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GOP Yanks Obama Impersonator; Fake Obama's Act Cut Short; Ranking the Republicans; NATO Kills Civilians in Libya; Defunding U.S. Mission in Libya; Syrian President's Warning; At Least 20 Homes Burn in East Texas; 250,000 Acres Burning in South Eastern Georgia; Thousands Evacuated in Southern Arizona; Arizona Fire: "Number One Priority"; Weather Hampering Fire Crews; McIlroy Wins Open in Record Style; Supreme Court: No Wal-Mart Class Action; NBC Edits Out Portion of Pledge; Amy Winehouse Booed Off Stage; Last Hurrah for Several Daytime Soaps

Aired June 20, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kyra Phillips. Thanks for joining us.

A President Obama impersonator pulled from a high profile Republican convention. Offensive or on target, well, it's all caught on tape. You'll hear from him in his first television interview.

Get ready to type new Internet address. New rules approved today. What will it mean for dot com, dot org? Will they no longer make up the most domain names?

And fire crews in Arizona get some relief in their battle against the worst wildfires in state history. Calmer winds and humidity are forecast for the next days.

During this weekend's Republican Leadership Conference, an Obama impersonator's act was cut short when he began a Michele Bachmann joke. But earlier racially-tinged material didn't earn him the big hook.

Our Paul Steinhauser was actually there. Now give us a feel for what was it like in the room?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: There was a lot of applause, no doubt about it, for his jokes that were directed at the president, the first lady, and other -- other liberals like Rosie O'Donnell.

They all got a lot of applause, a lot of laughter, Kyra. It was a surprise for a lot of us watching. He wasn't on the schedule, but again, yes, a lot of applause.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, I had a chance as you know to speak with Reggie last hour. Let's take a look at a clip from that and I'll get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REGGIE BROWN, PRESIDENT OBAMA IMPERSONATOR: Well, it all depends on who you ask. I mean, that's what they told me. And then I get back to my hotel room and I see all these articles popping up online saying that I was yanked for my content so --

PHILLIPS: What do you think? What do you think? Were you yanked for time, Reggie, or were you yanked for content? Tell me your gut.

BROWN: Well, basically, I was at the Republican Leadership Conference and I was just entering my set where I started to, you know, have some fun with the Republican candidates.

So, I do believe that I was over my time by a few minutes. And I also believe the material was starting to get to a point to where maybe they started to, you know, feel uncomfortable with where it was going. But, you know, I was just doing my thing.

PHILLIPS: You were doing your thing, OK. You were kind of going at the home team there so you got the nice escort off the stage. Let me ask you a question because you made a handful of racial jokes.

We saw at the beginning there, even showing a picture of Sanford and son saying this is what the Obamas will look like after the White House and then this comment about black history month. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: My favorite month is February, Black History Month. You see, Michele, she celebrates the full month and you know, I celebrate half.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, Reggie told me, Paul, that when it came to the racial jokes he didn't get booed.

STEINHAUSER: No, he didn't. No boos there for those jokes, a lot of laughter, a lot of applause. He got booed, Kyra, when his -- or jokes fell flat when he, as you said, he turned to the Republicans.

He had some jokes at the expense of John Boehner, the House Speaker, former first lady Barbara Bush and also some of the Republican presidential candidates. Those jokes fell very flat.

In fact, there was some booing and that was right around the time when he was removed from the stage. He told you he had about 15 to 20 minutes for his routine. Well, by my count he was up for 17 minutes when he was pulled.

We spoke with organizers of the event from Republican Leadership Conference and they said his performance had gone on too far and was getting inappropriate.

Kyra, I think bottom line here, this was definitely a distraction from the conference. There were some big highlights here, the straw poll results, the big performances by Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.

But what are we talking about this morning? None of that, we are talking about the impersonator and why he was pulled.

PHILLIPS: Paul Steinhauser out of Washington. Paul, thanks.

The Obama impersonator may have stolen some of the spotlight, but it was Republicans who ran the show. Here's the results of the straw poll taken at Republican Leadership Conference.

Ron Paul, not just another victory, but a lot of the buzz is about the strong second place finish by former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. He's expected to announce his candidacy this week.

Michele Bachmann had half his votes followed by Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, the apparent front-runner of the GOP field, fades the fifth.

Now this morning some grim news out of Libya. NATO says that a technical glitch is to blame for a botched airstrike that struck a residential neighborhood. Two children were killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BRACKEN, NATO WING COMMANDER: The intended target during last night's airstrike in Tripoli was a military missile site. However, from our initial assessment of the facts, it appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target due to a weapons systems failure.

This technical failure may have caused a number of civilian casualties. NATO regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives and takes great care in conducting strikes against a regime determined to use violence against its own citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's David McKenzie in Tripoli joining us by phone. David, we just heard the NATO wing commander say it was a technical problem. What are you hearing?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, actually, I'm just coming back from a separate incident, Kyra, about 40 minutes drive outside of Tripoli. This is going to become much bigger news.

A senior associate, advised Moammar Gadhafi, it was his house -- or his compound that seems to have been struck early this morning before dawn. All indications here that this was a major air strike, deep craters in the ground, bodies were being pulled from the scene when we arrived.

Now, again, this is a separate incident from the one NATO admitted to. It seems like this compound was struck with major firepower. We went to the hospital nearby. At least 11 adults and four children, according to hospital officials, have been killed in this strike.

We did witness those bodies. So, certainly this could be becoming a big story. A strike this morning appears to be NATO. At first, NATO flatly denied this and now they're saying they are looking into the allegations. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: Any word, David, with regard to Moammar Gadhafi, where he is, any response?

MCKENZIE: No, we haven't heard or seen him recently, certainly in person. Last Friday, he did an audio message on the -- four months since the beginning of the uprising, saying people should be defiant. A crowd of several thousand people in the Green Square in Tripoli.

I've managed to get away from government minders for a few hours yesterday and certainly the united front that the Gadhafi regime is trying to put forward isn't always the case. We spoke to some people.

One man said that 90 percent of the people are, in fact, against Gadhafi. So, there certainly is a group or major group within Tripoli that wants this regime to get out, but they certainly fear for any oppressive response should they get out on the street and protest.

PHILLIPS: Now, we're not talking about one, but two NATO airstrikes as you heard from our David McKenzie who's live there on the scene of that second strike reporting civilians that have been killed.

You know, it's day 91 for the U.S. military mission in Libya. For House Speaker John Boehner, that's one day to many. He says that the White House ignored yesterday's deadline to get congressional approval.

So he may try to cut off funds this week. Some high-profile members of his own party say that Boehner would be making a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: If we do not continue this effort in Libya, if Gadhafi remains in power, it could have profound consequences. So, the War Powers Act, Every president has said that they don't agree with its constitutionality, but they have adhered to it.

So the Congress of the United States should pass a resolution and Senator John Kerry and I have a resolution that's ready to go, that would comply with the War Powers Act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also echoes McCain's stance that cutting off funding would be a mistake.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad mixes threats with promises of reform in a speech to his nation this morning. It comes after four months of antigovernment protests. Our Zain Verjee joining us live from London. Kind of a mixed message here?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, a mixed message and one where he blamed pretty much everyone else except himself.

He blamed young protesters out on the streets for what he said caused chaotic situation, which meant it was a bad environment for him to be able to implement the reforms that he wanted.

He also talked about those reforms and says that he was going to set up a committee to study the constitution because he really wants to reform it.

Now, he also blamed conspirators outside the country for bringing all the problems to Syria. Listen to what he said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIA (through translator): Imposing security does not justify killing people and as much as the legitimate demand don't give the people the excuse to chaos. I don't say -- I don't mean demonstration only. I am talking about everyone who has a legitimate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: This is a good snapshot. There was one report, Kyra, that said that in that speech he used the word "freedom" once, the word "conspiracy" eight times and the word "vandals" 18 times.

The Syrian government, Kyra, has accused these what they call armed gangs for creating a lot of the violence that we've been watching on the video, like Youtube, that has been posted.

The key question in all of this, is this speech going to have any effect and get people off the streets? Analysts say that is unlikely. There are reports already that people are out demonstrating, rejecting this speech. They say they want the regime out. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Zain, thanks.

Also, coming up, thousands of homes evacuated and dozens more destroyed. This wildfire in Southern Arizona is just one of the four huge blazes across the state right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hot, dry and windy conditions fuelling wildfires across the country. At least 20 homes have burned in East Texas where crews are battling multiple blazes now. Part of interstate 45, which connects Dallas and Houston, had to be shut down.

Some weekend rain has helped hundreds of firefighters in Southeast Georgia. Things are already starting to dry out, though, and the 250,000 acre fire, well, picking back up.

And the monument fire we have been talking about in Southern Arizona has forced thousands of people out of their homes. More than 1,000 firefighters are on the job there round the clock, but still less than 30 percent contained.

The U.S. Forest Service is saying there is no evidence the Arizona wildfires were started by illegal immigrants. That's a claim that Senator John McCain actually made over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have caused by people who have crossed our border illegally. They have set fires because they want to signal others. They set fires to keep warm and they have set fires in order to divert law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president of the National Institute For Latino Policy said that McCain, quote, "Might as well also blame aliens from outer space for the fires."

Bonnie Schneider keeping a close eye on the fire weather conditions for us right now, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kyra, we are going to see changes and they are for the better, but it's not going to happen until tomorrow, unfortunately.

Today is going still to be a challenging one for firefighters due to very strong winds that pick up this afternoon and continue through the evening hours. That's why we still have critical conditions over a vast area of New Mexico and Texas.

Remember, when the winds are blowing, the smoke blows as well, so the air quality will be dangerous for places like Santa Fe, New Mexico, we're going to be watching out for a lot of smoke and dust in the air in Albuquerque as well.

So be careful for those of you that are going to be out and about, even just a little while later on today. The red flag warnings also persist as well. The windy weather very intense winds far to the east as Dallas, Texas, will be looking for gusty winds. We are looking at changes in the forecast, starting off with this front that you see coming in from the west.

It's actually going to bring some slightly cooler conditions. Not a big cool down, but it is going to make a difference, the winds today coming more from the southwest. When that front passes we'll see more of a northerly flow enhancing the temperature to be cooler, a little less windy.

So, that will help to reduce the critical conditions for tomorrow. So, today, still bad. Tuesday, slightly better. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: All right, Bonnie, thanks.

Rory McIlroy has sent a shock through the golfing world for the second time in two months. First, it was the disastrous finish at the Masters, but he has been redeemed.

If you didn't see his performance at the U.S. Open, let me tell about you it. The future for this young 22 -year-old golfer from Northern Ireland is pretty bright.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RORY MCILROY, U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I'm surprised that I've done it so early, but it's great. It's a great thing for me. You know, I can always call myself a major champion. You know, I can go ahead and focus on, as I said, trying to get some more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Let's talk more about McIlroy and his win. "Golf" magazine senior editor, Michael Walker, what can I tell you? I love this kid. I loved watching him make a comeback and I love his story even more, Michael.

MICHAEL WALKER, SENIOR EDITOR, "GOLF" MAGAZINE: You're not alone, Kyra. If you saw yesterday, I mean, the crowd was chanting, let's go, Rory, and they weren't English. I mean, it was all Americans.

Everybody has just kind of embraced Rory McIlroy. I think it says a lot about his game and his personality, why we're seeing this happening.

PHILLIPS: Here's what's amazing is that he was -- he had the lead at the Masters. Everybody was watching this young kid, thinking he was going to go home with the green jacket.

And then he just crumbled at the last minute and people were so -- or avid fans were so bummed out about that. To watch him recover so quickly, come back to the U.S. Open and win is really remarkable.

WALKER: Yes. He told us, he kept telling us, it wasn't bothering him, it wasn't bothering him and he did a few different things. I mean, he worked with a putting guru because I think that's one of the things that let him down.

And also the week before the U.S. Open, he went down to Haiti with UNICEF and I think that helped his perspective. I think that when he came back, you know, he realized that, you know, things aren't as important as a golf tournament.

He's just got the talent to win. He's such a big-time talent that this was just a matter of time. It wasn't an issue where Augusta was going to haunt him forever.

PHILLIPS: You know, let's talk about that, the fact he went to Haiti, put him in I good mindset. He all know how mental the game of golf is so he was obviously more relaxed, feeling good.

But is this what we've needed in the game of golf? You know, Tiger was it. Nobody could chase the Tiger and catch up to him and then the big scandal broke.

The game of golf really took a big hit. Could he be the next Tiger with a good moral compass?

WALKER: Yes. The thing is, since Thanksgiving night a couple years ago, I mean, the sort of top job in golf has been vacant. And I think we've seen over the last couple of years people who follow golf, I mean, good guys winning tournaments, but you haven't seen that sort of transcend Tiger Woods-like figure.

I wouldn't want to put the Tiger mantel on Rory yet just because of Tiger was like Michael Jordan, but as far as being that kind of personality, having that kind of talent and just -- you can't fool the fans, you can't fool other players.

They all talk about Rory like he's something special and I think Miguel Jimenez said the other day, you know, you're not looking at the next Tiger. You're looking at the first Rory.

I think the way everybody is talking about him. I mean, I think you do have a new star of the game. I mean, don't know if Tiger's going to come back.

He's certainly not going to come back the way he did before. And now I think you can feel a little better if you're a golf fan about the future of the game and where things are heading.

PHILLIPS: It's going to be great to watch young Rory work his way up. Michael Walker, great talking to you, one of my favorite subjects. Thanks, Michael.

WALKER: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're getting word too that we've got a decision at the Supreme Court. This one is concerning the discrimination case at Wal-Mart. We're going to take a quick break and we'll tell you what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Breaking news out of the Supreme Court. A ruling has been made in the alleged job discrimination case at Wal-Mart. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on the phone for us and it Looks like the decision has been made in favor of Wal-Mart. Jeff --

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Absolutely. This is a huge, huge victory for Wal-Mart. This was a lawsuit that would have been the biggest class action in the history of the United States, many, many thousands of plaintiffs.

And the Supreme Court has basically said, this is too big a case. This case -- the facts are so different regarding each of the plaintiffs that it's not fair to Wal-Mart to lump them into one case. You know, it's not a surprise, based on the oral argument.

There was a lot of skepticism at the court. The decision was 5-4 in part, but it was basically unanimous that the case had to be thrown out. So, it's not even the usual political divisions at the court. This is a case that the justices really thought was just too big.

PHILLIPS: We're talking about more than a million female Wal- Mart employees here, Jeff. You know, what kind of impact is this going to have on female workers who say, you know, they have been paid less, that they have been treated differently? It stirred up quite a continuous and large conversation about gender discrimination.

TOOBIN: And that conversation will continue, just that this lawsuit in its current form will not. I'm just getting the opinion now and I'm trying to read it and it's complicated in certain respects.

It is certainly possible that the plaintiffs will be able to reconfigure their lawsuit into several smaller lawsuits that may well be allowed to proceed. So, it's not like the Supreme Court said, Wal-Mart does not discriminate.

They didn't make any finding about whether Wal-Mart discriminate discriminated. All they said is the structure of this case, with, as you say, potentially a million plaintiffs, was simply too big under the rules for class actions. It may be reconstituted.

Everybody will have to read this opinion and figure out what it means. But certainly, this was a case that even a company as big as Wal-Mart had to fear in terms of the financial repercussions. But now they don't have to fear that anymore and Wal-Mart and its directors are certainly breathing very easy today.

PHILLIPS: So, as you read between the lines, then, and point out the differences there when we're talking about the issue of gender discrimination, are you then surprised by this decision?

TOOBIN: Not really because I was in the courtroom on the day that this case was argued and it was quite clear that the justices, even some of the liberal justices were skeptical that this case was simply too big.

So, it's not a surprise. But it will be a tremendous disappointment to the plaintiffs and to the lawyers who tried to organize this case. And they are going to have to try to figure out another way to get their courts -- to get the courts to consider the possibility that there was enormous gender discrimination at Wal-Mart.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks for calling in. Well, if you saw the U.S. Open this weekend, you saw some nearly flawless golf. But there's controversy over something at the top of the show.

NBC actually showed some kids reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, but edited out the words "under God." Kareen Wynter live in Los Angeles. So Kareen, has NBC responded to the criticism yet?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. A lot of people are just wondering how this all happened, Kyra. As for that response, the network didn't take long to realize they made a huge mistake here.

There was an immediate backlash on social media and around three hours into the broadcast, NBC issued an on-air apology. But this is how NBC opened their coverage. You've got to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the greatest golf tournament in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. Open championship of the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: With liberty and justice for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Wow. OK. So, the network said it was trying to create a patriotic segment and blamed an editing mistake for leaving out "under God," but this as you can imagine infuriated a whole lot of people on the web.

We're talking about some people complaining about censorship and actually calling for a boycott of the network, which to me seems a little extreme, but you can tell they were definitely incensed by this. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: A lot of people incensed at bad girl Amy Winehouse's performance so much so that they booed her off the stage in Belgrade. She just can't seem to get it together, can she?

WYNTER: She can't and this girl has so much talent, but every time we talk about her, it's involving negative press. Booed doesn't sum up this disastrous concert experience. She's right there.

Sadly, I'm not sure this is going to surprise really anyone. The talented but troubled singer, she was to kick off a comeback tour with a show in Serbia instead she was a wreck. The concert was in Belgrade.

Listen to this, she came out, opened her show by saying, hello, Athens. Yes, she forgot the lyrics. She looked physically ill on stage. She was eventually booed off stage after just a couple songs. Can you believe that?

Yes, because we're talking about Amy. In the wake of this disaster she's already canceled the next two stops on what was supposed to be a 12-city tour. Winehouse, by the way, she just got out of rehab. There is obviously a whole lot of speculation that she's falling back into bad habits.

PHILLIPS: It's a shame. It is a shame. You're right. She has a lot of talent.

All right, daytime Emmys, last chance to shine for many ABC soaps that are getting canceled, right?

WYNTER: Yes, last chance to shine, indeed. This show seems like it was honoring an era gone by, the daytime Emmy Awards that aired last night and celebrated the end of Oprah and a lot of soap operas that aren't going to be around for next season.

Oprah, she got a special award, the Crystal Pillar Award for her talk show which, of course, finished its run. She got a ten- minute tribute, Kyra, a whole long time, which is not typical for an awards show but people wanted to honor her.

Although she didn't appear live on the show, she did have a taped message accepting the award. Daytime Emmys used to be about soap operas and most of those shows have been canceled or they're rumored to be on the chopping block.

So it looks like there will only be four daytime dramas on the schedule next year. What a nice way for Oprah to go out with people remembering the impact that her show made.

PHILLIPS: Kareen, thanks.

WYNTER: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: If you want all information, everything break in the entertainment world, you know, A.J. Hammer has it every night, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11 p.m. on HLN.

Well, during this weekend's Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, an Obama impersonator's act was cut short when he began a Michele Bachmann joke.

But earlier, racially-tinged material didn't earn him the big hook. I actually had a chance to speak with comedian Reggie Brown last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: When you were yanked off the stage, what did they say to you?

BROWN: I like how they say yanked. I wouldn't consider myself being yanked.

PHILLIPS: OK, should I say nicely escorted off the stage?

BROWN: Yes, nicely escorted off the stage. The reason, you know, upon going out they told me I had anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes, but a few of the other speakers, Ron Paul and, I believe, six or seven others throughout the course of the weekend also ran over their time and were kindly escorted off the stage. So --

PHILLIPS: Do you believe you were yanked because you ran out of time?

BROWN: Well, it all depends on who you ask. I mean, that's what they told me. And then I get back to my hotel room and I see all these articles popping up online saying that I was yanked for my content. So --

PHILLIPS: What do you think? Were you yanked for time, Reggie, or yanked for your content? Tell me your gut.

BROWN: Well, basically -- well, I was at the Republican leadership conference. And I was just entering my set where I started to, you know, have some fun with the Republican candidates. So, I do believe that I was over my time by a few minutes. And I also believe that the material was starting to get to a point to where maybe they started to, you know, feel uncomfortable with where it was going. But I was just doing my thing.

PHILLIPS: OK, you were doing your thing. OK, you were kind of going at the home team there, so you got the nice escort off the stage.

But let me ask you a question because you made a handful of racial jokes we saw at the beginning there, even showing a picture of Sanford and Sons saying this is what the Obamas will look like after the White House. And then this comment about Black History Month. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN (impersonating Barack Obama): My favorite month is February. Black History Month. You see, Michelle, she celebrates the full month. And, you know, I celebrate half.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Did you get any boos on the racial jokes?

BROWN: No, I didn't hear any boos on any of the racial jokes. You know, the president, like myself, shares a mixed background. You know, my mother's white, my father's black. And I feel very safe delivering content like that. And the president himself has poked fun at, you know, his heritage, even from his last correspondents dinner when he played the intro with, you know, "The Lion King," you know, Rafiki putting Simba up and doing that whole thing.

You know, I wouldn't touch anything I think the president wouldn't feel comfortable with or hasn't done himself. I mean, he's someone I respect and I want to make him happy. I want him to appreciate what I'm doing, and --

BROWN: So, you don't think you took it too far?

PHILLIPS: Oh, no, no. You know, I really don't. I'm glad that it got downgraded to racial jokes because they weren't so kind in the first reviews when I was reading what they were writing about my material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And our panacle -- power political panel weighs in on this right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. The judge in the Casey Anthony trial ticked off at the prosecution and the defense. Chastised them both for delaying this morning's proceeding. The Florida's mom murder trial is entering its fifth week.

The New York Senate, one vote shy of approving same-sex marriages. A vote would have to come today, the last day of the legislative session. A recent poll indicates 58 percent of New Yorkers in favor of allowing same-sex marriage.

And jurors in the Rod Blagojevich trial deliberating for a sixth day. Last week, they sent the judge a note asking for clarification on ten charges against the ex-Illinois governor.

"Political Buzz," your rapid-fire look at hottest political topics of the day. Three questions, 20 seconds on the clock. And playing today, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian Pete Dominick. And conservative talk show host Dana Loesh.

All right, guys, first question. You know I got to ask you about this Obama impersonator stealing the show at the Republican Leadership Conference. Equal opportunity offender, I must say. He was escorted off the stage.

So, what do you think, it was for time or attacking the home team? Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Clearly it was for attacking the home team, Kyra. They couldn't take the heat. They should have known what Reggie was going to say. They should have seen the material, they should have seen it coming. To me, it basically says it was a complete lack of political acumen on their part. They got nervous and couldn't handle it at the end.

PHILLIPS: Dana? DANA LOESCH, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: I wish they would have discussed policy or something more substantial. I don't know. All I had to do was Google this guy and see his material to see what kind of routine he did. It kind of shocked me it got as far as it did. But I don't know. I mean, the stuff we see on SNL is pretty much on par. So, is anything sacred in politics? No.

PHILLIPS: I wonder what Pete Dominick would have done if this was his stand-up routine?

PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: Well, I've been invited to do these kind of performances many times in my career, Kyra. Sometimes they make you write out your whole entire script so they can sign off on it.

But I think we in the media making too big of a deal about this. I mean, you just had him on. You asked him point blank, why did he think it was? He said it could have been either reasons. We'll always have these partisan points of view on this issue. He was funny. The performance was great. I bet you anything the president loved it.

PHILLIPS: Gotcha. All right, next question. Senator John McCain blaming illegal immigrants for the wildfires in Arizona, disagreeing with Republican House Leader on Libya. Has he gone rogue? Dana?

LOESCH: I've never really been a huge fan of John McCain. And I don't think we speculate as to who or what started wildfires in Arizona to realize that we have a real problem with illegal immigration. But when it concerns Libya, I'm kind of shocked that here you have an individual that comes out so harshly against enhanced interrogation techniques but is completely willing to open a third war in Libya.

It makes no sense. I don't know if it's rogue or just no commonsense.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

PHILLIPS: Maria?

CARDONA: I think it's continued descendence into schizophrenia, Kyra, because you have a guy who is continuing to build the biggest hole his party has had with Latino voters with the kind of comment he made on illegal immigration and Arizona fires. In a year when no GOP candidate can win the White House without at least 40 percent of the Hispanic vote; he barely made it to 30 percent himself. None of the GOP candidates -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

CARDONA: -- have ever said anything about Latino voters.

PHILLIPS: Pete? DOMINICK: Kyra, I don't think he's gone rogue, I think he's gone old coot. He's practicing "get off my lawn" politics. The point here is there is no evidence the authorities have given senator or anybody else, that this was caused by the illegal immigrants. It's dangerous. It fuels bigotry and racism, irresponsible. If he can't solve the problem with a fence, he'll throw -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

DOMINICK: -- projectiles at it.

PHILLIPS: Final question. Your Buzzer Beater, ten seconds to answer this. The White House says the president will start personally tweeting from his Twitter page. So, hmm, what should his first tweet be? Maria?

CARDONA: Convince Speaker Boener to put our four-dollar golf winnings toward deficit reduction. Proof, my friends, that yes, together we still can.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

LOESCH: I'm not going to speculate as to what his first tweet will be, but I am interested to se if he's going to tweet more or if the teleprompter will because the teleprompter is already on Twitter.

PHILLIPS: And Pete, who's changing his name now on Twitter to Old Coot, what would you say?

(LAUGHTER)

DOMINICK: Kyra, I can tell you what the president shouldn't tweet. Maybe he could tweet out his birth certificate. Maybe he could retweet @Pete Dominick --

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys. Always great to talk to you three.

CARDONA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Big decision facing President Obama and thousands of men and women in harm's way in Afghanistan: withdrawing the troops. A live report from the Pentagon straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Troy Evans' family had a huge problem. His hometown school district decided to drop bus service because of budget cuts. And his sister-in-law with her three kids, well, was stressing out.

So, Evans, a former pro football player, went to work. You know what he did? He started his own bus company. He joins us live from Cincinnati to tell us how he did it. You know, Troy, a lot of pro athletes donate money to causes like this. You said, forget about it. I'm just going to start my own bus company. Why?

TROY EVANS, FORMER PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER: Well, you hit the nail right on the head. My brother has three great children. My nieces and nephews. And they are directly Affected by this. All three would lose bussing next year, and my sister-in-law is pulling her hair out trying to figure out how to be in three places at one time.

PHILLIPS: And Troy, what I understand, your five-year-old, Peyton said something to you, too, right? How did she tug at your heartstrings?

EVANS: Yes, she has a little simpler way to look at things. She said that her cousin, Cameron, which is one of my brother's sons, she said, "Daddy, you're doing this so Cameron has a school bus to go to school in, aren't you?" I said, "Yes, I guess I am, Peyton."

PHILLIPS: Oh, what a great -- what a great role model you are for her.

Well, let me ask you, you know, this is -- not only did you start your own company. You would think, OK, this probably costs more money and its going to take more resources, but actually you cut the price in half. Usually, it costs 20 bucks a child - and this is a week. You got it to $10. How did you do that?

EVANS: Well, I'm trying to get it to $10. I don't want to misinform anyone --

PHILLIPS: You're almost there.

EVANS: You know -- I'm trying, I can promise you that. You know, I'm making every decision, every business decision I can that to affect that price point. I'm going to try to be significantly lower than what you called the average, which was around $80 a month.

And just because I think it's important. The people of the community really need it. There is some philanthropy involved here. And I'm really trying to get that done because I know it's a service that's needed. But I also know times are tough right now, and these families need dual incomes to feed their children, to survive in the community. And I don't want to take any of that away from them.

PHILLIPS: You know, so many times athletes get caught up in their game, whatever it is. The money that they make, having a good time. You have done just the opposite here. Something that you say you're just trying to do what's right.

What has been the revelation here for you when it comes to our educational system and the lack of funds that are impacting our kids and can impact, you know, your little girl?

EVANS: Yes. You know, honestly, in Lakota, which is the school district I'm starting the bus service in, in their defense, they're doing everything they can. You know, these millages pop up every year. Sometimes every second year in communities around the country. You know, times are tough right now.

So, you know, parents and people in the community voted a little different direction this time and cut some really serious numbers. So, the people in the district had to make some changes. They felt bussing was one of the ones they could make while still trying to maintain a high level of education. It's still one of the most highly decorated school systems for academic excellence.

So, you know, I hope and I think they are making all the right decisions as far as academics and keeping the quality of life for the children the best they can. Just bussing was one area that was affected. And I kind of had one of those Zuckerberg moments -- Facebook moments, just started thinking one night and ended up writing a 13-page business plan to see if I could pitch it to some people to maybe try to help some of these parents out.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's been a great story to report. We would love to see you drive that first bus. Troy Evans, thanks so much.

EVANS: Thank you. I appreciate you having me.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

"Daily Dose" now. We've got alarming news, actually, about kids and food allergies. A study published in "The Journal of Pediatrics" says that more kids have food allergies than we actually thought previously. Those allergies can be more severe in children than in adults.

Researchers found that eight percent of U.S. kids are allergic to at least one food. Earlier estimates have ranged from two percent to eight percent. And the study found 39 percent of U.S. kids have a history of severe reactions. Thirty percent are allergic to more than one food.

Big decision facing President Obama and the thousands of men and women in harm's way in Afghanistan. Withdrawing the troops. A live report from the Pentagon straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's going to a close, and decision time for the president of Afghanistan. And he's getting plenty of input regarding troop withdrawals. Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon.

Barbara, most military leaders there balking at pulling the troops out.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, as the clock winds down, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who's scheduled to step down by the end of the month, has been talking about all this and the competing pressures about this decision. How soon, how fast, how many troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. On the one hand, you have Osama bin Laden dead, so why are 100,000 U.S. troops there? On the other hand, Gates is talking about sitting down with the Taliban, some initial contacts have already been made. And can you really convince the Taliban to switch sides and join the government process? That would provide crucial stability.

Listen to a little bit of what Gates had to say about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Real reconciliation talks are not likely to be able to make any substantive headway until at least this winter. I think that the Taliban have to feel themselves under military pressure and begin to believe that they can't win before they're willing to have a serious conversation.

We've all said all along that a political outcome is the way most of these wars end. The question is, when and if they're ready to talk seriously about meeting the red lines that President Karzai and that the coalition have laid down, including totally disavowing al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And that's really key here. You know, will the Taliban disavow al Qaeda? Would they support the government of Hamid Karzai? And right now, is that government really strong enough to govern the country and see after Afghan security? Those are the questions now facing the president as he tries to make that decision, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sorry about that, Barbara. I was going to follow up with another question, but we have to keep it rolling. We will follow that, of course, out of the Pentagon. Barbara Starr, thanks so much.

What is Piers Morgan talking about tonight? We'll tell you just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Ryan and Tatum O'Neal are letting their complex relationship play out on television. And it started last week when Tatum O'Neal spoke to Piers Morgan about her rocky relationship with her father.

Well, tonight it's Dad's turn. Here's a sneak preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN O'NEAL, ACTOR: What kind of a man wouldn't be proud of someone who made all these sacrifices and all this growth? And wants me to -- to respect her, to love her?

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Do you?

O'NEAL: Yes. I do. She's hard. She's a beauty. Great beauty. And there are times in which she's magnificent. But she has made my life hard, hard. And Farrah's. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And you can watch Ryan O'Neal on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" on CNN, 9:00 Eastern.

U.S. government in talks with the Taliban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it's nothing serious at this point, but is it a good idea? We'll explore the issue in our "Talk Back" segment at 11 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. One Republican still dipping his toes in the presidential pool while another is about to jump in all the way. Our senior political editor Mark Preston has both stories. Mark, let's start with Rick Perry.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra yes. Rick Perry, you say he's dipping his toes in the pool. It seems like he likes the water. This past weekend he was down in New Orleans. He was appearing before the Republican Leadership Conference. And by all accounts, he got quite a -- quite an ovation after his speech.

You know, Rick Perry spoke specifically to social issues. In fact, some of the thing he said is, let's stand up, let's speak with pride about our morals and our values. And let's redouble our effort to elect more conservative Republicans. Rick Perry, the governor of Texas right now, seriously considering running for the Republican presidential nomination. You know, it's just a few months back where he said he wasn't interested in doing it, but he's getting a lot of urging to do so. He could make that decision, Kyra, next month.

But tomorrow, Jon Huntsman, who most recently was the ambassador to China in President Obama's administration, he is going to make it official. He's going to do it in New Jersey, of all places. But it does seem to make sense. He's doing it with the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty.

Jon Huntsman, who is the Utah governor before he was tapped by President Obama to head over to China will announce that he's running for the Republican presidential nomination. He's been critical of the Obama administration. His path to victory is to talk about centrist views.

He'll start his campaign basically up in New Hampshire. He's going to skip the very critical state of Iowa where there are a lot of social conservatives. But Jon Huntsman thinks he could be the centrist candidate in this race. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Mark, thanks.

We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

Or you can stay tuned and listen to Suzanne Malveaux SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: We love politics in these hours.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we do.

MALVEAUX: We love it. It's my thing.

PHILLIPS: I know it is.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Happy Monday.

MALVEAUX: You too.