Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Supreme Court and Your Health; Accused Crime Boss Nabbed; Casey Anthony Bombshell; Selling the Afghan Drawdown; Fight to Save Minot, North Dakota; Homecoming for U.S. Open Champ; Dow Plummets; Self-Help Guru Found Guilty; Man Updates Facebook During Standoff; Last Shuttle Launches July 8; Obama at LGBT Event Today; Same-Sex Marriage Vote Near in New York; First Lady Visits Cape Town Museum; Supreme Court Rules on Generic Drugs; Supreme Court on Your Prescription Records
Aired June 23, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. Hi, everyone. I'm Kyra Philips.
We're keeping a close eye on the U.S. Supreme Court where your health and your choices are under the microscope. We're awaiting rulings on prescription drugs and the potential danger of generics.
One of the FBI's most wanted fugitive in jail and headed to court. Alleged boss and crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger was finally caught in California with his long time girlfriend.
Before a jury can decide if Casey Anthony murdered her 2- year-old daughter, her parents offered their own damning verdict. They don't think she's innocent.
We begin with the drawdown in Afghanistan. The first U.S. troops will be pulled out next month. Ten thousand of them come home this year. Another 23,000 U.S. troops withdrawn by the end of next summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is the beginning, but not the end of our effort to wind down this war. We'll have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we've made while we drawdown our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now members of the team face critics on Capitol Hill. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
And at the House Armed Services Committee, testimony is about to get under way with Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He'll discuss the drawdown plan, as well and other recent developments in Afghanistan.
Democrats, Republicans even military leaders all have grave concerns about the president's new Afghanistan policy. Brianna Keilar is at the White House.
So Brianna, the president stopping at Fort Drum, but after that he's moving on to business of the re-election, right? Why the quick turn?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. He's doing this in a couple of different ways, Kyra. After the sort of natural follow on his announcement last night, his visit to Fort Drum.
He heads to New York City where he's hoping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars at each of three fundraisers, including a couple that are of import. Certainly one has to do with the LGBT community.
Kyra, as the president contemplates an evolving position on same-sex marriage, something we've already spoken about this week and there's also sort of a creative fundraiser that involves a performance on Broadway of "Sister Act," the musical.
But one of the things that really struck me in what the president said last night, he tried to make the turn back to the economy in his comment saying, it's time to get to nation building here in the U.S. and he's trying to refocus the message on the economy and jobs.
If you look at his schedule, he heads tomorrow to Pittsburgh. He's going to be at the National Robotics Engineering Center and he'll be talking about new technology in manufacturing that the Obama administration says will create jobs.
This is no mistake, because even though, obviously, this week has so much to do with Afghanistan and also Libya is taking up a lot of the oxygen in the room, this White House is very aware that it's the economy that's going to dominate the minds of voters and that's the message he's trying to focus on tomorrow, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna Keilar at the White House. Brianna, thanks.
Now to an old school crime story and a new approach to nabbing a fugitive. James "whitey" Bulger is the staffs of legend, loan sharking, drug rackets and 19 alleged murders, a reputed Boston kingpin who inspired fear in Hollywood script writers. His larger than life persona borrowed by Jack Nicholson in the movie "The Departed."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me curious to see you in this neighborhood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Today, Boston's most notorious gangster and his long time girlfriend are in jail after 16 years on the run. Kara Finnstrom is in Los Angeles where they'll make their first court appearance today.
Kara, let's go and take a look at this PSA right now. How did this unusual strategy actually lead to nabbing these two?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, after looking for Bulger himself for 15 years and not being successful, they decided to target his long time girlfriend, instead.
And what they did is they created this 30-second PSA where they talked about specific traits she has, things like she likes dogs. She had numerous plastic surgeries. She frequents beauty salons.
And so they hoped that perhaps some of the women in some different TV audiences where they actually play these PSAs might recognize her in a beauty salon or something along those lines and call them in with a tip.
In fact, this is how they got the tip that led them to both of these two last night in Santa Monica and they're now under arrest.
PHILLIPS: So he's 81 years old now. How big of a threat did the FBI really consider him? And why did he become such a priority at this time?
FINNSTROM: Well, their top ten fugitive web site, they say he always carries a knife, he has a violent temper. But again, he is 81 and he was arrested last night without any resistance.
This is really about the damage that they say he's already done to the Boston area. He's been indicted on 19 murders. He's want odd a wide range of crimes from drug trafficking to extortion.
So he's actually committed so many different crimes at this point, this is really more about what he has done and they really feel they need to bring him to justice.
PHILLIPS: All right. And at some point, will we see him in court today?
FINNSTROM: We expect to see him in court later today. Don't have an exact time, but, of course, we'll be there. And the interesting thing here is we really haven't seen him in 16 years. He's now 81. So it will be interesting to see how he's changed, this huge mob boss who has been so sought after.
PHILLIPS: Kara Finnstrom at L.A. Kara, thanks.
Bracing for disaster in North Dakota, frantic fight under way to save the city of Minot from record flooding. Already a third of the city's population has evacuated. CNN's Jim Spellman is there. Jim, set the scene for us.
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the water is starting to come up here. Yesterday, it reached the top of all of the levees throughout town except for a few like this one that they've built up to try to protect vital infrastructure. This is a complex here that has a library and city hall and the police station. They've built temporary dikes around some schools, an important bridge that crosses the river.
Everywhere else, they've had to concede there's no way they'll be able to build these levees high enough to protect the bulk of the city.
This river is being fed by snowmelt and flood waters and rain waters from Canada. There's so much force and it's going up eight more feet before it crest on Sunday.
Just right here, in these low-lying area, we've seen the water come about 8 to 10 feet towards us in just about the last two hours or so. And it's flowing much faster every 10 minutes or so, it seems to pick up the pace.
It's just going to be tragic here. All these people that have left, they've just resigned themselves to having heavy damage. People are pulling up carpet out of their house figuring it's easier to do it when it's dry than when it's wet.
It's going to real disaster here and they know that they can't save the whole city. They hope to at least keep part of the vital infrastructure going. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jim. We'll keep checking in with you. Thanks.
Overseas, a big home coming in Northern Ireland for U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy. CNN's Zain Verjee is following the celebration from London because she is going to start getting into golf and playing with me when she's back at the states. I love this story. He brought the trophy home and everybody was excited in his hometown.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You're amazing at golf, but who cares about us because Rory McIlroy, amazing hero's welcome when he went back. Just take a look some of this video.
This is him with hundreds of fans. He's being sprayed by champagne by some of his friends there. This is an emotional return. This was basically the Hollywood Golf Club. This was the very first golf club he played at.
He knows it well. They watched him win the U.S. Open there on the night and he gave a little speech and he thanked his parents for being so amazing. He also said that he also he was so happy to show a different image of Northern Ireland than the one we're so used to seeing.
Let take a look at the "Belfast Telegraph," they're just slightly biased there, Kyra, but you know what? Their headline says, the lessons everyone can learn from McIlroy's sporting genius.
They go on to ad, it was because he learned so much from losing that he emerged as the most convincing victor in golf's most elite event.
His sporting genius is all the more admirable because it's accompanied by obvious warmth, dignity, humility and appreciation. I second that, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And I third that. You can even say that. Yes, we'll be watching him. Truly, we need a new golf star with a moral compass. That's for sure. Thanks so much, Zain.
All right, well, unfortunately at 10:08 Eastern Time, the markets still tanking, it's getting worse. Poppy Harlow is watching it for us. Poppy --
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: A huge selloff, a number of factors here. Kyra, this comes after a very weak job report we got this morning and it comes after a very sour announcement from the fed yesterday saying the U.S. economy is not going to grow as much as they thought. The job picture is going to remain very weak. Housing is still remaining weak.
You've got that, Kyra. But what really is interesting this morning is that we didn't see the reaction yesterday. We're seeing it this morning. Two interesting things at play here. As I said this morning, the U.S. has decided to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic petroleum reserve.
That is meaning a major sell off for oil prices right now. Oil down 5 percent. That means tomorrow when you go to the gas station, your gas is going to cost less.
I just got off the phone with an oil trader who said, look, this is the U.S. government giving every American ostensibly a big tax break saying so many parts of this economy are not good for consumers right now.
If we can push energy prices lower, that is helpful for consumers at the pump for all of us that is helpful, for businesses that rely on oil in so many different ways.
But what is interesting, traders aren't factoring that and investors aren't factoring that into this marketplace because it is not affecting the market, which has been down triple digits since the open, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, we'll keep tracking it. Poppy, thanks.
New York State senators near a vote on the same-sex bill. We'll have a live report right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country, a Phoenix jury says self-help guru, James Ray is guilty of negligent homicide. Three people died of dehydration and heat stroke in what he called a sweat lodge ceremony in the Arizona desert in 2009. For 17 hours, he held off police in Ogden, Utah. All the while web updated his status on Facebook. The hostage is OK, but gunman, Jason Valdez is in critical condition after shooting himself.
Space history coming to an end next month and this is the shuttle crew that will take us on the final launch. NASA is retiring the fleet after 30 years and 135 missions. Chris Ferguson will command "Atlantis" July 8th.
President Obama will be in New York later today to speak at three Democratic fundraisers and the one getting the most attention is for the city's gay community.
The president's attending the event comes at a critical moment in New York State. Lawmakers are closing in on a vote that will legalize same-sex marriage. CNN's Mary Snow is at State Capitol. Mary, how close are we to seeing this vote?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I think it's safe to say that everyone is bracing for a very long day with a potential vote today. But we stress potential because this has been the case every day this week.
We do know is this, the lawmakers here must pass or must vote on a bill dealing with rent regulations and tax caps. That is likely to come up later today. Once that vote is taken and that bill is out of the way, that paves the way for a vote on same-sex marriage.
Whether the Republican-controlled Senate will still bring it up that remains unclear, but behind the scenes, there have been ongoing negotiations to address concerns among Republican lawmakers about the language of the bill and about protection for religious organizations.
We are being told, though, that progress is being made on that language. As you know, this is one vote -- there are 62 members of the State Senate here and supporters of this bill are one vote shy of getting it passed. So there's a lot of pressure building.
PHILLIPS: So set the scene for us, Mary. How many people are there?
SNOW: Well, you know, Kyra, every day this week, there have been people who are in favor of this bill and those against. They've been flooding the halls of the State Capital here in Albany, singing and chanting and, really, lobbying lawmakers.
This morning, fewer than usual, but perhaps that's because everybody is appraising for a very long day today and a very long night, but this has been the ongoing scene here in this capital.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll be following right along there with you, Mary. Thank you.
Well, the people in South Africa love her. More on first lady Michelle Obama's visit just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, unfortunately, bad weather forced first lady Michelle Obama to cancel her visit to the prison where Nelson Mandela was held. But she did get a tour of a museum to learn more about South Africa's history of segregation.
Let's get to CNN's Nkepile Mabuse, who joins us now on the phone from Johannesburg.
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Hi there, Kyra. Obviously, the day began with a little bit of bad news for the first lady. She was looking forward to getting a tour of an island.
Of course, this is where former President Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his 27-year-long incarceration. But she did get to go to the district museum and this museum basically tells the story of a community that was forced to be removed from that area because it was declared a white-only area.
And, of course, that museum basically tells that story and how these people have now moved to the Cape Flats, the area that's called the Cape Flats here. And from there, she actually went past a small restaurant escorted by a lady who loved cooking, knew nothing about starting restaurants and the vaunt is one of the most popular here in Cape Town.
She ordered her -- Malia and Sasha love sandwiches and she had a salad. She left for Cape Town where she interacted with some kids from disadvantaged communities. But she wanted them to see a university and dream about studying. So she stressed, as she has been throughout her trip, the importance of education and just motivated kids who could ask her any question, actually, including how she met the president.
PHILLIPS: I know she's being received extremely well. We'll continue to follow her trip there through your eyes. Thank you.
Lindsay Lohan, familiar surroundings, back in court this morning and J.K. Rolling, well, has more Harry Potter and George Clooney is back on the market.
"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer joins us. So where shall we start? The young actress, more trouble, more drama.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, and I hate to be cynical, but I can't say this is entirely unexpected, Kyra. Lindsay Lohan has violated her parole. She's heading back to court.
Lindsay has been under house arrest and last week, she failed a court-ordered alcohol test. She is expected to try and explain herself in front of a judge this morning. She's appearing before the same judge who already sentenced Lohan to 120 days in jail.
Now she's been able to serve the time under house arrest because of overcrowding in the Los Angeles jail. So you couldn't say Lindsay has been serving hard time.
In fact, she even filmed a commercial in her home and in recent days, there have been multiple reports of Lohan partying with friends on her beach home roof. So what is the expression, Kyra, about a leopard not being able to change its spots? I think it applies here, sadly.
PHILLIPS: It just continues. OK, let's turn the corner shall we. Let's have a little more fun here. Harry Potter's story continues on the internet.
HAMMER: Yes, and my nephew will be thrilled about this. The books have wrapped up, the final movie is about to release, but Harry Potter will live on. And yes, that's going to happen online.
J.K. Rolling has announced the creation of pottermore.com. She promises to share additional information that she's been in her words hoarding for years about her world of muggels and wizards.
Rolling announced that she will be building the site in part with her fans as she's encouraging them to submit comments and drawings and all sorts of other contents.
And good news for e-book readers, Rolling announced that the Potter e-book series is going to be made available and they're going to start off, of course, with the first one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone.
As Rolling put it, Potter More is, quote, "the same story with a few crucial editions. The most important one is you." So great news for Potter fans this morning, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And great news for all the single ladies out there, George Clooney on the market again. What happened?
HAMMER: Everybody thinks, I've got a shot now. Well, George is back on the market. We don't know the real reason for his latest split. But, of course, a lot of people are speculating about what happened, with the common thinking being that, Clooney likes being single.
He has repeatedly made it clear over the years. He does not plan on getting married ever again. But Clooney and his Italian model girlfriend, Elisebetta Canalis have called it quits with the pair issuing a statement to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
Here's what they say, we are not together any more. It is very difficult and very personal and we hope everyone can respect our privacy. George, you know, you're one of my favorite people on the planet especially in showbiz. So I wish you nothing but the best, and I'm sure it's all for the right reasons.
PHILLIPS: A.J., that's so politically correct. Stay on the scoop there. A.J. Hammer with everything breaking on the entertainment world, he's always got it for us every night on HLN, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The stage is now set for a huge cross border soccer battle. Team USA will play Mexico in the Gold Cup Soccer finals. We'll tell you how the Yanks advance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We've got breaking news coming out of the U.S. Supreme Court, two significant decisions to tell you about regarding your health.
Our Elizabeth Cohen is there. Actually, just came out of the courtroom. Also we're going to talk in a moment with Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst.
Elizabeth, let's start with you. How about first telling us what happened with regard to generics?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, if I huff and puff a little bit, it's because I just have been from the court. These decisions just down.
I understand we have some video for this first case that I think is really important in explaining this story. There's a woman in Minnesota named Gladys Mensing (ph). Years ago, before she took a certain drug, she was a fully functioning woman.
She was a grandmother who loves playing with her grandkids. However, she then took a generic version of an acid reflux drug. So this is a healthy woman who just had some acid reflux. After she took it, I hope we have this video, look what happened.
She developed a terrible neurological disorder. Now, her family then found out that the brand name version of this drug, the same thing was happening to people and the makers of the brand name drug pulled it off the market.
And so her family said, what's up with that? How come you let the generic one stay on there? We would have never given it to her if we had known that and so they sued.
But now it's gone to the highest court in the land and they basically said on a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court justices said sorry, Mrs. Mensing, it's OK what the generic drugmakers did.
It is OK to keep a generic drug on the market even when the brand name drug has been pulled off the market.
PHILLIPS: Well, and so many of us use generics, Elizabeth. Sometimes the pharmacist just automatically gives you the generic without even asking you. So what does this mean for us every day as we roll up to the pharmacy to get our prescription drugs?
COHEN: You know, I think what this means is that if you're taking a generic, it is not a bad idea to just quickly check and see if the brand name is still on the market. It's easy. You just say to the pharmacist, the brand name version of this, is this still sold? And if she says yes, at least you know it's still on the market.
You can also go online and see are they issuing any warnings for the brand name and you might want to see if they've also issued them for the generic. But you can be an empowered patient, you can be proactive. See if that brand name is still sold or not.
PHILLIPS: All right, the next decision coming down having to do with prescription drugs and marketing, Elizabeth. And what was the decision on that with regard to consumer protection?
COHEN: Right. I have to tell you, Kyra, I bet you don't know this because a lot of people don't know this. That is when you go fill a prescription at the pharmacy. That information is then sold to big pharma.
That prescription information is sold to pharmaceutical companies minus your name. So it won't say Kyra Phillips is taking, you know this or that drug, but the fact that your doctor prescribed it to you, that gets sold to pharmaceutical companies.
Pharmaceutical companies loves this because then they know, wow, Dr. Smith prescribes a lot, let's say, Prozac. We want him to prescribe Zoloft because we make Zoloft and so they can then go and do targeted marketing to the doctors.
Well, some states in New England said, that doesn't seem right and they made it illegal. This, again, went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court sided with big pharma.
They said big pharma can buy this information. They can find out what individual doctors have been prescribing and it is all legal, it is all legitimate.
PHILLIPS: So, Sunny Hostin, how does it impact commercial speech and consumer protection?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, TRUTV: I haven't had a chance to read the entire decision yet, but if I'm loathed to talk about the effects of it, Kyra. But I will say this.
The Supreme Court, this is one of the days when they sort of the send out all these decisions and it becomes the law of the land. I can tell you that marketing companies, drug companies, pharmaceutical reps, they will all be changing their behaviors because the Supreme Court has now told them what is appropriate and what isn't appropriate.
And I think that's very important for our viewers to know. A lot of people think they see these Supreme Court nominations and they don't realize the import (sic) of it. Once the Supreme Court has made the a decision, it becomes the law of the land and everyone must follow it, not just from state to state, but all states, the entire country. PHILLIPS: So Elizabeth, with regard to data mining, what are the benefits, then, of the changes that will now be instilled?
COHEN: Well, big pharma is really the one who benefits here, Kyra. They want to know Dr. John Smith in such-and-such a place. I mean, they know this individual doctor, they know what he prescribes. And if they're the competitor drug, they can then go to Dr. Smith and say, hey, you know, let's -- here are some samples. Here's a few little gifties. You know, let's -- can you please prescribe my drug instead.
Big harma is a huge winner here. They get to do - continue to do the kind of marketing that they love to do because it works. Studies show, Kyra, that when a pharmaceutical company markets drugs to a specific doctor, it works. That doctor really does change his prescribing habits.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen and Sunny Hostin. Ladies, thanks so much.
Let's check other top stories happening right now. Drug racket, loan sharking and murder. Alleged crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger captured and heading to court today. The Boston gangster was arrested in southern California after 16 years on the run.
About one-third of the population of Minot, North Dakota, have evacuated. Record flooding is expected after heavy rains and dam releases.
And President Obama hits the road to push his plan for withdrawing 33,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan by September 2012. The president meets soldiers at Fort Drum, New York, this afternoon.
"Political Buzz". Your rapid-fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. Three questions, 20 seconds on the clock. And playing today, Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher, independent and CNN contributor John Avlon, and conservative political analyst Will Cain.
Guys, good to see you. First question: Republicans, Democrats and the military all disappointed by the president's Afghan policy. So, was the speech by a big mistake? Will?
WILL CAIN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ANALYST: Kyra, you know, yesterday Afghanistan was a cesspool where they stone the victims of rape for adultery. It was the same way 30 years ago, and it will most likely be the same way tomorrow.
Yesterday, there was no discernible goal to the war in Afghanistan. No path to victory. It was the same way 10 years ago, and now that we decide to take a third of our 100,000 troops out, I think it will be the same way tomorrow. I just don't know that much has changed.
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
PHILLIPS: Cornell?
CORNELL BELCHER, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: Well, I have to vehemently disagree with that. I mean, we have changed direction, and we're on a new path here. This president is winding down two wars. He made a commitment to say he's going to wind down these wars. He's winding down the war in Iraq, and he is now winding down the war in Afghanistan in a responsible way.
Look, al Qaeda has momentum seven years ago - you know, this war started seven years ago. And two years ago when he came in, al Qaeda has momentum. They don't have momentum right now -
(BUZZER SOUNDS)
BELCHER: -- and their leader is dead.
PHILLIPS: John.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I agree with Cornell on this. Look, President Obama's surge has largely worked. Osama bin Laden is killed. The Taliban are in retreat. And so it's appropriate he draw down in the timeline he set forward before. This is not a matter of polling. This is a matter of war and peace. And the Obama administration's war on al Qaeda has worked largely today.
PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Question number two. (INAUDIBLE) with his crystal ball for 2012. He says Republicans are favored to take control of the Senate. Is he right, Cornell?
BELCHER: Well, you know, I am leery about making these sort of predictions this far out. Look, Democrats have a tough road. They have a lot more seats to defend. However, Obama's going to be on the top of the ticket, and there's going to be a lot of new voters coming into the process. And you know, and I like the Democrats' chances of recruiting and holding on seats. And we don't know what the Tea Party is going to do in the Republican primaries for their Senate candidates. They helped us out the last time. I think they might help us out this time.
PHILLIPS: All right. John? Or Will.
AVLON: This isn't a matter of a crystal ball. This is math. I mean, the reality is is the Democrats are defending 23 seats. That's a really tall order. They're on defense in the electoral map. Interesting fact, got to go back to 1916 to find a time when the president's party lost seats in the Senate but the president was re- elected. That's Woodrow Wilson.
PHILLIPS: Will, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
CAIN: That's okay. John's right. It's all math. Look, right now, it's 57-41 Democrats. It's not hard to find three seats that are likely to flip. North Dakota, Missouri, Montana. And beyond that, you can pick ten more like Florida, Ohio that might flip.
John said it right. The Democrats is playing defense. This whole game is played on their end of the field.
PHILLIPS: All right. "Buzzer Beater." Ten seconds to answer, guys. It sounds like Sarah Palin's bus tour will hit the road again. So, hat should her next stop be? Will, I'll start with you.
CAIN: Alaska.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Cornell?
BELCHER: You know, if we in the lamestream media will keep following her, we're dumb enough to keep following her, she should go all over the country.
PHILLIPS: John?
AVLON: Oh, God, Alaska is good, but I'll take some swing states. Florida and Ohio. That's where the election will be decided at the end of the day.
PHILLIPS: Look at John taking it all seriously. Will, John, Cornell, thanks, guys.
Well, in Syria today, we are getting reports that the military tanks and armored personnel carriers moved into a village along the Turkish border. And that's where refugees, as you know, have set up a makeshift camp to try and escape all the violent government crackdown.
CNN's Arwa Damon actually managed to get back into Syria, and she joins us on the phone from Damascus. Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Hi, Kyra. What we have been hearing is activists and residents of that area in north (INAUDIBLE) is that the advance that many of them had been dreading, given that they had already -- their respective villages and towns and are camped out along the Syrian-Turkey border did, in fact, take place early this morning.
The Syrian military, according to one activist who's based at that makeshift camp you were talking about, they are saying that the military entered the small village of (INAUDIBLE) at around 6:30 in the morning. Saying that no shots, however, were fired because most of the residents had, in fact, fled, saying only the elderly were left behind.
What we are hearing that that refugee community that is camped out along the Syria-Turkey border has either trying to hide themselves amongst the (INAUDIBLE) or, in fact, crossed into turkey. But many of them had been bracing themselves for this kind of a military offensive.
Now, the Syrian government, we believe (AUDIO GAP) quite a bit since we arrived here (AUDIO GAP) is maintaining that it is simply targeting the armed groups. It's saying that it had to go into this part of the country beginning with the town of around two weeks ago to try to cleanse it of armed groups that it says were targeting the security forces but were also terrifying residents themselves.
PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, there, live from where she just crossed over the border joining us from Damascus. We'll continue to follow the story. Arwa, thanks so much.
Oil prices tumbling as the Obama administration decided to tap the strategic petroleum reserve. Will it ease your pain at the pump? We'll talk about it, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. More breaking news out of the Supreme Court. Another decision being handed down. This one having to do with Anna Nicole Smith's estate dispute.
Bill Mears, our Supreme Court producer, joining us by phone. Bill, what does it mean?
BILL MEARS, CNN SUPREME COURT PRODUCER (on the phone): The estate for Vicki Lynn Marshall, who went by the name of Anna Nicole Smith, has lost her appeal at the Supreme Court. It was a 5-4 decision. It basically puts an end to the long-standing dispute over her late husband. And he was a Texas oil man who died back in 1995. And the issue is whether she deserved a portion of that billion-dollar estate.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Bill Mears from the Supreme Court, thanks so much.
We are following pictures out of Boston. We are following the feds coming forward, talking about the arrest of "Whitey" Bulger, Boston's infamous crime bust - crime boss, rather. We're going to keep an eye on this as the feds talk about that arrest after 16 years on the run.
Other stories that we are looking at "Cross Country." Lexington, Kentucky, a powerful storm collapsed stables at the famed Churchill Downs racetrack. No horses hurt there. The storm cut power to thousands of people and caused flash floods.
Then in South Charleston, West Virginia, police a group of men tweeted themselves right into jail during a wild night out. They caused $14,000 worth of damage to a hotel room. And guess what? They tweeted as they smashed TVs and stabbed couches. They even posted pictures. Well, that gave police plenty of clues to come and arrest them.
New Jersey will lower its flag today to honor famed saxophonist Clarence Clemens, a fixture in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Clemons died of complications from a stroke in West Palm Beach, Florida, Saturday. He was 69 years old.
Oil price tumbling. So are stocks. Poppy Harlow has been watching this for the past 45 minutes. She is here to explain what's going on from New York. Poppy?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, Kyra, some mixed news this morning. A big sell-off, as everyone can see. The Dow down more than 200 points.
Look, we got bad news from the Fed on our economy yesterday. We don't know what's happening with Greece's debt situation. And the reports on housing, jobs have been bad for the past few weeks. That's why the market is selling off, and a bad jobs report this morning.
Oil prices are tumbling down, as well, down four-and-a-half percent falling below $90 for the first time since February. And Kyra, this could be a lot of relief for consumers at the pump in the next few weeks. You're going to see your gas prices go down. The United States is saying, all right, we're going to release millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
What one oil trader told me, this is like a big tax break for Americans. The average right now, $3.61. Expect that to go down. Chuck Schumer, who has been pushing for this, coming out and saying this is a shot in the arm for the U.S. economy that it needed. We will see if this relief for consumers and companies really, really matters for this economic recovery. We have so many other issues we're dealing with.
But again, the government making a major move to bring down oil and gas prices this morning. It's doing just that. The market, though, not pricing it in right now. Not factoring that in is helping this recover. The market down 208 points.
PHILLIPS: All right, Poppy. Thanks.
A quick look at your "Daily Dose" now. Four-year FDA study says silicone breast implants are safe. Finds no health risks, even though many people feared leaks could cause cancer. Doctors do warn that implants don't last forever and the longer women use them, the more likely they'll lead to complications.
High stakes in high-end hotels. A celebrity poker ring uncovered. You'll get the names in ten minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It sounds like something out of a movie. celebrities involved in secret high-stakes gambling in high-end hotels. But one lawyer not only says it was really going on, he's going after one actor's alleged $311,000 take.
CNN's Kareen Wynter in Los Angeles with the story. Kareen?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This involves Spiderman star Toby Maguire, Kyra. He's involved in a bit of a legal web, entangled this morning.
This involves high-stakes poker playing. The actor was slapped with a lawsuit, claiming that a former hedge fund manager, Bradley Rudderman, who is now serving a ten-year prison sentence for tax and wire fraud convictions, that he took part in secret high-stakes and elite poker games at several luxury hotel games here in Beverly Hills. Rudderman, he reportedly lost money to Maguire and several other high- profile celebs who weren't named in the lawsuit but allegedly took part in these exclusive gambling events.
The suit claims that Rudderman devised an illegal Ponzi scheme came in order to pay his debts. Now, Maguire is being sued by the trustee of those, who lost money in that scheme. Now, the investors who allegedly lost money in the scheme, they're going after Maguire and the $311,000 that he allegedly won, big money, from Rudderman that he wired to Maguire through bank accounts, according to the complaint. The suit contends that since these games were technically illegal and weren't licensed, Maguire and the other defendants have no right to keep the money they won.
We reached out to Maguire's reps for comment, Kyra, but we're told they are not responding at this time.
PHILLIPS: Now, you mentioned other Hollywood celebrities. Any more big names being sued?
WYNTER: A whole lot of speculation about other stars allegedly involved in this poker ring, but we can only confirm that actor/director Nick Cassavetes - he directed "The Notebook" - and former "Welcome Back Kotter" star Gabe Caplan are also being sued. Cassavetes for $73,000 and Caplan for $62,000. We reached out to both of these actors for comment, Kyra, and they are yet to respond.
PHILLIPS: Kareen Wynter out of L.A. Kareen, thanks.
Checking sports now, starting with Gold Cup soccer. U.S. versus Panama. Redemption time for the U.S. after losing to Panama early in the tournament. The two biggest names in U.S. soccer, Landon Donovan passes to Clint Dempsey for the goal. The U.S. wins 1-0. U.S. has shut out its last three opponents. Since that loss to Panama. U.S. goes on to play big rival Mexico in the Gold Cup final. That's Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
Some Major League Baseball now in our fielding play of the night. From Atlanta, the Braves' Jordan Shaffer hits one to the right. Looks like it's going to go out, but Toronto's Jose Batista brings it back in where a perfectly timed leap. Batista known for the bat; can also use the glove, obviously. But the Braves won the game.
Democrats' fear of losing the Senate could come true in 2012. We'll take a look at the states that could change from blue to red, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Looking ahead at some other stories that'll be making headlines later today. Members of Congress who want a sizable withdrawal from Afghanistan are hold a news conference this morning, reacting to President Obama's drawdown plan. And the president hits the road today to sell his plan. He's meeting with soldiers at Fort Drum, New York, many of whom have just returned from Afghanistan.
And on Capitol Hill, General David Petraeus faces a Senate confirmation hearing. He's the man President Obama tapped to replace Leon Panetta as head of the CIA.
Before there was Lady Gaga, before there was Britney Spears, there was Barry Manilow. He's been making hit records for 40 years, and tonight, he sits down with Piers Morgan to play some of his greatest hits, and of course to talk about the high cost of fame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY MANILOW, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Just this being famous is, I think, it's a dangerous thing to do if you're not grounded. If you're not grounded --
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: It's a drug, isn't it?
MANILOW: It's a drug. If you're not grounded, you know --- I know that feeling that you are -- the audience applauds you (INAUDIBLE). people applause you, they will tell you you're doing great, oh it's fantastic, you're just the greatest. And they send you back to your hotel room and you're alone, and you look at your computer and you take out your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and you show everybody.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And you can hear more of what Barry Manilow says tonight when the full interview airs at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Also coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM, he was the Godfather. A mobster whose grisly murders were the talk of Boston's public and the inspiration for more than one movie. Now after 16 years on the run, "Whitey" Bulger finally in custody. We'll have the latest details on his arrest.
Also coming up, our Fareed Zakaria. A worldwide exclusive. He sits down with Afghan's president, Hamid Karzai. We'll get his reaction to what the president of the United States had to say about drawing down troops in Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This just in, a worldwide exclusive. Our Fareed Zakaria, apparently just moments ago, had a chance to sit down with the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. And the comments on President Obama's plans with regard to a drawdown on troops. Let's go ahead and take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: The announcement that was made last night by President Obama is welcomed by the Afghan people. The number of troops that he has announced to be withdrawn this year and the rest -- the next year -- is a sign that Afghanistan is taking over its own security and trying to defend its territory by its own means. So, we are happy with the announcement.
As for the number of troops, we have no opinion on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow, no opinion on that. Fareed Zakaria, what was your take after doing this interview?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": I got the feeling that Karzai had come to terms with the fact that he was not going to be bailed out by a vast American presence, by -- is this some kind of an American military solution. I think he recognizes the name of the game is now political settlement in Afghanistan, and he seems to be working for that.
I was struck by the fact that he had come to terms with the fact that there was no American cavalry waiting in the wings anymore, and he understood that at the end of the day, the Afghans were going to have to take carve of their own affairs.
PHILLIPS: And does he feel that they're ready? There's been lots of criticism, Fareed, that his troops, his police, are not ready to secure that country.
ZAKARIA: I put that to him specifically. You know, there are reports of 66 percent rise in insurgent attacks. And he brushed it off, really. But, you know, I think that that is perhaps what he had to say publicly.
My sense is that their feeling is whatever the situation, it is now time for the Afghans to take over because the American people are not going to be able to have an unending expanding committment to Afghanistan. And also I think he recognizes that he needs to at some point or the other deal with the reality as it exists.
I noticed, for example, he was much more comfortable talking about negotiations with the Taliban, negotiations with Pakistan, than he has in the past. I've talked to him many, many times. And this was Hamid Karzai at his most conciliatory toward all his former adversaries.
PHILLIPS: Fareed, real quickly, because I know we'll be able to see the entire interview, but before we hit the top of the hour, he has been criticized by military leaders here in the U.S., political leaders here in the U.S., that he is a tremendous part of the problem. That his involvement in past in corrupt activities are not helping the status of Afghanistan right now.
ZAKARIA: I think, myself, that this has been a serious mistake on the part of the U.S. administration. They have publicly condemned him. They have leaked the kind of things you're talking about.
Look, the alternative to Hamid Karzai is not George Washington or Franklin Roosevelt or Winston Churchill. The alternative to Hamid Karzai would be another corrupt, incompetent Afghan leader. Karzai has been a partner. He is, first of all the twice-elected president of Afghanistan. We don't really have an option. We have to deal with him. The alternatives look a lot worse, from what I can tell.
And it undermines the relationship and the trust we can build. So, I think that on some level, one can accept many of the comments as factual. It's still not the right strategy, and we're going to be dealing with Karzai this year and next, no matter what.
PHILLIPS: Ten a.m., this Sunday, right here on CNN. Fareed Zakaria, his worldwide exclusive witht he president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai and reaction to the president's speech last night on the drawdown of troops.
Fareed, thanks so much.
That does it for us.
Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux today.
Hi, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Have a great afternoon.
