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FBI Arrests Fugitive Mob Boss; 12,000 People Evacuate Minot; Fighting to Save Minot, North Dakota; Tornado Slams Churchill Downs; U.S. to Tap Oil Reserves; Mullen Says Afghan Forces Making Strides; "Spider-Man" Star In Poker Web; Hot Off The Political Ticker
Aired June 23, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Thank you. Thank you, Fred.
Well, they got him. After 16 years on the run and a rap sheet that includes murder, conspiracy and drugs just to name a few, legendary crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger is now in the hands of the FBI. The 81-year-old was one of the most powerful mobsters in the nation with a spot on the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives list. His reputation extends into Hollywood, where his alleged crimes inspired the 2006 Martin Scorsese film "The Departed."
Bulger was once head of Boston's Winter Hill gang and was an FBI informant before he went on the run in 1995 after an FBI agent tipped him off about an impending racketeering indictment. Bulger makes his first court appearance today facing 19 counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. Kara Finnstrom joins us live now from downtown Los Angeles with much more on this.
Kara, Whitey Bulger was arrested along with his long-time girlfriend. This was a huge arrest for the FBI, no doubt about it. Can you walk us through how they finally got their man?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And it is a crazy story. First off, I will tell you, we did just speak with the U.S. attorney's office, and they this notorious crime boss and his long-time girlfriend are expected here in L.A. Federal court. They say believe at 2:00 or later this afternoon, but they say there's a slight chance they could get the paperwork through and he could come in earlier.
Now, as to all this unfolded, for 15 plus years, authorities have been seeking Whitey Bulger, the 81-year-old who is suspected in -- indicted in 19 different murders and suspecting in many more crimes. Well, they finally decided to change their focus, and so what they did was they targeted his 60-year-old girlfriend, Catherine Gregg, and they made a 30-second PSA that began airing on numerous markets, 14 different markets, including here in Los Angeles.
And in that PSA, what they did was focused on some of her unique traits. The fact that she likes to frequent beauty salons, that she's had numerous different plastic surgeries and that she likes animals, and the hope was that somebody might recognize her and lead them to Bulger, and that's exactly what happened. Yesterday in Santa Monica at an apartment complex, they arrested both Bulger and his girlfriend, without incident they say and they say they were led to them both by a tipster. Here's what authorities in Boston who have been pursuing this case for a long time had to say about his ultimate capture last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARMEN M. ORTIZ, U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS: The arrests mark the end of a long and exhaustive hunt for America's most wanted men, for one of America's most wanted men. And this is a great day for Boston's law enforcement community. However, I do want to take a moment to remember the families of the victims named in the federal indictment who have waited years for justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FINNSTROM: Well, the FBI had come under fire as some, especially in the Boston area, had said they had not gone after Bulger hard enough, that's why they hadn't found him, because at one point, he had served as an informant and had been tipped off and that's why they fled. The FBI has come back at that saying they continue to pursue him, and they're hoping this closes that chapter.
So again, Bulger and his long-time girlfriend, Catherine Gregg, expected at the courthouse here at 2:00 this afternoon, and of course we'll be covering it. And we should say that no one has really seen him publicly in about 16 years. He hasn't made a public appearance. So, he's now 81, and it will be interesting to see him and his girlfriend here later this afternoon.
Reporting live in Los Angeles, Kara Finnstrom, back to you.
KAYE: And Kara, before we let you go, what more can you tell us about the girlfriend? I mean, how much of a role did she play, if at all, in helping the FBI track him down and catch him, and what about her history?
FINNSTROM: Well, she's wanted for harboring a fugitive. She they believe fled with him and has been with him the entire time and that they are a couple. So, she was wanted in that respect. They targeted her because they were hoping that other women who may be her same age that might be watching some of these TV shows where the PSAs were aired might recognize her, might have seen her in one of these beauty salons, or might have seen her in one of these plastic surgeon offices, because she has a very set routine.
I think she got her dental work done once a month, they believe, because she was very fastidious about that, had been a dental hygienist. So they were hoping that some of her traits might lead her to Bulger -- lead them to Bulger, and that's exactly what happened in this case.
KAYE: All right, Kara Finnstrom reporting for us there in Los Angeles. Kara, thank you. And now, to North Dakota where they are packing up and moving to higher ground. Raging floodwaters are forcing about 12,000 people to evacuate Minot, that's about a third of the city's population. Sirens sounded yesterday urging residents to leave their homes. Water continues to overtop the dikes in Minot and some of those dikes are leaking.
The situation in this already waterlogged city is going to get worse. The Souris River which runs right through the center of town, not expected to crest until Monday which means the water will continue to rise. Jim Spellman joins us live now from Minot with the latest.
Jim, an emergency services spokeswoman there says the city can expect, in her words, historic proportions of water, is that what you're hearing?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Randi. And all the authorities here are being really blunt and straightforward, you know a lot of times you cover these kind of events and you hear kind of a little spin or optimism maybe from these officials. They are telling us, there's no way that we can protect the bulk of the city. All they are able to do is focus on key infrastructure sites, and try to get dikes built around those water treatment plants, things like that. You can already see the water coming up from those leaky and overtop dikes here.
We've watched this water in the last three or so waters move about 20 feet in our direction. It's coming up fast and this is happening throughout the city. And it's far from getting the brunt of this. This river is going to rise about another eight feet before it crests, and eight feet in most of these neighborhoods puts it up above the -- into the second story of these homes. So, it's just going to -- everybody here is braced. All those 12,000 people that have evacuated, they're braced for the catastrophic damage when they are able to get back in their homes.
KAYE: Yes, and I understand even a 1,000 families or so have been displace from an air force base that's there. But what are they doing? I mean, are they building, I mean, are construction crews at work here working to build these makeshift levees in the areas where they don't think it's going to hold?
SPELLMAN: Well, they knew that there was heavy water coming, Randi, so they built dikes that are about four feet high above the -- above the river throughout the whole town. Just in the last week or so when they realized that heavy snow-melt and more rainfall in Canada was making its way here, that there's no way that those four feet would do anything except just put off the inevitable for a day or two, so they had to make hard choices.
They're building more ample dikes like this, this is about a -- about a 15 or 20-foot high dike here. This is around the police station and city hall, they want to make sure that they have the command structure, infrastructure here as the event goes on. They've done similar things around some schools, the key north, south bridge, that bridge is the too has a town on either side of the city and some schools as well.
We also see some private businesses hiring people to build dikes around their businesses, but there's just -- they've had to make those hard kind of sacrifices to try to focus on this -- on these important things and let other parts, unfortunately, other neighborhoods go.
KAYE: All right, Jim Spellman for us in Minot, North Dakota. Jim, thank you.
Well, races are suspended today at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville. A tornado swept right through the home of the Kentucky Derby last night. At least nine barns were damaged, luckily no people or horses were hurt. Churchill Downs' officials are assessing the damage to determine when racing can resume.
The U.S. is tapping into its strategic oil reserves because of the crisis in Libya. The Department of Energy announced today it will release 30 million barrels of oil into the world market over the next 30 days to help offset supply reductions. Twenty-seven other countries which are also members of the International Energy Agency will also release 30 million additional barrels. The crisis in Libya has resulted in a loss of about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says Afghan security forces are making big strides and even taking the lead in some cases on the war in Afghanistan. Admiral Mike Mullen talked about Afghanistan in testimony today before the House of Arms services committee, he also told lawmakers that President Obama's decision on troop withdrawal are more aggressive and risky than he had initially been prepared to accept. Mullen and other administration officials were on Capitol Hill to explain the president's plan to drawdown U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Well, Casey Anthony's mom may take the stand today, and we will take you live to Orlando, right after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Casey Anthony's mom may take to the stand again today, this time though as a witness for the defense. But whether her daughter is found innocent or guilty, will live or die, hinges on a lot of complicated science and little bits of evidence. Caylee's hair and skull, Anthony's car, that was all under attack today. Anthony's defense attorneys are questions the credibility of some of the prosecution's key experts and the accuracy of their science.
So, let's go to David Mattingly who is in Orlando covering this trial. David, the defense grilled the FBI hair and fiber expert who testified earlier for the prosecution about Caylee's hair, he was the one who essentially told jurors that the hair in Anthony's trunk was from a decomposing body and matched Caylee's hair where her body was found. So, what about the defense now questioning this expert? What's this all about?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Randi, I'm going to spare you the long conversation we heard about postmortem banding on hair samples and get to the chase. What the defense was trying to show that this hair that they retrieved from the trunk of the car that they say indicates that Caylee Anthony's body was in the trunk of the body, could have actually come from a live person.
So, the defense will be able to take that information and go back to the jury later and argue that that hair, there was another side to this that they weren't - they didn't hear before, that that hair could have come from a live person and not just from a decomposing body.
KAYE: And the defense called a crime scene investigator, she provided this Gatorade bottle, a syringe and Disney bag that were found near Caylee's body in the woods. What would you say was the importance of these items?
MATTINGLY: That's been a part of the trial for some time. The prosecution actually submitted photo evidence of all the items that were collected. The prosecution -- the defense today actually putting the actual bottle and syringe into evidence themselves. The syringe was found inside the drink bottle, inside a bag at the scene where they discovered Caylee's body.
Inside that syringe were traces of chloroform, and a testosterone solution. There was no argument about the contents of the syringe, only that it was placed as evidence, presumably that the defense is going to bring up at a later time with another expert.
KAYE: And Casey Anthony's mom, as we said, also expected to take the stand today. What is the latest that you're hearing about that? Why would the defense put her on the stand?
MATTINGLY: Well, only the defense can answer those questions correctly. And really, it would be a good time to bring someone to the stand of that nature because the defense has had the jury listening through all of this mind-numbering technical testimony for days now. And if they needed something to wake everybody up and pay attention to their case, it would be emotional testimony probably from someone like this.
When Cindy Anthony took the stand for the prosecution, she was very, very emotional, and it's clear, as we have heard outside the courtroom, she does not want to see her daughter go to death row. So, it's possible she has other information that she could provide that could help the defense here.
KAYE: And when they get back into session today, David, anything else that we should know to expect?
MATTINGLY: What we've learned is expect a lot of detail, and the defense is trying to use every bit of detail they can to go to the jury and say there's another side to all this evidence that the prosecution has shown you. We're going to argue that in this circumstantial case, you can't trust what they are telling you completely, that there's another side to a lot of this very seemingly important evidence -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, David Mattingly reporting from Orlando for us. David, thank you.
And as Cindy Anthony gets ready to take the stand today, her lawyer is clarifying a conversation that he had with our Gary Tuchman yesterday suggesting that Casey's parents do not believe their daughter is innocent. If you missed it, here's what was reported last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mark Lippman just told me this, I asked him a very specific question, I said, do your clients, George and Cindy Anthony, think she is not guilty? And his answer was they do not think that. He said, they want to see justice done, they want to see the truth come out, and then he added to me, he said, they do not believe she is innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: But then Lippman issued a statement this morning saying his, quote, the Anthony family maintains that they simply want justice in this case. The Anthony family maintains they do not under any circumstance support any theory that the defense has put forward regarding George Anthony's actions."
He goes on to say that "the Anthony family maintains that while they want both the state and defense to do their jobs respectively, they do not under any circumstance wish to see that the state achieves the ultimate sanction that the state of Florida is looking for, which is the death penalty." Now Lippman, the attorney, says "the Anthony family maintains they want the truth about what has happened to their granddaughter."
Now, in a follow-up conversation, Gary Tuchman asked Cindy and George's attorney, Mark Lippman, what he thought was taken out of context in Gary's reporting. Mr. Lippman told Gary he could not point to anything Gary said that was out of context. Lippman will hold a press conference, we've just learned, after court today.
Lindsay Lohan is back in court again after a source says she failed an alcohol test last week. These are live pictures -- not live pictures, I'm being told. Failing the alcohol test is a probation of violation. Lohan has been under house arrest at her Venice Beach home where she has been seen socializing on the roof with her friends. She's appearing before the same judge who sentenced her to 120 days in jail for stealing a necklace.
So, could 30 million barrels of oil change your summer travel plans? Well, we'll tell you right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is summer. A popular time for road trips and travel. So what does the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic National Reserve mean to you? Well, Poppy Harlow joins us from New York. Poppy, tell us more about this decision from the Obama administration and what it means for gas prices? Hopefully some good news.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It should. It should mean lower gas prices at the pump next month, definitely. You usually have a two or so week lag between what happens in the oil markets and what you see at the gas station. Sometimes a little quicker than that.
But oil prices have fallen sharply in June alone. Down 11 percent in June alone. So we've been seeing this sell-off. And you've been feeling it as you fill up your tank. Gas prices lower than where they were a month ago right now. Looking at an average of about $3.61 a gallon here in the U.S. More expensive, of course, in some states.
But gas prices, Randi, have been down for 20 straight days. However, they're about 87 cents higher than they were last year. It's an interesting move. An oil trader telling me this morning it's rather a political move from the Obama administration releasing this extra oil on to the market to push those prices down, Randi.
KAYE: And why this move now, though, Poppy, from the U.S. government to lower oil and gas prices?
HARLOW: Right.
KAYE: I mean the timing is sort of interesting.
HARLOW: It's very interesting. It was done on a global scale in conjunction with the International Energy Agency, but half of the oil, 30 million barrels, is coming from our reserves. Secretary of Energy Chu said they're taking this action in response to the loss of oil we've seen from supply disruptions in Libya. But the height of sort of the crisis in Libya was not yesterday, it was a few months ago. So the question is, why are they doing it right now? We got some very negative comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on the U.S. economy yesterday. Some say this follows that as sort of a shot in the arm of confidence for the American public saying, look, at least your gas prices will be lower. Trying to encourage people to spend more money.
But our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, where we keep extra oil in this country for emergencies, times of war, hurricanes, natural disasters, that is at record levels right now. The administration is releasing less than 5 percent of what we have in that reserve in total. So not a big move there.
The timing is curious. It represents a clear reversal of policy from this administration which for a long time has resisted tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Senator Chuck Schumer has been calling for this for a long time. He said today, after this move, it's exactly the shot in the arm that the American economy needs right now. But, yes, very political, interesting timing.
KAYE: And I'm looking at the chart there behind you, Poppy.
HARLOW: Right. KAYE: How the markets are reacting. Not so well.
HARLOW: No, no, no. We are -- I'm looking at live trading right now. We're down 146 points on the Dow Industrials. We're better than we were. We were down 200 points earlier today.
But what's interesting is, stocks are reacting to what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. The fact that the U.S. economy is going to grow even less than previously thought. That the job market is going to be weak for a long time. He called our recovery disappointingly weak.
Then this morning we heard that the job market still is bad. We got more than 400,000 of those weekly unemployment claims. If you add that together with Bernanke's comments and also with the global situation, the debt crisis in Greece, everyone is watching these numbers and pulling out of the market. And right now, Randi, they're not pricing in that consumers may feel better because of this oil and gas move at all right now. So, obviously, a pretty unnerving day for the market, but we'll keep an eye on it. Still got more than three hours left in the trading day.
Randi.
KAYE: All right, Poppy, thank you. Appreciate it.
HARLOW: You got it.
KAYE: He's young, famous and on Hollywood's a list. He's also at the center of a high stakes lawsuit. Stay with us. We'll tell you who is it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Twenty-five minutes past the hour. Time to look at some top stories that we're following. In a 5-4 decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that generic drug companies do not share the same level of responsibility as brand names when it comes to updating warning labels about new risks. Generic drugs currently account for more than 70 percent of prescriptions filled in the United States.
On Capitol Hill today, General David Petraeus is testifying at his Senate confirmation hearing. He's the man President Obama tapped to replace Leon Panetta as head of the CIA. The general has been running military operations in Afghanistan since last July.
And remember this video of a six-year-old getting a pat down at the New Orleans Airport? Well, now the TSA is changing its policy on searching children. Screeners must now do all they can to avoid pat downs of children 10 and under. The change was prompted by outrage over the video of that six-year-old, which was released in April.
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss say they won't appeal a ruling in their long-running legal battle with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. For years the twins have been trying to undo a $65 million settlement with their former business partner claiming Facebook misrepresented its stock value. But now they've decided against taking their case to the Supreme Court.
The day after President Obama announced his plan to bring U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, the president of Afghanistan is reacting. President Hamid Karzai spoke exclusively to our own Fareed Zakaria in his first U.S. television interview since last August. And here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Mr. President, there was a big debate in the United States about what exactly the president should say. And there was some who felt he should have announced a slower withdraw, some a faster withdrawal. If you had had a magic wand, would you have preferred this to be a slower withdraw?
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're happy with the announcement. As for the number of troops, we have no opinion on that.
ZAKARIA: No opinion meaning you leave it to the military commanders. But when you look at what the Red Cross says security in Afghanistan is at its worst point, the number of violent deaths are at the highest point, how could this be the optimal number given the security environment you're in?
KARZAI: Regardless of what the security situation in Afghanistan is, it is the responsibility, it's the job of the Afghan people to defend their country. Having said that, I can confirm to you today, and I have -- and I have -- and I have had this confirmed by the local means, not by government means or the means of NATO, that security in parts of the country has improved. That life is better now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And to watch the entire interview with the president of Afghanistan, watch "Fareed Zakaria GPS" this Sunday. That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
The FBI gets their man. A mob boss who disappeared decades ago. Wait until you see where he's been hiding. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A court date in California today for one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. Organized crime boss James Whitey Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica, California, along with his girlfriend Catherine Elizabeth Greig. Bulger had been on the run since 1995. He was sought in connection with 19 murders and numerous other crimes. The former head of Boston's notorious Winter Hill Gang was the inspiration for the 2006 Martin Scorsese film "The Departed."
The attorney for Casey Anthony's parents tells CNN they do not believe Casey is innocent in the death of her two-year-old daughter. Meanwhile you're looking at live pictures here of court, back in session in Orlando. Meanwhile, though, attorney Greg Lipman went on to say Casey's parents love and support her and will do all they can to avoid the death penalty for their daughter. Inside the courtroom, Anthony's defense team continues to call witnesses today. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder and seven other counts in her daughter's 2008 death.
James Ray was found guilty of negligent homicide for his role in operating a sweat lodge ceremony in Arizona. The self-help guru organized and led the event, which lead to three deaths. The prosecution argued temperatures were too high, not monitored properly which called dehydration and heat stroke. Ray's lawyers argued participants signed release forms and were aware of the dangers. People paid up to $10,000 to join the October 2009 retreat. The jury will reconvene on June 28th to address aggravating circumstances in the case.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers today that she stands behind the president's decision to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The decision that the president made was supported by the national security team and I think that it would be totally understandable that a military commander would want as many troops for as long as he could get them. And so at the end of the day, I think the president made the right decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: In her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Secretary Clinton also said U.S. talks with the Taliban are not pleasant but they are necessary.
The river continues to rise and dikes are still leaking in Minot, North Dakota, where 12,000 residents have been forced to abandon their homes. The National Weather Service is predicting record flooding as the heavy rains cause the river to swell. The mayor of the city applauded his citizens for the organized evacuation.
Coming up, the effects of too much technology in your life and brain. If you have to will yourself away from your BlackBerry or iPad, then popcorn brain may be something you suffer from. More on the other side of the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: BlackBerrys, laptops, Twitter, all of the technology to help you get many things done at once may hamper the ability to get one thing done at all. Researchers say people who overuse technology can actually alter their brain for the worst, never giving it the down time that we all need.
CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Washington, D.C., to help us understand this. But first, Elizabeth, before we get to that, I want to ask about that ruling just a few hours ago at the U.S. Supreme Court about generic drugs.
What should we know?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. What you should know is there was a woman, Randi, named Gladys Mensing. She took a generic drug and we have some video to show you what happened. She took -- she was a healthy grandmother, played with her grandchildren, was doing well. She took a generic drug for acid reflux and developed a severe neurological disorder. You can see from the video how bad it is. She even has trouble talking even.
She sued the generic company because she thought that based on the scientific evidence out there that they should have had a stronger label. But the court decided against Mrs. Mensing and they said, no, generic drug companies do not have to update their labels with additional information. Brand names do, but generic companies don't and so Mrs. Mensing lost her case.
And this is pertinent, because you know, Randi, pretty much all of us are going to take a generic drug at some point in time.
KAYE: Yes, but why shouldn't they be held to the same standard as a brand name drug?
COHEN: The court made the case, they said, look, generic drugs are inexpensive, and they're inexpensive for a reason. They don't have to do that same kind of research. Now, this was a 5-4 decision and the dissent said, you know, they said this could lead to absurd results. If you can sue a brand name drug company for not sufficiently warning about a problem, why shouldn't you sue a generic company?
KAYE: Yes. All right. I want to move onto our next topic. This technology overload, something that has been called popcorn brain, when we just do too much technology at once and we get nothing done at all.
What is going on?
COHEN: Right. You're sitting at your computer, and pop, you need to reply to an e-mail, and pop, you need --
KAYE: Oh, yes. I'm doing it right now. I have popcorn brain.
COHEN: I think I have popcorn brain sometimes, too, Randi. And so researchers now are beginning to look at this and beginning to image brains. And what they're finding is that people who do it a lot -- and I mean like 10 hours a day -- that you actually see changes, structural changes in their brain.
And also they started showing these people pictures of -- photographs of human people with human beings with emotional faces. They said what emotion are these people displaying, and they actually had trouble saying what the emotions were. That if you spend a lot of time at a computer, popping around, doing one thing after the other, it actually makes it hard to read human emotions.
KAYE: Yes, well I can understand that. Right here I have my BlackBerry, I have my iPad, I have my laptop. It's happening.
COHEN: You got it all going on.
KAYE: But to fix this, you say could be just as simple as looking out the window for someone?
COHEN: Right. When your brain is constantly popping with all of these things, you need to give it time to reset. You need to give it time to process what you've learned during the day. And even just looking out the window for a while can be beneficial. Or saying, you know, from 6:00 to 7:00 at night, I am putting the gadgets down.
Because what can happen is that your brain gets accustomed to all this popping and your brain starts to like the popping and so doing something like reading a book to a child, or just staring out into the woods becomes uncomfortable for you because you're used to the popping. So make sure your brain doesn't get too used to all that popping.
KAYE: Already. Unplug, unplug, unplug. I'm going to practice that.
COHEN: Unplug and un-pop. Right.
KAYE: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: Well, if you think the teenager sex trade is something in a far off land, think again. What's happening right here in the U.S., next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The global sex trade is the most common form of human trafficking. Victims are threatened, beaten and sometimes even killed. For a mom in Washington State whose daughter fell victim to sex trafficking, all she has now are memories. Her story, by CNN's Patrick Oppmann, is part of our year-long Freedom Project aimed at helping to end modern day slavery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH COLLINS, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: She was just so cute.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL PLATFORM JOURNALIST (voice-over): Sarah Collins admires a daughter she knows she may never see again.
COLLINS: When she was a baby she had gray eyes and they eventually changed to green. OPPMANN: Just a month after testifying before a grand jury in a sex trafficking case that led to an indictment, Kelsey Collins, who goes by her middle name Emily just disappeared.
As a girl, Sarah says her daughter served from learning disabilities and an abusive stepfather, and as a teen dealing with the pain, Sarah says, drew Emily into the underground world of sex trafficking.
COLLINS: Smoking, drinking, using marijuana. I don't -- she did start using Ecstasy, but I think that came in when the prostitution started. It felt like it was a self-destructive path for her. I did not know how to stop it.
OPPMANN: And then Emily's path crossed with a man 20 years older. Sarah says that man drove her daughter to Portland, Oregon, to sell her body along this seedy strip of motels and sex shops.
(on camera): This is the corner where police picked up Emily working as a prostitute, and she was only 16 and told police she didn't want to keep selling herself.
DOUG JUSTUS, RETIRED POLICE OFFICER: I know there are guys that have been trained in human trafficking.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Doug Justus retired from the Portland Police force but still fields calls about trafficking. He was the man who convinced Emily to testify in the federal case against her accused pimp.
JUSTUS: He bought her clothes, got her condoms, told her what to do, how to do it, and everything and he kept every penny. She didn't want to do it again. You could just tell. She was freaking out because she knew what she said in there was going to put this guy in jail for a long, long time. And he was a very bad guy.
OPPMANN (on camera): Emily's testimony threatened to put the man that she said trafficked her in feral prison for the rest of his life. After she testified prosecutors sent Emily back to live with her family without any security. About a month later, she told her mom she was going to leave from this bus station to go and see a boyfriend about 30 minutes away in Seattle. That was the last time Emily's family ever saw her.
(voice-over): Prosecutors indicted her alleged pimp, but without Kelsey Emily Collins, the case fell apart. The United States Attorney's Office in Portland would not comment on any connection between the case and Emily's appearance.
But in a statement to CNN, said, quote, "Our heart goes out to Kelsey's family. We are pursuing every viable option and doing everything we can to put together this puzzle."
But after two years, Sarah Collins believes prosecutors abandoned her daughter.
COLLINS: This girl made your case by coming and testifying. She made your case.
OPPMANN: For now, she's focusing on those drawing attention to people like those, she says, forced her daughter into prostitution.
COLLINS: They're good at what they do. They make a lot of money doing what they do and the girls are expendable. There's always another girl out there.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Everett, Washington.
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KAYE: And be sure and tune in to CNN Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the world premiere of the documentary, "Nepal's Stolen Children." It's narrated by actress Demi Moore only on CNN.
It's just about 45 minutes past the hour and it's time for a check of our top stories.
Greece could face more violent street protest if unions carry out a planned 48 hour strike next week. Union members and large numbers of ordinary Greeks are outraged over the government's plan for a five- year austerity package of tax increases and spending cuts totaling some $40 billion. Parliament must pass the measures if Greece is to win the last portion of a $156 billion bailout from the European Union.
Following President Obama's timetable, France says it will begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The French defense minister says all French troops could be out by 2013. France now has nearly 4,000 troops in Afghanistan. President Obama announced yesterday the withdrawal of 33,000 American troops by September 2012.
And for all you "Harry Potter" fans, you'll be able to continue following the boy wizard's adventures online. J.K. Rowling, author of the series of Potter books, today announced the launch of an interactive e-book series on the website pottermore.com. How exciting.
So, how could swallowing a pill give your doctor a look inside your body? It's our "Big I" and it's next.
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KAYE: Every day we do a segment called "The Big I" and it's all about big ideas, solutions to problems and innovation. Well, today's segment may be more of a little i. If you've even needed a doctor to use an endoscope to check your digestive system, you know it can be uncomfortable and have a limited range of observation. But we have what could be some good news, it turns out. A research team from RF System Lab in Japan announced that it has created the world's first self-propelled remote controlled endoscope capsule. That's right, you can actually swallow this electronic pill known as Siaka (ph) and nicknamed "Mermaid" for high resolution pictures of your digestive system. And it snaps up to two shoots per second in 360 degrees. How cool is that? The capsule measuring just one centimeter in diameter and 4.5 centimeters in length looks like a large pill with a think like (ph) driving apparatus. You can see. Its movement is powered by a small battery, an electromagnet, which also drives the fin. Movement is also generated outside the body by a joystick. Researchers hope their invention will one day pave the way for doctors to view the digestive system from esophagus to colon, including the small intestine, which traditionally has been difficult to shoot. The pill was first tested on a dog, it turns out, in 2009. And after some alterations, it now successfully moves through humans. And for much more on the endoscope capsule, you can check out our blog, cnn.com/ali. And don't forget to turn in tomorrow, same "Big I" time, same "Big I" channel.
Some developing news in politics. The crucial debt ceiling talks are in trouble. The details are straight ahead.
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KAYE: Now to a story of a secret high-stakes poker web allegedly involving the man who played "Spider-Man" on the big screen. Kareen Wynter is in Los Angeles with the details for us.
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KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: "Spiderman" star Tobey Maguire caught in a bit of a legal web. This involves high stakes poker playing. The actor was slapped with a lawsuit, claiming that a former hedge fund manager, Bradley Rudderman, who's now serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for tax and wire fraud convictions, that he took part in secrets, high-stakes and elite poker games at several luxury hotels in Beverly Hills.
Rudderman reportedly lost money to Maguire and several other high-profile celebs who, it's important to point out, were not named in the lawsuit but allegedly took part in these exclusive gambling events. The suit claims that Rudderman devised an illegal Ponzi scheme in order to pay off his debt. Now Maguire is being sued by the trustees of those who lost money, big bucks in that scheme.
The investors who allegedly lost money in this scheme, they're going after Maguire to the tune of $311,000. That's how much they claim the actor allegedly won from Rudderman. Funds that according to this complaint were wired to Maguire through bank transfers. The suit contends that since these games were technically illegal and not licensed, Maguire and the other defendants have no right to keep the money they won. CNN reached out to Maguire's reps for comment, but they say they're not responding at this time.
Now, there's also been a lot of speculation about other high- profile celebs who may be involved in this -- in this scheme. The lawsuit also names two others. Actor and director Nick Cassavetes. He directed "The Notebook," as well as former "Welcome Back Kotter" star Gabe Kaplan. They're also being sued. Cassavetes for $73,000 and Kapan some $62,000. We've reached out to both of these actors and they have yet to comment. Now, I should also note that none of the defendants named in the lawsuits are facing any kind of criminal charges here, but they do have to return any of their alleged gambling winnings or make the case for the money in court. Gambling is illegal here in California. We reached out to the Los Angeles district attorney's office and they tell us at this time there is no criminal investigation underway.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
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KAYE: And it's time now for a CNN political update, Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins me from Capitol Hill with some breaking news, Dana, that the talks over raising the debt ceiling appear to have stalled. What's this about?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're in serious jeopardy, Randi. There is a little bit of confusion over whether or not the talks, which are actually supposed to start in just a few minutes, are going to go on at all. But the bottom line is that the top Republican in the House, who has been involved in these, he is the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, he announced this morning that he is pulling out of these talks because he said that Democrats are pressuring them too much to deal with tax -- from his perspective, tax increases and that is something that is a non-starter for Republicans across the board when it comes to these talks to deal with raising the debt ceiling, but also to deal with the deficit as well.
We were told just a short while ago that the -- there are only two Republicans in these talks. That the other Republican, Senator Jon Kyl, had also pulled out. But, Randi, I just bumped into him on the way here and he said that he was going to the Capitol to see what was going on. He hadn't pulled out of the talks.
So there's a little bit of confusion, I would even say maybe mayhem about what is happening. But the big picture, bottom line is, that Republicans are now rallying around the idea that they believe that these talks, which have been led by Vice President Joe Biden, and have had top Democrats, as well as these two Republicans in the room, for a very long time, that maybe they have reached a certain point and that they want the president himself to get involved. And that is now the message that Republicans are trying to send, that they want the president to get more involved in these.
KAYE: Yes, I was going to ask you, because really what is the next step. I mean the clock is still ticking towards the U.S. defaulting at the beginning of August, right?
BASH: Exactly. And we're trying to figure that out. We're trying to figure out if the vice president will even come here today. We just got word that maybe he would not come. We're trying to see if that is happening. But the next step is going to be really a question for the White House and for the president I think himself, whether or not he is going to -- to heed the Republicans call to himself personally get involved in this, like they say that they want him to do. There is, as you can imagine, there's a lot of to'ing and fro'ing and politicking going on behind the scenes. Some Democrats are saying -- are telling us that Eric Cantor, who's the first one to pull out this morning, that he did that because he doesn't want to have -- get his hands dirty with a potential deal that could anger some of his fellow Republicans, and that Republicans rallied around him to do that. But the bottom line is that these are very delicate, very important talks to try to come up with trillions of dollars to cut in the deficit in order to get a deal to raise the debt ceiling, which, as you said, the U.S. will default at the beginning of August if they don't deal with this.
KAYE: Yes, and that would be a mess.
All right, Dana Bash, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BASH: Thank you.
KAYE: And your next update from "The Best Political Team On Television" is just an hour away.
President Obama is on the road today. These are live pictures. He's selling his Afghan troop withdrawal plan to those who are fighting the war. In about 30 minutes, the president is scheduled to speak to soldiers of the Army's Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. They are waiting for him there, you can see. We'll bring that to you live when that happens, when the president starts to speak.
And as he told the nation last night, Mr. Obama plans to withdraw all of the 33,000 surge troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The first 10,000 are due to pull out by the end of this year. Some 68,000 American troops will remain, carrying out the tough job of training Afghan troops and police and fighting the Taliban. Administration officials say all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The president's plan has drawn mixed reaction on Capitol Hill and from his own administration. It's drawn criticism from some Republicans and members of his own party. Here's what Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said on Capitol Hill today.
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ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I do not intend to discuss the specifics of the private advice I rendered with respect to these decisions. As I said, I support them. What I can tell you is the president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept.
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KAYE: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also on The Hill today, voiced support for the president's plan, telling lawmakers that he, quote, "hit the mark" with his decision. As for the enemy, the Afghan Taliban, Clinton says their momentum has been broken. We'll have much more on this from CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen in just about 15 minutes from now.
