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Anthony Case in Jurors Hands; Rain Helps New Mexico Firefighters; Foreclosure Crisis, No Alternatives; Stop-Smoking Drug Concerns; Clashes in Hama, Syria; Restore the American Dream
Aired July 04, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there. Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Well, you know, the testimony is over. The arguments, rebuttals, objections, instructions all have been heard and now it is 1:00 p.m. in the east on the Fourth of July and the case of Florida versus Casey Marie Anthony is finally in the hands of the jury.
Prosecutors wrapped up their final arguments this morning, ridiculing defense claims that 2-year-old Caylee Anthony could have died by accident in her grandparents pool and then been a victim of a cover-up. The state contends Casey Anthony drugged her daughter with Chloroform, smothered her with duct tape and dumped her in the woods where her body was found six months later.
Much has been made of the 31 days between the last time Caylee was seen alive in June of 2008 and the family's discovery she was gone. The defense says Casey's seemingly carefree behavior during that time doesn't prove anything. The prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick disagrees. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA DRANE BURDICK, PROSECUTOR: You have heard in the trial, and it has been suggested to you in closing argument by the defense, that everybody grieves differently. Well, that may certainly be true. Everybody grieves differently.
Responses to grief are as varied as the day is long, but responses to guilt are oh, so predictable. What do guilty people do? They lie, they avoid, they run. They mislead not just their family, but the police. They divert attention away from themselves, and they act like nothing is wrong.
That's why you heard about what happened those 31 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and four counts of lying to police. If convicted of capital murder, the most serious crime, she could face the death penalty. Jurors could instead find her guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter. They could also, of course, find Casey Anthony not guilty.
Richard Herman is going to be coming up and he's going to talk about all the ins and outs of the case.
Well, our "Sound Effect" is from a court thousands of miles away, a defendant on trial not for one death, but for thousands. Ratko Mladic is the former Bosnian Serb military chief who allegedly committed genocide during the Bosnian civil war the early 1990s. He was arrested in May after 15 years as a wanted man.
Today, in his second appearance before the international criminal tribunal, Mladic refused to enter a plea, but had quite a lot to say otherwise.
Here's how it went down in the Hague.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE ALPHONS ORIE, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL (through translator): Under count one, Mr. Mladic, you're charged with genocide, punishable under Article 43-A --
Listen to this.
RATKO MLADIC, FMR. BOSNIAN SERB MILITARY COMMANDER (through translator): No, no, I'm not going to listen to this. I'm not going to listen to this at all.
Without my lawyer, I'm not going to listen anymore.
You're talking in vain. I'm not going to listen to anything.
ORIE: Mr. Mladic -- Mr. Mladic, the court orders that you be removed from the courtroom.
Could security please escort --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, the judge wound up entering a not guilty plea on Mladic's behalf. He put the proceedings on hold indefinitely.
Now, other headlines.
Even though the U.S. case against Dominick Strauss-Kahn may be collapsing, he's facing new trouble back in his native France. The former International Monetary Fund chief was released on his own recognizance Friday, this after credibility problems by his accuser, the New York hotel maid who said she was sexually assaulted by Khan. Now a French lawyer says he is filing a lawsuit on behalf of a novelist Tristan Banon. She claims the former French presidential contender tried to rape her back in 2003. Mexican police swept in and arrested a founder of the notorious Zetas drug gang who may be linked to the February murder of U.S. Immigrations and Customs agent Jamie Zepata. Jesus Enrique Reoj Aguilar (ph) is popularly known as "El Mamito." He's suspected in connection in numerous killings in northeastern Mexico where the Zeta gang is fighting a bloody turf battle with its former ally, the Gulf Cartel. The U.S. Drug Endorsement Administration offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Also, in Mexico, eight people are still missing after a tour boat capsized off the Baja, California Peninsula. The boat left San Felipe, Mexico carrying 44 people, more than half Americans; one person reportedly died.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a 100-foot fishing charter vessel, and it hit some rough weather and it capsized and sank almost immediately.
The boat was close enough to land and enough were people were wearing life jackets, some people were able to swim to shore, whereas others were picked up by Good Samaritans and vessels in the area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Well, the U.S. Coast Guard is helping in the search for the eight missing people.
And there's another apparent hacking incident, this one involving FOX News politics, specifically their Twitter feed. Overnight somebody seems to have posted a series of tweets falsely claiming that President Obama had been assassinated. The hacker group that calls itself the Script Kitties has been linked to the incident based on one report. FOXNews.com says the hacking incident is under investigation and regrets any distress that the false tweets may have created.
Well, the massive wild fire in New Mexico threatens to destroy ancient Indian sites. Plus, more disaster workers head to Montana to save what they can from an oil spill. We'll be bringing you the very latest on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. NEVIN BLANKENSHIP, ARMY GUARD, HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA: Hi. This is Major Nevin Blankenship with the 116th PCP at Camp Shodi, Mississippi getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan. I wanted to give a shout-out to my wife Vicky (ph), my daughter Alexis (ph) and my son Jason. Happy fourth of July, and love you and miss you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, while they get down to work and finish lunch, as the case may be, I want to bring in Richard Herman, he is an acclaimed litigator and criminal defense attorney who has been watching the Anthony trial very closely.
Richard, first of all, did the prosecutors prove their case? And before you answer that question, I thought there were very powerful points made in the closing. The duct tape I thought was incredible. You could not not listen to the duct tape.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the duct tape -- you know, the three strips of duct tape, that's how you know that it was murder. It was intentional, because it was three strips, not one. But -- and that was very powerful.
Deb, they are not enjoying their lunch right now, the defense attorneys. I guarantee you they are not having a good lunch. It was closed out pretty strong today by both prosecutors.
More importantly, what Ashton said was even if you find that it wasn't premeditated, which we believe it is, but if you find that it was an accidental overdose of chlorophyll (sic), that in and of itself is felony murder and therefore, that's murder.
That's going to resonate with a group of the jurors who may have been on the fence.
FEYERICK: You know, what was also fascinating was the way they wove together their closing, specifically seeing Casey in prison, and her mom is talking to her, and Casey says, oh, what are they saying now, yes, that Caylee drowned in the pool, whatever.
It was really interesting how they almost knocked that right out of the pool, so to speak. That was that's a bad metaphor, but you know what I mean.
HERMAN: Yes, it was devastating tape recording. The recordings they've played today were devastating because this was after the fact and Casey's continually lying about the "Zanny the Nanny," she's in the New York database. And, you know, they won't let me help her, I know who to call, I know where she is -- you know, all that stuff. It's just horrible and she's a liar and a liar and a liar.
But you know what, Deb, we still don't know the cause of death. We don't know where it happened, where it happened. We don't know the instrument of death, we don't know how it happened. On a first-degree intentional murder case, jurors should know that before they perhaps sentence somebody to death. So that's probably the strongest thing Baez said yesterday -- where, when, how.
FEYERICK: Right, because obviously there were no fingerprints, nothing like that. So technically -- I mean, the defense, did they -- they had a lot -- they really had a lot of ground to makeup trying to explain that, you know, don't let emotions get in the way, look at the evidence and the evidence right now doesn't say that Casey actually was the one who killed her child.
What do you think about that?
HERMAN: Right. Baez went after the forensics and that was important to do that. The forensics were the place the defense had to score. He spent a lot of time on that saying they were unreliable, you can't believe them to convict here. And don't let passion or your hatred for Casey make you vote guilty for her.
But yet, you saw Baez try to throw George Anthony, as they say in this case, under the bus. He tried to drum up the jury and make them hate George and shift the focus from Casey to George. I don't think that's going to work. Maybe one juror, that's all he needs on a hung jury here.
(CROSSTALK)
FEYERICK: And that was really risky, especially since prosecutors came back and read the suicide note that George had written saying how distraught and devastated he was by the whole play of events.
But I want to play you the very end of the prosecutors rebuttal. Take a quick listen, this is interesting.
HERMAN: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURDICK: Whose life was better? That's the only question you need to answer. In considering why Caylee Marie Anthony was left on the side of the road dead, there's your answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And what's so interesting about that, Richard, is they really painted Casey as a mother who chose her own entertainment, her own life over that of her daughter's. At one point even saying that while her child, while little Caylee Marie was in the back of the car decomposing, Casey was strolling hand and hand with her boyfriend. I mean, that was hard.
HERMAN: Again, you know, they want the jury to make that leap. They don't have direct evidence of this, they are speculating and they're trying to sell the bill of goods.
But I think the most important thing that they closed with was, look, the defense position is preposterous. If this was an accidental drowning, why would George, a former police officer, number one, make it looks like a murder; number two, dump the body a few houses away from the house; and number three, not eventually come forward and say, look, guys, this was an accident, don't put my daughter to death, don't make her go to trial for death.
That was the stupidity of the defense theory, which he never should have opened with, and now he will pay the price for that, I think.
FEYERICK: Yes. He basically said you don't make an accident look like murder. And I think the prosecutor, just to sum up, said this was a bizarre trip down the rabbit hole if you believe Casey Anthony.
Richard Herman, thank you so much. We are waiting for the jury, they've got it in their hands and we will get back to you should something happen. Thanks so much for being with us.
Well, there's no July fourth break for emergency crews in several states as they battle massive fires, floods and an oil spill.
In Montana, dozens of disaster and wildlife rescue workers are racing to clean up the hundreds of barrels of oil bumped into the Yellowstone River. A pipeline underneath the river ruptured near Billings over the weekend. Exxon Mobil says between 750 and a thousand barrels of oil escaped. Some of the oil has washed ashore and is forming pools of milky brown residue.
The good news? Well, local officials say high water and fast currents are helping to break up the spill. The bad news? Flooding is making it making it extremely dangerous for workers to do any cleanup on the river. Teams are trying to contain what damage is already been done from the shores.
And turning to New Mexico. More than 2,000 firefighters are battling a massive wildfire in the northern part of the state near Los Alamos. The Las Conchas fire is threatening to destroy hundreds of buildings, including a number of important ancient sites on Indian lands. Fire crews say the fire has burned 121,000 acres and already destroyed more than 100 buildings. The firefighters are making some progress, especially around the southwest portion of Los Alamos. That 10,000 residents who live in the area were allowed to return home.
And let's bring in meteorologist Chad Myers.
And, Chad, we're hearing that there's some relief on the way for firefighters. What is the weather telling you?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The weather has humidity moving back into the region for the first time in literally nine months. The deserts of the southwest, Arizona and New Mexico, parts of Utah and Colorado, they have something called a monsoon season. It's when the wind change direction and all of a sudden you get humidity that comes back up. And so every day you get a thunderstorm or two.
We saw those thunderstorms in Phoenix yesterday. Now, they're not in New Mexico, yet. But we get closer and closer. We even had flooding in Las Vegas overnight from rain that hasn't happened now for like nine months. Again, when that monsoon is over, it is over.
There is still more weather, more showers and thunderstorms a little bit farther off to the east. If you're going to be heading to some fireworks displays over parts of Tennessee, maybe even toward the Carolinas, you'll probably see thunder and lightning. Some of it may be even enough to put a little delay into your plans, maybe.
But here's the story for the southwest, back to it for fireworks. Every little county that you see here has some type of burn ban, even into parts of Florida. Most of the burn bans also include firework bans. Before you do anything today that might get yourself in trouble, find out what your local county is going to be telling you about fireworks, because there are so many areas that are so dry.
Deb, I -- we have not seen a drought like this -- and, in fact, Texas has not seen a drought like this since 1895. That means right now this drought in Texas is worse than the dust bowl. So you cannot have fires or fireworks outsides when it's that dry.
FEYERICK: Absolutely. The thought of that random spark could start something huge like what we're seeing just --
MYERS: Sure.
FEYERICK: OK, thanks, Chad Myers. Of course we're going to check in with you a little later on.
Well, just how bad is the housing crisis where you live? We're headed to a town where nearly one in 10 homes is in foreclosure, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPC. SARAH CROSSADDNE, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: Hi, I'm special Sarah Crossaddne (ph) from Joint Base Balad (ph) in Iraq. I'd like to say happy Fourth of July to my family and friends in Hamniston (ph), New Jersey. And I just want to say I love you guys, I miss you and I can't wait to be home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: The foreclosure crisis isn't showing many signs of ending. And in some cities across America, the situation is getting worse. We found one town in central New Jersey where the bank owns nearly one in every 10 homes. With empty homes lining the street and ramping gang violence in the city, some homeowners feels trapped with no alternatives. Poppy Harlow reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): At a bird's-eye view, Plainfield, New Jersey, may look like lots of small towns across America. But when you walk the streets and talk to the folks here, you start to realize something, the bank owns a big chunk of this city.
REGINA PERRY, PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, RESIDENT: I moved in three houses and three of the houses that I've lived in got foreclosed and I was forced to move.
HARLOW: Of the roughly 9,000 homes in Plainfield, nearly 900 are in foreclosure. That's almost three times the national average.
LEA MCDONALD, PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, RESIDENT: It's terrible. I mean my kids have to walk past these empty houses and I'm afraid for them. HARLOW: You won't find padlocks or boarded up windows, but it's not tough to find people thousands of dollars in debt on their homes.
HARLOW (on camera): Right here on East Front Street alone there are 25 homes in foreclosure. And just down the way, on Berkeley Terrace, you'll find eight more.
(voice-over): Crime is now rampant in Plainfield. The police spend their time breaking up gang activity. And determining which came first is a chicken and egg situation for Mayor Sharon Robinson- Briggs.
(on camera): Do you feel as though the amount of foreclosures, really the foreclosure crisis in this city, led to this increased gang violence?
MAYOR SHARON ROBINSON-BRIGGS, PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY: There may be a relationship in terms of certain areas in the city of Plainfield where some of our residents have been laid off, who feel kind of hopeless at this point.
HARLOW (voice-over): The highest density of foreclosures is near the gang violence. One hundred and twenty-three within a half mile. But there are hundreds more all over town.
ROBINSON-BRIGGS: I'm looking for more help from these companies.
HARLOW (on camera): You want more help from the banks?
ROBINSON-BRIGGS: More help from the banks. Absolutely.
HARLOW (voice-over): We reached out to the banks that hold the most mortgages of foreclosed homes in Plainfield. Bank of America wouldn't comment. Wells Fargo issued a statement saying, they " continue to work with borrowers to find alternatives to find alternatives to foreclosure."
MCDONALD: The town is going down. Taxes are going up. We're suffering.
HARLOW: Today, home prices continue to fall. There are layoffs in the schools and the city has cut 50 percent of its workers since February. At Rise N' Shine Restaurant, the owner says business is slumping.
SAUL GUIDARDO, RISE N' SHINE RESTAURANT: There are ups and downs. You know, some days are better and some days are slow. It's tough.
ANDREA DOYLE, PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, RESIDENT: Unless like something can turn around, we need a miracle. You know, being --
HARLOW (on camera): A miracle?
DOYLE: We need a miracle.
HARLOW (voice-over): The empty homes have changed the lives of the people who still call Plainfield home.
In New York, Poppy Harlow reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: It's about 23 past the hour. Let's check our top stories.
The fate of Casey Anthony now with the jury. Prosecutors finished their final arguments this morning, ridiculing defense claims that the death of Casey Anthony's two-year-old daughter Caylee could have been an accident followed by a cover-up. The state contends Anthony drugged her child with chloroform, smothered her with duct tape and then dumped her in the woods.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez just returned home from Cuba where he was being treated for cancer. He here is shown taking a walk with his daughters on state-run TV. He says he is feeling well and happy. He announced last week that Cuban doctors removed a cancerous tumor and there was speculation that his return to Caracas could be months away.
Prince William and his wife Catherine are touring Prince Edward Island on this fifth day of their Canadian tour. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge started the day with a visit to Province House, the second oldest active legislature building in Canada. Next hour, Prince William will join Canadian military search and rescue pilots in a helicopter emergency landing exercise.
Concerns now over a popular drug that can help you stop smoking. We'll tell you what possible side effect is raising red flags with the federal government. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, there's a stop smoking drug but it has possibly deadly side effects. New research says the popular medication Chantix could increase the chance of having a heart attack. And joining me now to talk about this development is senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
Elizabeth, first of all, how worried should people be about this?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think people should look at this data and talk to their doctor about what this means for them, if they're taking Chantix, and they should take this into consideration if it's a drug that they're considering. That's what researchers tell us. So 7 million people take this drug. They did a study where they looked at folks who took it. They had a 72 percent increased risk of having a heart attack compared to people who didn't take Chantix.
Now, I saw your face when I said that, so I'm going to add --
FEYERICK: Seventy-two percent is high. Seventy-two percent is high. COHEN: Well, it's a higher risk that if you didn't take it -- most -- the vast majority of people who took Chantix did not have heart attacks, but they were more likely to have a heart attack than if they didn't take Chantix.
FEYERICK: OK. And so what about the warning label? I mean does it reflect this? Because obviously you -- as you always say, patience have to do due diligence, they've got to know what their rights are and what the chances are.
COHEN: Exactly. So if you're an empowered patient and you read the label on Chantix, what you'll find now, and this is relatively new, is that Chantix may be associated with a small increased risk of certain cardiovascular events in patients who already have cardiovascular disease.
Now, the people who did the study would take issue with that because, in their study, they found that there were heart attacks from people who never had any kind of cardiovascular disease and they would say it's not a small increased risk. They would say it's bigger than that.
FEYERICK: So what about -- have there been other side affects with this drug as well?
COHEN: There have been. Right on the label there are warnings about possible side effects. So in addition to the heart one that we just mentioned, depressed mood, suicidal actions, hostility and agitation.
FEYERICK: Now Pfizer makes this drug. What are they saying?
COHEN: They're saying that the researchers misinterpreted the data. And they say that there is only a teeny tiny increased chance of having a heart attack on their drug and they say that they're working with the FDA to do more research.
FEYERICK: OK. So what advice, then, can we give to people who want to stop smoking? I guess one of them also is that you have to have a full medical before you take any drug because if you have some sort of heart condition, maybe this patch isn't for you?
COHEN: Right. You want to talk to your doctor about your particular situation and what might be best. And keep in mind that there are many, many different things you can do to stop smoking. Different people do it differently. So if you go to CNN.com/empoweredpatient, you'll can an article that has all the different options that are out there for you and then you can decide if it's worth taking what appears to be an increased risk.
FEYERICK: Right. It is so funny, I know -- obviously this is your area of specialty. I always find it interesting to hear what the side effects are, because some of them sound at least a little bit scary, but --
COHEN: But you want to know. I mean if the advantage of taking the drugs outweighs the side effects, you can make that choice. But you ought to know what the side effects are before you start in.
FEYERICK: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
FEYERICK: Always a pleasure.
Well, a stunning change of heart from Libyan rebels. What they say they're now willing to accept from Moammar Gadhafi, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Well, it's just a little past 1:30. Let's take a look at some of the headlines and news that you may have missed.
After weeks of tears, testimony and objections and lots of arguments, the fate of Casey Marie Anthony is finally in the hands of the jury.
Prosecutors finished their final arguments this morning, ridiculing, the defense claims, the death of Casey Anthony's daughter, could have been an accident, followed by cover-up. The state contends Anthony drugged her child with chloroform, smothered her with duct tape and then dumped her in the woods not far from her grandparent's home.
Mexican law enforcement officials say they have arrested one of the founders of the Zetas drug gang who may be linked to the killing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jamie Zapata back in February. Federal police captured Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar known as "El Mamito" Sunday. He was suspected of being behind numerous deaths in northeastern Mexico where the Zetas have been engaged in a turf battle with their former allies, the Gulf carter.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Also in Mexico, one person is dead, eight are still missing from a tourists boat that sank early Sunday from rough weather. The fishing shipping vessel reportedly had 44 people onboard, 27 of them Americans. Officials say several people swam to shore, walked to the nearest town and then alerted the Mexican navy of what did happen.
The U.S. Coast Guard has joined the Mexican Navy in the search of the east coast and Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
And Libya's rebel leader says he does not have a problem with Moammar Gadhafi remaining in the country once he resigns as long as he remains under supervision. This report contradicts earlier opposition statements that Gadhafi's exit was an absolute prerequisite for fighting to stop. The announcement signaled that possible willingness to negotiate with the Libyan leader to bring about an end to the month's long conflict. The spokesman for the Libyan government has said that they would welcome a peace deal from the rebels but not one that rested on Gadhafi's departure. And here's something that will make you feel patriotic on this Independence Day. American pride on display at the Special Olympics in Athens, Greece. They're celebrating several gold medal winning teams, including the USA soccer team from Maryland. Also winning gold, the U.S. softball team from Texas, and the USA basketball team.
Also, team USA is also bringing home individual gold medals in aquatics, gymnastic, bocce as well.
And the shuttle launch is a sight to behold, something that -- well, boy, you're never going to forget especially if you're an astronaut. But with the shuttle program shutting down, what's left for future space explorers? We're going to take to you space camp coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MSG BRIAN MATHERLY, U.S. ARMY: I am Master Sergeant Brian Matherly from Joint Base Balad in Iraq. I'd like to say happy Fourth of July to all my family and friends back home, my lovely wife, Jennifer, and the kids, Mazy, Kerr, Corey, Colvin, Zane, Emily and Eddie (ph). Happy Fourth of July, guys. I missed you. Bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: CNN in-depth today, we're looking at the space program. The final shuttle mission is set to launch Friday, 11:26 Eastern, and can you see it, of course, here on CNN, like you have all of the other shuttle launches.
But what happens when the final shuttle lands? Acquiring astronauts have to chase a different dream.
Our Brooke Baldwin found out there's no shortage of exploration ideas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Five degrees of (INAUDIBLE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is that supposed to simulate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's supposed to stimulate law of gravity.
BALDWIN (voice-over): They are at the top of their class.
(on camera): Who really is good at science and math?
(voice-over): Even though the space shuttle program is coming to an end, the desire of the space campers could be astronauts is as strong as ever.
(on camera): What do you want to do when you grow up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope to become an astronaut. BALDWIN (voice-over): It's that heroic quality so appealing to children from all eras that pushes these youngsters towards space.
(on camera): What do you think of astronauts?
SEBASTIAN NIGRELLI, SPACE CAMP TRAINEE: Brave. Determined. Talented. Awesome.
BALDWIN (voice-over): About 30,000 elementary students come through space camp each and every year at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Their week of astronaut training culminates in a mock shuttle mission.
(on camera): How do you feel about it, the last shuttle going up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disappointed.
BALDWIN: Disappointing.
(voice-over): Deborah Barnhart is the chief here at the space camp.
(on camera): So, what do you say because the space shuttle program is ending with the Atlantis, and all these kids right here are prepping information on its space shuttle, but that's going to end this year. So, then what for space camp?
DEBORAH BARNHART, U.S. SPACE AND ROCKET CENTER SPACE CAMP: The end of the space shuttle program is just like a graduation to me. We're moving on in our national space program to something else.
BALDWIN (voice-over): And these campers have lots of idea for that something else.
(on camera): What do you want to do when you go to space?
AVERY DALFREY, SPACE CAMP TRAINEE: Go to mars.
BALDWIN: Mars?
DALFREY: I'm going to be the first woman on mars.
BALDWIN: Hi five, sister.
DALFREY: I know one day we will live on other planets.
BALDWIN: You think so?
DALFREY: Definitely.
BALDWIN: How are we going to breathe?
DALFREY: Well, I mean,, there are going to be oxygen generators.
BALDWIN (voice-over): As farfetched as it sounds, these whiz kids are right on target. Barnhart says they are already planning the next space camp to include inflatable space habitats.
(on camera): What's an inflatable?
BARNHART: Where you can launch a structure, and once you get it into space, pressurize it, like an inflatable balloon, but they are inflatable structures that can be used on the surface of the moon or low earth orbit or anywhere in space.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Perhaps pushing the next generation of astronauts further into the next frontier.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Huntsville, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Lots of good ambition there.
Well, join CNN's Brooke Baldwin, Anderson Cooper and John Zarrella for our special coverage of the final shuttle launch this Friday beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
And three days after a huge anti-government protest, Syrian President Assad strikes back. We'll have a live report from Syria, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Time now for "Globe Trekking," and we'll look at the latest developments in Syria. There are reports of clashes in Hama today after last week's huge anti-government protest there.
CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live from Damascus.
And, Arwa, is this a case of silencing the opposition? What are you hearing?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Deborah, it most certainly is a very disturbing development. Now, what we did hear from an activist who was also based in Hama is that tanks rolled into the outskirts of city at around 4:00 in the morning, clashing with residents who, according to this activist, were arming themselves with sticks and stones. In some neighborhoods, they did in fact manage to drive the military out. And then residents set up makeshift barricades to keep Syrian troops from entering Hama again.
Now, Hama has historically been really a hot bed of uprising against the Assad region. Back in 1982, the current's president father, Hafez al-Assad, launched a deadly crackdown against an uprising that was being conducted by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. This was at a time an armed uprising. And human rights organizations have said that the methods used by Assad regime back then were really quite merciless, entirely swath of the city were razed, the death toll estimates anywhere from thousands being killed to tens of thousands being killed.
Now, last month in Hama, activists were saying that dozens of anti-government demonstrators were being killed, especially during Friday demonstrations. But then interestingly, over the last few weeks, we saw the Syrian military, the security apparatus, largely withdraw from Hama and appearing to allow peaceful demonstrations to take place. Last Friday, we saw a mass of crowd there activists saying numbers were in the tens of thousands, people who were on site were describing it as being a scene similar to Tahrir Square in Cairo.
But then over the weekend, the government, without giving any public reason, sacked the governor of Hama and then we have these reports from activists that the military now appears to be launching the beginning of a crackdown.
FEYERICK: Arwa, is it -- did -- obviously the demonstrators are calling for a fall of Assad regime. President Assad has said, well, he's going to try to enact limited reform. But when you bring in that kind of firepower, when you get rid of a governor like that, does the regime see this as a fundamental threat to its existence?
DAMON: Well, what's been interesting is that we have on numerous occasions, since the uprising began more than three months ago, on the one hand been seeing the government, the Assad regime, talking about concessions, talking about reforms. When we speak to activist, they say that very little if any of that has actually been enacted. The Assad regime most certainly now does appear as if it is trying to cling to power.
And it has been, and we have been seeing ourselves, in fact, what would appear to be a shift in strategy. They have let the international media into the country, they are allowing some opposition members to meet in meetings that they are actually trying to bring a lot of attention to, saying, look, we're reforming and allowing the opposition to get together.
Yet, on the other hand, we still do continue to see crackdowns in the northwestern part of the country, for example, and now, these movements on what would appear to be a crackdown in Hamas. But it's very difficult to actually gauge exactly what it is that the government is thinking, because, Deborah, even though we're a country right now, we have not been able to receive an official response from the government as to what is transpiring in Hama. And we reached out to them on numerous occasions throughout the day, and yesterday, in fact. But we're not receiving a response, which makes it incredibly difficult to determine not only what their side of events is, but actually to get an accurate picture of what is happening.
FEYERICK: OK. Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Eyes on the ground for us. We really appreciate that report.
Well, it's 45 past the hour. Let's check our top stories:
Even though the U.S. case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be collapsing, he's facing new trouble back in his native France. The former International Monetary Fund chief was released on his own recognizance Friday, this after credibility problems by his accuser. The New York hotel maid has said she was sexually assaulted by him. Now, a French lawyer says he's filing a lawsuit on behalf of the novelist Tristan Banon. She claims the former French presidential contender tried to rape her back in 2003.
Mexican police swept in and arrested the founder of the notorious Zetas drug gang who may be linked to the February murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs agent Jamie Zapata. Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar is popularly known as "El Mamito." He is suspected in connection with numerous killings in northeastern Mexico. The Zetas gang is fighting a very bloody turf battle with its former ally, the Gulf cartel.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez just returned home from Cuba, where he was being treated for cancer. Here he is shown taking a walk with his daughters on state-run TV. He says he is feeling well and happy. He announced last week that Cuban doctors removed a cancerous tumor. There was speculation that his return to Caracas could be as long as several months.
Well, how do you fix the economy, the federal debt and create more jobs? One man does have a solution so simple but powerful it may surprise you. That's in our "Big I" in just a couple minutes.
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FEYERICK: Well, as you know, every day on this show, we do a segment called the "Big I." It's about big ideas, innovations and solutions to problems. Today's topic gets to the very core of the segment.
There's a growing movement to fight the ballooning federal debt, a sluggish economy, also, the slipping power and influence of the U.S. The solution is simple, innovation.
The Consumer Electronics Association, or CEA, has created this declaration, you see it right there. Pretty much like the Declaration of Independence. It's an online pledge to push innovation as a national agenda. This is part of the bigger movement.
And leading the way is the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, Gary Shapiro, who is joining me today from Madrid, Spain.
Thanks so much, Gary.
First of all, let's talk about this declaration of innovation pledge. What is this supposed to invoke?
GARY SHAPIRO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION: Well, we are in tough challenging times as a nation, we can raise taxes, we can cut spending or we can grow.
Growth depends on innovation. And it's our special sauce. It's who we are. And we should recognize it as a national strategy.
FEYERICK: When we talk about it as a national strategy, obviously, innovation has to come with ideas to back it up. You wrote about this in "The Huffington Post," and you talked about the five basic beliefs that really fuels passion.
Why is this so important?
SHAPIRO: Because it's who we are. We are an immigrant nation, always challenging the status quo. We have a First Amendment which encourages us to speak out without worrying about our government.
We're not consensus builders like the Asian companies. We're always trying to do it better. We're getting the best and brightest from around the world. So, we are the nation's innovators -- not only in technology, but in culture, in movies, and medicine, and so many areas.
And that's who we are. We're not the world's lowest cost manufacturers.
FEYERICK: OK. And there are five basic beliefs that we have up on the screen right now. I know you're in Madrid, so let them for you.
First of all, it's -- the right strategy; it is who we are; we owe it to our troops; we must do right by our children. And also, you have to think, well, I owe this, you know, to my son.
You highlight on your Web site free trade, broadband immigration reform, federal deficit. Talk to me a little bit about all of that, and how that comes into play when it comes to small businesses and helping innovate and move the economy forward.
SHAPIRO: Well, it comes into play, we're the best country in the world and we celebrate that today. Our strategy in getting here is we've attracted the best and the brightest. We've come up with the best ideas and we work the hardest. But it's not a foregone conclusion and will continue that way. And we're the first generation that's stolen from our kids and almost guaranteed them a more difficult life.
So, every one of us has the obligation to stand up and say enough already to our government. We have kids that are risking our bodies overseas. And the least we can do as Americans is do something for our country.
It's not about Republicans or Democrats. It's about Americans standing up and saying, let's have a strategy and let's focus it on the fact that we are the best, most creative, hardest working people in the world and we attracted the best. And let's continue that way -- it's free trade, it's broadband deployment, and it's getting the best and the brightest and putting them to work.
FEYERICK: But behind the strategy, doesn't there have to be some sort of financial help? You can have as many ideas as you want, but without some sort of a blueprint, a financial strategy, those ideas disappear.
SHAPIRO: Well, certainly, we have a strategy. We have to lower the deficit. But we have to do it by Americans sacrificing -- all of us working harder together and stop some of the squabbles, which are really minor in comparison to the fact that we're stealing from our kids. And the strategy that we laid out as the Consumer Electronics Association is about the fact that the next five to 10 to 15 years, unless we change what we're doing, unless we stop spending government money, unless we balance our budget, and get the best and brightest, and beef our schools, we are going to go down and it's going to get worse.
So, we have to challenge our politicians to make the tough decisions. We have to hold them accountable and stop accepting from either party or any politician silver bullet solutions. It's tough in front of us, but we can innovate, we can grow.
And growth is important. And that doesn't mean more government spending. It means growth, through a whole bunch of ways we can do that. And you can see it on declareinnovation.com or you could see it in different places to sign up, or CEA.org. And learn about how innovation in America are two things which go together like mom and apple pie.
FEYERICK: OK. Well, Gary Shapiro, thanks so much for joining us. I guess it takes a whole fundamental mind shift how we do business and also how business plans for our children. Thank you so much, Gary Shapiro, joining us from Madrid, Spain, today.
For more information, check out Randi Kaye's Facebook page at RandiKayeCNN.
And the president announcement with a twist and a twang. We'll tell you about the newest presidential candidate -- that's coming up.
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FEYERICK: Time now for a CNN political update.
The Republican presidential candidates, well, they are not taking a break for the July 4th holiday. Neither is our CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's joining me now from Washington.
Paul, a lot of folks out there on the trail today. Who's there?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, it's a great day if you're a candidate. Why? July 4th, of course, you get to march in those July 4th parades. Patriotic.
Check this out. This is from Amherst, New Hampshire. There's Mitt Romney marching in the July 4th parade there. And you can see he's, you know, saying hello to people along the side there, shaking there. That's what you do when you're running for president.
Next, go to the next tape, because guess who else was also at that parade? It was Jon Huntsman, who's also running for the Republican presidential nomination. And look at that, he's running a little bit faster than Romney, maybe that's because he's a little further down in the polls there in New Hampshire, and, of course, he has to greet more voters. I don't know, but it's interesting.
FEYERICK: He's got to run harder and faster.
STEINHAUSER: He's got to run a little bit harder right now. It's still early, though. It's still early in these polls.
It's not just New Hampshire. Check out this map we made up here. We've got a bunch of candidates also in Iowa today. Michele Bachmann is going to be there marching in a parade. Same parade will be Newt Gingrich. And Rick Santorum is going to be in the bunch of events in Iowa.
Now, what these states have in common? Well, they're the first states in the primary caucus.
Let's not forget. Herman Cain as well. Cain is at a Tea Party event in Philadelphia. And then he goes to New Hampshire later today.
So, yes, everybody is in the early states today, Deb.
FEYERICK: All right. And, Paul, now, Michigan Congressman Thad McCotter also joined the race over the weekend. And he's saying that he wants to restructure government, it should be a citizen run, there should not big government, but self-government.
How did he kick off his campaign?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Not in the most conventional way. Now, a lot of people don't know who he is. He's a congressman from Michigan, five terms. He represents the western suburbs of Detroit. And he made it official at a freedom festival in his district.
You know what? Besides being a five term congressman, he can also play some guitar. Take a listen.
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STEINHAUSER: Not bad, Deb. Not bad at all, right?
FEYERICK: Go.
STEINHAUSER: He's playing guitar there, not singing. But he's the second person running for the White House on the Republican side. Jon Huntsman, as well, who is a rock 'n' roll star I guess you could say, Deb.
FEYERICK: You know, they could form a pretty good band up there on Capitol Hill.
Paul, you're going to have to find an instrument you can play, join in somehow.
STEINHAUSER: You got it. I'll work on that. FEYERICK: A little bit of tambourine.
OK, Paul Steinhauser joining us from Washington, D.C. Thanks as always.
Well, your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television," just an hour away.
