -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: OK, Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you very much.
