Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Unrest in Syria Continues; Major Scare Near Pentagon; Michele Bachmann Speaks at Republican Leadership Conference; Angelina Jolie Visits Syrian Refugees; Cancer Victim Has Message of Hope; Bug Expert Refutes Prosecution Evidence in Casey Anthony Trial

Aired June 17, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, we are about to reset things here at the top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: President Obama is a one- term president.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

HOLMES (voice-over): She made waves at CNN's Republican debate. Now, any minute, Michele Bachmann expected to take the stage and tell the country why she should be president -- you will see it live.

Blood is spilling in Libya. The same goes for Syria. So, as the U.S. and NATO target the Libyan government, and not Syrian leaders, is there a double standard?

Plus, a scandal is unfolding. The U.S. sent guns across the border into the hands of drug gangs.

PETER FORCELLI, ATF SPECIAL AGENT: We weren't giving guns to people who were hunting bear. We were giving guns to people who were killing other humans.

HOLMES: Someone in a powerful position signed off on the operation known as Fast and Furious. And lawmakers are trying to find out who it is.

Plus, Americans addicted to sex. We will tell you what's causing more and more people to cross a very dangerous line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Clearly, I'm not the guy in all those pictures. That's Brooke Baldwin. She's off today. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in for her.

And what you're seeing there, a live picture. That's Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. He's speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference happening right now in New Orleans, a gathering of conservatives there and a gathering of a lot of the potential presidential hopefuls.

We heard from Ron Paul last hour. He spoke just a bit ago. And also, as promised, we're waiting to hear from that lady, who seems right now can do no wrong, at least, a lot of people speaking talking very highly and favorably of her after a good showing, many will tell you, at the CNN debate that was earlier this week.

She's expected to take the podium here in New Orleans here in just a couple of moments. When she does, we will dip into her speech live.

Meanwhile, if it's happening right now, if it's interesting to you, you're about to see it rapid fire. Let's do this.

President Obama spending some time with wounded soldiers before the Father's Day weekend. A short time ago, he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northern Washington. The president met with 21 wounded servicemen, 16 of them injured in Afghanistan, the rest injured in Iraq. While there, the president also awarded two Purple Hearts, the medal of course given to soldiers wounded or killed in action against an enemy.

Also, May was the worst month in a year for Army suicides -- 21 active-duty soldiers suspected of killing themselves last month. One suicide confirmed, the others still under investigation. The Army says it's tough to know why suicide rates increased, but a spike doesn't necessarily mean it's a trend.

Also, Arizona and New Mexico on high alert once again today. Both states face heightened fire danger due to strong winds and dry conditions. Two of the biggest worries, the Monument fire in southern Arizona and in eastern Arizona the record-setting Wallow fire. It's the largest fire in Arizona's recorded history. Fire crews have the fire about 33 percent contained, but winds could undo all their hard work. Fire crews say it is so dry out there that, if flames hit grass, it's like it will take off like gasoline was there.

Also, in New Orleans, a Facebook page causing some buzz for alerting people to DWI checkpoints. The Facebook page created six days ago already has 9,000 likes. You Facebook folks know what that means. It encourages people to reveal specific locations of DWI checkpoints around the city. New Orleans Police, calling the page irresponsible, say it will put the public at risk.

Also , in Michigan, look at this. This is video of a man -- you see him there? He's in a standoff with police and he fires a nail gun at police before he headed back in the house for recover. The 50- year-old man barricaded himself there after witnesses saw him chasing after his girlfriend with a knife. And they called police. This was a six-hour standoff, ended after special forces threw in flash bangs and broke down the door.

Also, I want to tell you about an operation that a lot of people just can't believe, has them scratching their heads, an operation called Fast and Furious. We're not talking about another Vin Diesel movie here. Fast and Furious let criminals openly buy high-powered guns and ammo in Arizona, the type of stuff we're talking about, AK- 47s, .50-caliber weapons.

This was a tactic that the authorities called letting guns walk. And they did walk. They walked right across the border into Mexico, got into the hands of violent drug gangs. So, Fast and Furious, the operation, where did this all come about?

Well, it's actually a U.S. government program that essentially supplied guns to a drug war that has killed 34,000 people in Mexico, two of those guns recovered near the murder of a U.S. border agent last December in Arizona. Some federal agents say they objected to the gun sales, but their higher-ups stopped them from arresting the gun buyers.

Now those whistle-blowers call -- this operation, Fast and Furious, they call it dangerous and deadly, also say it is a catastrophic disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORCELLI: We weren't giving guns to people who were hunting bear. We were giving guns to people who were killing other humans.

JOHN DODSON, ATF SPECIAL AGENT: Rather than meet the wolf head on, we sharpened his teeth, added number to his claw. All the while, we sat idly by watching, tracking, and noting as he became a more efficient and effective predator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, a Justice Department official testified before Congress that he does not know who authorized Operation Fast and Furious.

Congressman Darrell Issa was furious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: If you're going to count pages like this as discovery, you should be ashamed of yourself. That's not discovery. That is saying that nothing within the document requested under any circumstances are we going to be shown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, I asked retired ATF Special Agent in Charge James Cavanaugh about this operation and, really, what's the point?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CAVANAUGH, FORMER ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: It was a bold new strategy that was implemented by the ATF and the Department of Justice to go after the cartels through the gun traffic strategy.

But, you know, you can't get the king of the cartel in the gun traffic case. I think that's the mistake here. The strategy was too bold, the scale was too big, and it went too far. HOLMES: And you're hearing this kind of program -- and they have put a lot of emphasis on trying to figure out who exactly would have given the OK. A lot of people are suggesting it had to be somebody kind of higher up. Would you agree with that?

CAVANAUGH: Oh, I certainly agree. It went all through ATF command.

I think it went all the way to the top, and it went to the department. I think ATF, the leaders there will stand by the strategy. And they will say that they implemented it and they directed it. I don't think there's going to be any question of that, probably the same at the department.

But, you know, it was disheartening to watch the hearings the other day with -- certainly, you know, your heart goes out to Agent Terry's family, and they deserve some answers. But, for me, it was disheartening to watch the agents, who I thought were all very credible, talking about being pulled off an actual surveillance, where they'd watch the guns and the money switch hands.

And this wasn't at the beginning of the case, when certainly, there can somebody latitude and some risk trying to build a case, but this is deep into the case. I mean, one agent testified maybe 1,200 guns into the case, while they watch the purchase, the money and the guns change and they follow the guns and they're called off.

They don't lose the surveillance, but they don't make a good- faith effort to try to get the surveillance and then miss it. What they do is they're told not to follow the guns. So that was very disheartening to me.

HOLMES: Well, James, we're hearing here that -- and we're just hearing about this particular program, but is it possible, in your estimation, that this plan or this idea was really dreamt up by someone there locally and this is a first-of-its-kind, if you will, or this is just the first one we're hearing about?

CAVANAUGH: Well, I think a lot of it was driven top-down.

You know, the inspector general wrote a report in 2009 very critical of ATF for only getting low-level gun traffickers and gun rings. And I think ATF overreacted to that report, in my view. They should have really just put it on the side. They overreacted.

Also, the department pushed the cases more toward, you know, big drug cases, organized crime, drug task force-style cases. In fact, this was worked out of the drug task force. And you cannot work gun traffic cases the same way you work a gun traffic case. They're completely different. And when you try to use those techniques, this is what you get. So, you know, when --

HOLMES: And --

CAVANAUGH: I'm sorry. Go ahead. HOLMES: No, no, no, James, just quickly here to wrap up, is this something that reaches a level of something criminal that was necessarily done here, or just we need to learn from our mistakes and we don't need to do this again?

CAVANAUGH: Yes, I don't think there's any bad people involved.

HOLMES: Yes.

CAVANAUGH: I don't see criminal activity involved, but I think there will be some shakeups in Washington and we need some new orders and new policies, because we do have a very vulgar war in Mexico and our border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And a reminder to our viewer: What you're watching at the bottom of the screen there, little box, we're watching the Republican Leadership Conference, a gathering of conservatives in New Orleans, going on right now. Expecting to hear from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who says she is trying to become president of the United States, a lot of people giving her good reviews after her performance at the CNN debate earlier this week.

We will take you live there when she does step to the podium.

Also, a major security scare in the nation's capital today -- police find a man who was acting a little funny in Arlington National Cemetery. What they found on them -- on him -- on him -- led to a lockdown at the Pentagon, investigation still unfolding. We will tell you what they're finding and who exactly the guy is.

That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a man carrying a backpack with an unknown material was with picked up near the Pentagon just a short while ago. He apparently tipped off police that a suspicious vehicle was abandoned nearby.

That prompted a lockdown for roads all the way to Arlington National Cemetery.

Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is trying to piece this all together.

Let's start with the suspect here, Chris. What do we know about this guy?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., his name is Yonathan Melaku. He's a young man who lives in Alexandria, a suburb in Virginia that is not too far from the Pentagon.

But the thing is, he's also a U.S. Marine. He's been in the Marine Corps Reserve for almost four years now. He's an E3, fairly low-level, a lance corporal. He's been assigned to a combat engineer battalion, never deployed overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan, but sources are telling us from the Marines that -- that he's sort of fallen off the radar where the Marines are concerned.

He didn't pass some of his fitness tests. They're not even sure if he actually showed up to take them. And, recently, he was not recommended for a promotion.

When CNN crews went out to the neighborhood and talked to his neighbors, about all they could say was, didn't talk too much, kept a pretty hectic schedule, would always see him coming and going -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Help us understand how we get from him being a suspicious character to getting to this suspicious vehicle. Kind of -- kind of piece this together for us.

LAWRENCE: Well, first of all, he was picked up overnight in Arlington National Cemetery. Now, you can't go to Arlington at night. It's closed. So, that's the first suspicious thing, when somebody's there while the park is closed.

So, they pick him up, they take him in, and they start questioning him. One official says he was sort of uncooperative when answering their questions, and two, when they looked at what he had on him in a backpack, one was a notebook in which the words "Taliban" and "al Qaeda" were scribbled somewhere in that notebook.

And two was a substance that he claimed was ammonium nitrate. Now, when investigators went in and bomb techs looked at this, they found out that this substance was inert, which means it never had any chance of blowing up.

They also found a car parked nearby, very close to the Pentagon in a wooded area, but they went into that car, they didn't find any other explosive material, did not find anything else that would alarm them inside that vehicle. But, again, he's still in -- you know, under -- in custody right now.

And they don't believe at this point this has anything to do with terrorism. But, obviously, some very real warning bells were going off when they found this on him, and him being in Arlington cemetery at night.

HOLMES: All right. Chris Lawrence for us at the Pentagon. Chris, we appreciate you, as always. Thanks so much.

And to our viewers, we're still keeping an eye on that little box on the bottom of your screen right now, waiting to hear from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who, of course, has announced she is running for president. She'll be addressing the Republican Leadership Conference taking place in New Orleans right now. When that happens, we'll certainly bring you some of her comments live.

Also, actress Angelina Jolie, she's visiting the Syrian border as violence escalates and more people die. We'll tell you what happened once she landed and whether her trip is helping in this crisis. Our Arwa Damon is there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, welcome back. Twenty past the hour here now.

We've been telling you that we are standing by to hear from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who has now thrown her hat into the ring for the Republican nomination. She is going to be speaking at the Republican leadership conference in New Orleans that's going on right now.

We can show you that picture there. We're waiting on her to step to the podium.

While we're waiting on her and once she comes up, we'll have -- it looks like maybe she was just standing up now to upload her.

Paul Steinhauser, our deputy political director is here. I'm pretty sure that person is not Michele Bachmann. But we're standing by.

Paul, let me bring you in, you're there at the conference as well -- OK, there she is. We're laying eyes on her now as she steps out.

Paul, she's going to say some thank yous here and I promise our viewers we'll get to her as she starts to speak, but what's the importance now of every public statement she makes, after she's picked up some momentum, and a lot of people gave her a lot of credit at that CNN debate for doing better than maybe a lot of people expected.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's rightly on a lot of the -- T.J., a lot of the pundits and everyone else thinks she did so well at our debate. She's really in the spot like so much more now than she was just a couple of days ago. And we'll see how she's rising in the polls of that is the case.

So much anticipation for her speech here -- people are running right now into the ballroom to listen to her. Everybody wants to see what she says. She is more firmly in the spotlight, T.J., now that she's been in a long, long time, if ever.

HOLMES: Well, that some good color you just gave us there. You're out in that hallway just right outside where the speech is taking. She's just stepping up.

You know what? Let's go ahead. I know that there are usually a lot of thank yous and she certainly looks like she's pumping up the crowd. So, I'm going to go ahead and listen in now.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have such a great spirit! You inspire all of America! Do you know that?

New Orleans inspires us all. You've got it here in New Orleans, and I am so thankful to be able to be here with all of you today. You are very brave people here.

And I want you to know, you also have a very brave governor, in Governor Bobby Jindal!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: And Governor Haley Barbour!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: These two governors showed, you can get it right! And they did. They are marvelous men. And I love them both.

Now, earlier this week, I don't know if you caught it, but there was a Republican presidential debate. It was -- it was held by CNN and it was up a little north of here in New Hampshire. And I want you to know, I learned a couple of things in that debate.

I learned, first of all, that Newt Gingrich likes "American Idol." I didn't know that. I learned that Ron Paul favors the BlackBerry. And I learned that Herm Cain likes deep dish pizza. And besides being a hard-core, die-hard Johnny Cash fan, the world found out that I have "Christmas with Elvis" on my iPod.

(CHEERS)

BACHMANN: But I have to tell you a little secret, you aren't going to tell anybody, are you? OK. Well, I have to tell you, I was a little nervous, and I didn't know if they were going to ask boxers or briefs?

You know, a girl never knows. You never know.

But the debate, I think, did bring three things out in New Hampshire that were very, very important. And the first one is this. In contrast to the current administration, what we saw on the stage in New Hampshire were leaders, people who could lead this country.

(APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: And our party showed very well, I think, in that debate. And it was a real honor for me to be able to announce that night that I had filed my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States of America! The greatest country the world has ever seen.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: During the brief years that I have served in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., I feel that my greatest accomplishment has been to bring the voice of the people into the halls of Congress, and politicians started paying attention to your voice when it was brought into Washington, D.C. and what my goal is, is to take your voice into the White House, where it hasn't been heard for a very long time.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: And in order to do that and to be successful in 2012, we need to engage a strategy of the three-legged stool. And the stool is this: we need to add peace through strength Republicans. And I'm one of those. And we need to add the fiscal conservative leg, and I'm one of those. And we most certainly need to add the social conservatives, and I am one of those.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: And we need the Tea Party movement.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: The liberals want you to think that the Tea Party is just a radical fringe of the Republican Party. There's a reason why the left is absolutely apoplectic about the Tea Party movement, why they shout pejorative terms and use invective about the Tea Party movement is because here's the truth about the Tea Party movement -- it's an idea.

And it's made up of disaffected Democrats that have had it up to here with Barack Obama. It's made up of independents who have had it up to here with Barack Obama. It's made up of libertarians. It's made up of people who have never been political a day in their life, and Republicans, we were already there. We were already there. That's the Tea Party movement.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: They should be afraid of this movement, but it was the verve and the vibrancy of the 2010 election.

And let me tell you, that movement has more steam and more power and more energy today than it had last November in 2010. Get ready, 2012, the Tea Party will be bigger than ever!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: Because the Tea Party and all of America has one goal, and it's this -- that Barack Obama will be a one-term president!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: Now, the second thing that we were reminded of in the debate earlier this the week is that the race really will be all about jobs and the economy. We understand that this president hasn't done such a good job on that, because here we are, two years into the recovery. We're two years into the recovery.

Under Ronald Reagan, we were literally adding hundreds of thousands of jobs in a month, under Ronald Reagan's recovery. And instead now, we're in the Obama trench of a double dip recession.

And that's all we need to know to explain why today people are worried about their retirement. And they have this fear that's becoming not just gnawing, now it's on the surface. They honestly don't believe that their kids are going to do as well as they did. And do you realize that this is the first generation that has felt that way in 234 years of our nation's history? That's how devastating these economic numbers are to Americans. And also, I think that what this debate was about earlier this week is how we're going to reverse the trend. That's the good news of all of this. How we're going to add jobs.

I'm a job creator. My husband and I started from scratch a successful company. We came from a lower middle class background.

I drove a school bus and all sorts of other jobs to get through college. My husband did the same thing. That's what America gives us, a chance, a hope, an opportunity.

Wasn't there something about hope and change in 2008? Do you remember that? 2012, that's the real hope and change election.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: We Republicans have the most powerful, positive story to tell in 2012. It's a story that Barack Obama can't even begin to tell and he won't tell, because he's got a big "F" on his economic report card! He can't tell it.

And as a matter of fact, if you want to sum up this election in the most simple, positive terms, it would go something like this. The day that Barack Obama became president, a gallon of gas was $1.79 a gallon, that day. Today, it's $3.75 a gallon across the United States.

Has president Obama failed you on energy policy?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

BACHMANN: Ten days after he became president, the price of an ounce of gold was $940. Ten days after he was inaugurated. Today it is $1,500 an ounce.

Has the president of the United States devalued your dollar?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

BACHMANN: He has made us all poorer.

Now, get this -- the day that President Obama took office and your share of the national debt was $35,000 for every American -- and that was after Nancy Pelosi had had the gavel for a few years, do you know what it is today under President Obama? Your share has gone from $35,000 to $46,000 in national debt.

Who would like to join me in sending a change of address form to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for 2012? That's priceless!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: I think the final thing that we saw earlier this week at the debates is the fact that in 2012, I really believe that this race is going to be all about you. Not about politicians, it's going to be about you -- and about the future that we hold, about the free market system and about the morals and the values that have always been the cornerstone of this country.

And it means, I think, that we're going to have to trust our neighbors and our friends with telling them the truth about what's going on in our country. And I don't think that we should fear telling them the truth, because never has anything been more important, I think, to let them know this next example. And you've heard about it today, and it's Obamacare.

Because Obamacare is the symbol of what's wrong with jobs, of what's wrong with spending, what's wrong with debt, what's wrong with government overreach. I was there. I fought against Obamacare, with you, on the front line, every step of the way, against Obamacare.

(APPLAUSE)

BACHMANN: And while we've been seeing the liberals in the last few weeks trying to scare Americans about Medicare, and especially senior citizens, what's been ignored is President Obama's plan for senior citizens, regarding Medicare. Have you heard what that is?

Two weeks ago I was in the White House. I was in a meeting with President Obama, and the president was asked not once, not twice, he was asked three times, Mr. President, what is -- it was a private, closed door meeting -- what is your plan for Medicare? What are you going to do to save it, so it doesn't go flat broke, like we know it will, in the not-too-distant future?

And do you know what the president's plan is? This hasn't been talked about very much. The president's plan for senior citizens is Obamacare. We all think, for our senior citizens, that somehow Medicare is going to go on. And I think very likely -- and I'm speculating -- I think very likely, what the president intends is that Medicare will go broke, and then ultimately that answer will be Obamacare for senior citizens.

What else would the plan be? If he's not intending to save it, knowing full well what the numbers in front of our eyes, that it is certain bankruptcy for our senior citizens, and he's willing to allow that to happen, then that will mean that our senior citizens will face Obamacare, knowing full well that our president took $500 billion -- that's a half trillion dollars -- out of senior -- out of Medicare to give it to younger people in Obamacare.

Just when our population of senior citizens --

HOLMES: You've been listening Representative Michele Bachmann, who is now a Republican candidate for president. She's addressing the Republican leadership conference going on right now in New Orleans, a collection of conservatives there, an annual meeting. She is one of a number of the Republican White House hopefuls who are speaking there. Newt Gingrich among them, Rick Santorum coming up a little later, also hear from Ron Paul and several others. She's also, Michele Bachmann there, she started, you heard her talking a lot about, at the very beginning, at least, the CNN debate that took place earlier this week on Monday up in New Hampshire. At that debate, a lot of people afterwards gave her high marks for her performance, that has kind of catapulted her -- at least getting her a whole lot more attention these days. She referred to a number of times.

Now, in just about 25 minutes, she's also going to be a guest of Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's coming up at the top of the hour. So, more to come from her.

She repeated some of the similar or familiar themes, if you will. She was one who started that caucus, the Tea Party Caucus up in Washington. She says she wants to bring some of those ideas of the Tea Party movement to the White House.

But, again, you can hear from her coming up at the top of the hour with our Wolf Blitzer.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

HOLMES: We've got fears growing that the economic crisis in Greece could spark a domino effect around the world. And what happens next will most certainly affect you, your wallet, that 401(k). Coming up: the one thing maybe you need to be concerned about.

Also, Americans addicted to sex? More and more people are crossing this line. And a line many don't even know exists. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. A deepening crisis in Greece, a plea deal for the "Barefoot Bandit," and how many sex addicts are out there? We will save that for Elizabeth Cohen for last in this "Reporter Roulette."

Let's start with Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, hey, there. A cabinet shuffle in Greece. Everybody's eyes are on Greece right now. Are we talking about another bailout? But before they can get to that bailout, they've got some work to do.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, it looks like things are getting better there, T.J. European leaders cleared a big hurdle in the way of a solution today. Germany agreed to not to push for private investors to share some of the burden of bailing out Greece. That had come under pressure from the French government.

So, you know, this compromise definitely calming investors in a big way, especially here on Wall Street as well, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Help people understand how this affects them. They think, Greece, that's their problem. That's a long way away. That's not my issue. That's not necessarily the case.

KOSIK: Exactly. It's not necessarily the case, but this Greek debt issue has been going on for a very long time. You know, it really shouldn't cause a huge shock to your 401(k). You know, when you think about it, the S&P 500 has closed lower for the past six straight weeks. And because our 401(k)s mirror that index.

You know, we've already seen a dent in our portfolios, at least temporarily. But, remember, if you're worried at all, now's as good a time as any, you know, to go ahead and review your 401(k) options. Think about your long and short-term goals. You know, discuss them with a financial adviser.

You have to remember, all of those 401(k)s, T.J., they come with access to experts -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Alison Kosik for us at the New York Stock Exchange -- thank you.

Next up, he's known as the "Barefoot Bandit." Colton Harris- Moore allegedly led police on at two-year manhunt, accused in sometimes shoeless crimes across nine states, one Canadian province, as well as the Bahamas. Today, he was back in court in Seattle for a plea.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann is there in Seattle.

How'd it go down in court today?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Maybe the end of the road, or at least a pause on the road for the "Barefoot Bandit," who among his other crimes, stole airplanes and flew them as far as away as the Bahamas, sometimes without shoes, always without a pilot license. Today, he's had to plead guilty to about seven federal crimes, some local ones as well and they'll be lumped together in a plea deal, which probably means he's going to spend about 7 1/2 years in prison. It's still being worked out. This is just the first step.

But one thing that's worked out is he won't be able to profit from any of these crimes he committed. If you think this sounds like a Hollywood story, sort of a "Catch Me If You Can" deal, you're not alone because Hollywood has been reaching out to Colton Harris-Moore and the judge says he will not be able to profit from any of these crimes he committed -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Patrick Oppmann there in Seattle, we appreciate you.

Now, next up, something that's been in the news this week. You've heard by now, Congressman Anthony Weiner resigning over a sexting scandal, but if you, maybe someone you know actually sexting, how do you know when you cross the line into addiction.

Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with me. A lot of people have their doubts about it. Every time it comes up, some kind of a sex edition, or sexting. This is real?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. People say, is it an addiction? Isn't it an addiction?

And I want to sort of take away that language for one second and say, look, here's a guy who should have known that by sending inappropriate messages and pictures to women, that he was putting his professional life and his marriage at risk. In other words, he was royally going to mess up his life.

HOLMES: Yes.

COHEN: I mean, he was taking huge risks. And when that happens, that's when psychologists and psychiatrists start saying, he's addicted. He had these urges to do something. He should have known that it could have been a problem, yet he couldn't stop himself.

HOLMES: Some say it just makes him dumb.

COHEN: You know, he's not a dumb guy, right? I mean, if you listen to him, he's a member of Congress, he's had a career. He's not stupid.

It's -- there's a difference. Let's say you're some 20-year-old guy who doesn't have a serious job and you're sending all these messages and photos, that's not -- you know, right -- well, you're having fun and not putting anything at risk. You're not going to get in trouble.

He was and, well, did get in trouble and he is not an idiot. He would know. He should have known that he would get in trouble, but he couldn't stop himself.

HOLMES: OK. This doesn't help, I guess, but all the social media, all the ways we have to connect now. How's the Internet, I guess, kind of making some of these things worse?

COHEN: Right. It makes it worse, because before if you had a certain urge, you might go to the grocery store and get a "Playboy," let's say. But you would have to actually interface with that that grocery clerk. Right now, you can send inappropriate messages without anyone actually seeing you. You just sit there and you'd ask and go like this.

Now, another psychologist brought up to us, that maybe Weiner is very narcissistic. And he sort of thought, well, I can do this sort of thing and not get caught. And so, maybe that's part of what's going on, part of what's at play here as well.

HOLMES: He said he wants to seek treatment. What is treatment for this like necessarily? And how does anybody else out there know that they may need to get some help?

COHEN: Right. His spokesperson said he was going to seek treatment. And when you seek treatment, it's nothing scientific or terribly medically. You seek treatment when it's messing up your life. You seek treatment when your wife wants to divorce you. You seek treatment when you get fired or when you're forced to resign. You know, that's a sign you need to do something.

And treatments will vary depending upon what the problems the person has. But one of the things that you do is you first start by apologizing to people. You write out everything you've done, and you go to people and you say, look what I've done, I'm sorry, and I have messed things up and then you work with hard to fix it.

It doesn't always work. Sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it does.

HOLMES: So, he started with the apologies. Who knows what he said -- Lord knows what the apologies he's doing behind the scenes, but he's done it publicly a number of times as well.

Elizabeth Cohen, interesting segment with you today. Good to see you, as always.

COHEN: Thanks.

HOLMES: Thank you so much.

We're getting close to a quarter at the top of the hour.

Actress Angelina Jolie visiting the Syrian border as, of course, violence is escalating there in Syria. Our Arwa Damon is there. She'll tell us what's happening.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: At least five people dead, dozens more wounded as protests unfolded across Syria again today, defying the country's military crackdown.

Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of some of Syria's largest cities in what has become a weekly show of defiance against President Bashar Al Assad.

Also, actress Angelina Jolie has been visiting refugee camps on the Turkish side of the border. She's at the camps in her role as the U.N.'S Goodwill Ambassador for Refugees.

CNN's Arwa Damon is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., behind me is the camp that Angelina Jolie visited, where she spent around two and a half hours speaking to refugees.

And before she arrived, there was a small demonstration inside with people chanting their gratitude to Turkey, but also imploring the United Nations to help them. One man holding up a sign saying that the Syrian military was killing its own people and to please make it stop.

This is quite a unique opportunity for Angelina Jolie, given that both the national and international media have been prevented by Turkish authorities from entering inside these camps, as have organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

She was able to get a firsthand look at how the refugees are coping with life outside of their country. Now, some children did manage to sneak underneath a tarp that was set up. They were chanting slogans, but also holding up a sign that said "stop killing the children."

While this was unfolding inside the refugee camp in Turkey, in Syria, the uprising that led to the influx of refugees has continued with activists reporting demonstrations across the entire country. Where in a number of places, they did, again, turn violent, causing casualties.

This most certainly has been the case in the past. We have also been seeing the military offensive in the north western part of the country, continuing, with activists reporting that the Syrian military appears to be inching even closer to the Turkish border, and that news has been sending tremors of fear amongst the Syrian refugees still stuck in their own country -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, thanks as always, to our Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know it's going to take all of God's grace, which is never in short supply, to make me live longer. I want to for you and mommy so we can be a family here in Santa Fe. If -- sorry --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: One of CNN's own, former sports anchor, Nick Charles, is battling Stage 4 bladder cancer. He says he knows his time is short, but he has some lessons for all of us. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, over the last 40 years, Nick Charles covered just about every major sporting event, from the Olympics, Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby, you name it.

But now the former CNN sports anchor is sharing his personal fight with cancer, and he has a message about hope and bravery for his family.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, spent some time with Nick at his home in New Mexico. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you that in some ways there's nothing harder than covering a story like this about someone that you know. We all know him here at CNN. He was the original CNN sports anchor.

About two years ago, Nick Charles, who was previously healthy, was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer that has spread throughout his body and was essentially told at that time that he had two years to live.

We've been chronicling his story for some time, T.J. You know, the thing about it is, you know, he asked the question a lot of people asked themselves this is, what would you do if you were suddenly confronted in this situation?

How would you tell your family? He has a 5-year-old daughter. How would you divvy up your day and the remaining time that you have left? Some of the things he said are big, general things. Some, smaller, very specific.

For example, he keeps a journal, writes notes, letters to family and friends or just thoughts of the day. I asked him to read a little bit for me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK CHARLES, FORMER CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I know it's going to take all of God's grace, which is never in short supply, to make me live longer.

I want to for you and mommy, so we can be a family here in Santa Fe. If -- sorry -- if God takes me home, it will be forever. Meanwhile, I'm not going anywhere today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: It's tough to hear that as I said. You know, Nick loved to cover boxing. That was his big sport of choice and he likens what he's going through now to a boxing match, to his own fight. He's fighting like hell, he says, and the odds are stacked against him.

So he's doing all these little things in the remaining time, including the journal, including setting short-term goals, including doing things, like really imagining what the future may be.

This may surprise you, it surprised me, he and his wife decided to build their dream house after he was diagnosed. Even with the knowledge that he may not get to spend much time there. He picked out the color palettes, exactly what the rooms might look like, even bought a piano.

That's part of how Nick is dealing with this. But, again, a real inspirational guy, T.J., lessons in there for all of us. You don't have to wait to be hit in the face with your mortality before you make some changes in your own life. T.J., back to you. HOLMES: All right, thanks, as always, to our Sanjay Gupta. For more on Sanjay's conversation and what he learned from Nick Charles, you can watch Saturday and Sunday morning, right here at 7:30 a.m., with you can watch a special Sanjay Gupta MD, "Nick Charles: Lessons from the Fight."

Well, certainly a sight of a much different kind. Do you see this folks? This is a brawl breaking out, out of all things, a murder trial, outside the murder trial.

This is what they're doing outside the Casey Anthony trial, but we'll also tell you what's going on inside and what the Casey Anthony defense was up to today. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: People watching what's happening inside the courtroom in the Casey Anthony trial, but look at what's happening outside as well.

All right, again, this is outside. This broke out when two men apparently tried to cut in line for tickets to those coveted 50 courtroom seats to watch the trial. Inside, yes, the trial did continue.

Let's bring in Sunny Hostin now. Sunny, on the case, good to see you, as always.

Let's start with the action inside. What kind of a day was it for the defense? I'm kind of hearing that things didn't go so well?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, I think it was actually a pretty decent day for the defense, T.J. They called up Dr. Timothy Hamilton. He's a bug expert, and so happens that he is the student of Dr. Neil Haskell, who apparently was the prosecution expert.

And he testified that in his view, there should have been a lot of blow flies coming out of that trunk instead of the one leg of one blow fly that the prosecution expert found. So he thought that perhaps there wasn't a body in the trunk of the car.

And I think that pretty much puts a little bit of a hole, at least, into the prosecution's theory, which is that Caylee Anthony's body was in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car were at least three to five days.

I will say this, he withstood just a blistering cross-examination by the prosecutor, Jeff Ashton. So at the end of the day, who knows what the jury took away from it. But certainly on direct examination, he gave this defense a few nuggets that they can work with on closing arguments.

HOLMES: But last thing here, and you've got to do it for me in 20 seconds, all-important there, you said a little bit of a hole. Does this start to build and all they need to get one juror, to put that doubt in their head? HOSTIN: That's right. It just takes one juror to have a reasonable doubt to result in a hung jury. So the defense is chipping away at that prosecution's case in chief. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Court starts at 9:00 a.m.

HOLMES: All right, it seems like we are not talking -- we've been talking, of course, about what's happening inside, but it's remarkable -- I know you'll now talk later about this.

Some of the things we're still seeing happen outside the courtroom. There have been some adjustments to let our viewers know, to how they're letting them line up. So maybe we won't see these scenes anymore.

Sunny, always good to see you. Thank you so much. I will see you this weekend.

And to our viewers, thank you for allowing me to be here with you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Right now, it's time for Wolf in "THE SITUATION ROOM."