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Verdict Watch in Casey Anthony Trial; Buyers' Market Could Spur Housing; 'News of the World' Hacks Dead Teen's Phone; Study: Sitting Can Make You Sick; Murder Suspect Taunts Police
Aired July 05, 2011 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.
Jurors who will decide Casey Anthony's guilt or innocence are in their second day of deliberations in Orlando today. Prosecutors say Anthony killed her daughter Caylee so she could live a party lifestyle. Anthony's defense says the girl accidentally drowned in the family's pool.
A body language expert has been in the courtroom, her eyes trained on the seven women and five men who make up the jury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CONSTANTINE, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: I have been watching for the last two months and what I have identified is that we really have seven jurors that are more pro-prosecution. I established their behavior, the body language, what they're noting, what's important on their book, and I really was able to compile that information, find out who are more pro-state versus the defense.
We have a couple also neutral jurors so that really, when they get into deliberations, can go one way or the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A Paris lawyer says he will file a new criminal complaint against former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn today. Prosecutors plan to review it to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.
Now, the woman behind the complaint is a French journalist Tristane Banon who claims that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in 2003. Banon says she didn't come forward then, worried that the case would hurt her career.
A reminder that violence remains a part of everyday life in Iraq. Two bombs exploded near a government building in a Baghdad suburb today, killing at least 35 people. The explosions appeared to target Iraqi police. Two hundred and seventy Iraqis died in violence during June, that is the highest monthly toll so far this year.
Well, one of Libya's rebel leaders is doing an about-face on Moammar Gadhafi. Mustafa Abdel Jalil says that Gadhafi can stay in Libya if he resigns, if he stays out of politics, and if he agrees to supervision. Well, Gadhafi vows he's never going to leave Libya, so this could open the door to a way out of this stalemate. However, NATO nations, including the United States, have insisted Gadhafi must leave Libya.
Montana's governor rips ExxonMobil, saying that the company isn't devoting enough people and equipment to the Yellowstone River oil spill. An ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured on Friday, dumping perhaps 42,000 gallons of oil into the pristine waterway. ExxonMobil says that it has deployed 280 workers and nine miles of absorbent boom to that spill site.
Well, talk about the right place at the right time. This is an unbelievable story.
A toddler tumbles out of a 10th floor apartment window in China. A woman passing by catches the girl. Now, witnesses say she kicked off her high heels, she ran to catch the baby when she saw her dangling. And doctors say the toddler is now in critical condition with internal bleeding. The force of the falling toddler knocked the woman out as well, left her with a broken arm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING JAPANESE)
TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: Go Vantelin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That's Tiger Woods hawking a pain relief cream on Japanese television. It is the golfer's first endorsement deal since his marriage collapsed in late 2009. The scandal led American companies like Accenture, AT&T and Gatorade's parent, Pepsi, to drop Woods as a spokesman.
We are on verdict watch in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Jurors are spending a second day deliberating the fate of the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter.
Defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes is joining us.
And Holly, we have been following this from the very beginning. The jury has been deliberating about, what, nine hours or so?
What does it tell you about how things are going?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, what it tells me is we have a serious, mature jury, and they are taking very seriously the job that's been put before them. They have been asked to decide the fate of a young woman's life, so they have that indictment back there, and the "indictment" is just a fancy word for the charging document.
It's the document that the state has filed and said we're accusing Casey Anthony of these charges. So they have taken that, they have taken that packet of instructions that the judge gave them, which is the charge, the law, and they're looking at the two of them together and saying, does the evidence we've heard presented to us match up with the elements that she's been charged with?
And if they do, that means that they can return a conviction, the state has proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt. If they're looking at those elements of those crimes and saying, I don't really have any evidence to support it, then we're looking at a not guilty on that particular charge.
MALVEAUX: All right. We're going to leave it there for now, Holly. You're going to be back with us at the bottom of the hour to discuss the jurors themselves, the seven women, the five men who are deciding this case. And we're going to have profiles of the jurors, find out from Holly if anything from sex, age, or even a juror's occupation can impact their opinion on this case.
Well, here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. As the tables turn now in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, what does it say about our legal system?
Here's our Carol Costello.
Hey, Carol, a very good question here. This is a case that seems to be going back and forth.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an amazing case and very controversial in many ways.
I know most of America is feasting on the Casey Anthony trial, but maybe we should turn our attention to New York, to a sexual assault case that's as ugly as it gets, if you're talking about justice, that is.
A high-powered French banker, head of the International Monetary Fund, is arrested on charges of assaulting a hotel maid. The story resonates. A rich, powerful man allegedly attacking a woman with no power, an accusation so awful, even without a conviction the powerful man, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigns from the IMF. His dream of becoming France's next president, likely over.
The alleged victim? "The New York Times" reports hardened investigators were moved to tears by her story.
Police say there is DNA and bruising to prove the sexual contact was not consensual. But then the lies or, depending on your perspective, the leaks begin.
Less than two days after the alleged victim said she was attacked, a source told CNN she told her boyfriend she's fine, and this person is rich and there's money is to be made. Should it matter? Again, it depends on your perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH THOMPSON, ALLEGED VICTIM'S ATTORNEY: Now, it is a fact that the victim here made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN BRAFMAN, STRAUSS-KAHN ATTORNEY: We asked you and we asked the world not to rush to judgment in this case, and now I think that you can understand why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now, whether the charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be dropped is an open question, but the case will have lasting national ramifications.
So, the "Talk Back" question today: What does the DSK case say about our justice system?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read some of your comments later this hour -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol.
Here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering this hour.
First, a housing bust alert. The worst market slump in decades could eventually become a good thing.
Plus, learning the hard way as a result of the recession. Retirement savings reaching an all-time high.
And then, how staying seated too long raises risks for deadly blood clots.
And just the facts, please. Testing recent political statements in the Truth-o-Meter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Three great stories. Only one is going to air this hour. "Choose the News" you would like to see. Here are your choices.
First, "Libya's Fighting Women." They say they are answering Moammar Gadhafi's call by training to defend their country. Are they just for show or a legitimate force? That story from inside Libya.
Second, how big is "Your Digital Footprint"? An eye-opening report on how your phone, your car, and other devices are exposing your personal information in the digital world.
And finally, "Distracted Driving Challenge." Drive along as parents and teenager see how well they can get through an obstacle course while texting.
If you're not behind the wheel, you can vote for your favorite story by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Libya's Fighting Women"; and 2 for "Your Digital Footprint"; or 3 for "Distracted Driving." The winning story is going to air this hour.
Well, homeowners are caught in the middle of the worst housing slump in decades, but some economists are arguing that their pain eventually is going to become housing's gains. Well, how does that happen? It starts with potential buyers looking to capitalize on rock-bottom prices.
Allan Chernoff met two of those guys in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Your new home, huh?
STEVEN LIBERATI (ph), HOMEBUYER: Yes.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Steven Liberati (ph) just had his offer accepted on this one-bedroom coop apartment in White Plains, New York, for what he considers a steal: $217,000.
LIBERATI: I'm very excited. I feel like the market was right to buy. And I took advantage of the situation.
J.P. ENDRES, REALTOR: You're well on your way to closing.
LIBERATI: Great.
CHERNOFF: "If only there were more buyers like Steven," laments realtor J.P. Endres Too many potential homebuyers have been holding back, expecting prices may go even lower.
(on camera): Are people responding?
ENDRES: They're starting to.
CHERNOFF: Not yet. A bit.
ENDRES: They're starting to respond. We have a bit.
CHERNOFF: Housing is in its worst slump in decades: declining prices, slow sales, anemic homebuilding. All that bad news though, some economists say, is laying the foundation for a recovery.
DREW MATUS, UBS SECURITIES: The worst the news is, the quicker we'll get the rebound. We have to remember, you know, a lot of the data looks bad right now, but it does set the stage for future growth.
CHERNOFF: Here's how bad news could be good news for the economics of housing. Housing supply today far outweighs demand, but falling home prices should attract buyers, especially since rents are rising.
DARNELL CHARLES, HOMEBUYER: This is a great time, I believe.
CHERNOFF: Renter Darnell Charles is looking to buy. He placed a bid on this three-bedroom home.
CHARLES: I do know a lot of people say that this is a buyer's market, not a seller's. And it's a benefit to me.
CHERNOFF (on camera): You feel that it is a buyer's market now?
CHARLES: Definitely.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): The buyers' market results from an oversupply of homes. Too many were built, too many are now in foreclosure.
The last thing most housing markets in the U.S. need is new home construction. That's brutal for struggling homebuilders, but economists say as more people like Darnell Charles and Steven Liberati (ph) buy in the coming months, housing should stabilize and begin rebounding.
(on camera): You're looking for a deal.
CHARLES: Looking for a deal. Exactly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Looking for a deal.
Allan joins us with more from New York.
Allan, as someone who just recently bought and sold a home, I'm looking for a deal, too. And I've got to tell you, I don't understand. The worse the news gets for housing, the closer we are to recovery? Is that right?
CHERNOFF: It sounds a little crazy, but it's certainly painful for anybody trying to sell a home now, and certainly for homebuilders. But the economic theory makes a lot of sense, if you think about it.
You want prices to come down so that homes are more affordable. That increases demand. And you don't want a lot of homes being built. You don't want to increase supply.
Think back to our basic economics. You want demand greater than supply. That's what's going to push up the housing market.
MALVEAUX: Sure. So, Allan, how does it relate to your income?
CHERNOFF: It definitely shows that housing is more affordable now than it has been in years. The National Association of Realtors compares the median income to the median home price. And what they have found is that right now, homes are as affordable as they have been in 40 years.
Right now, they say a family with median income is spending 14 percent of that income to buy the median home right now, the median-priced home. That's way down from better than 22 percent back at the height of the boom.
MALVEAUX: Sure. And Allan, what about the idea that many of the buyers could be holding back, thinking that, OK, we'll wait just a little bit longer and wait for these prices to get even lower? CHERNOFF: Excellent point, Suzanne. That's what I call the X factor. And it certainly is happening.
That's one reason we haven't seen housing really bounce back just yet. People are holding back. They're thinking prices are going lower and lower, why should I buy now? They're not in any rush. That's a major problem for housing.
Eventually, that's going to end if home prices keep on falling. But the latest month's data shows some possibility of stability here, so we may actually be hitting that point right now.
MALVEAUX: All right. Allan, thank you.
Allan Chernoff.
Good reporting.
Another encouraging sign in the sluggish economy. CNNMoney.com says that retirement savings are nearing record highs now. So that may suggest that more of us are learning how to plan ahead.
Alison Kosik, she joins us from New York.
And Alison, put this into perspective for us. How much are we actually talking about here? Is this a big number?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a big number.
You know, we have saved $18 trillion for retirement, Suzanne. That's "trillion" with a "T." This all counts IRAs, 401(k)s and pension plans. And this has been in the works for a couple of years.
Retirement savings have actually been growing since 2009, after our savings were really hit hard during the recession. So everybody wants to know, you know, what's changed, why are retirement accounts growing?
Well, for one, we're benefiting from a stronger stock market. We have learned some lessons from the recession as well.
You know what? We kind of got scared into saving after we were -- after we saw our nest eggs really take a hit during the recession. And also, the sad reality, Suzanne, people are delaying retirement and using those extra years in the workforce to build up their nest eggs that once again took a hit during the recession -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Well, if retirement savings are near a record high, are we basically set? Are Americans learning? Do they have enough money now set aside?
KOSIK: You can never have enough money. Right? There's always the green factor.
No, but, seriously, most of us really don't have nearly enough yet. And it's really more important to err on the side of caution when you save. And if you can, over-save.
You don't know how long you're going to live. You don't know how big your medical bills are going to be. And while those retirement goals can be intimidating, don't throw up your arms and do nothing. Set aside whatever you can each month, and have it automatically deducted from your paycheck. You know, it's kind of like pay yourself and it will help you in the long run -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Alison, looking at the investments today, it seems as if stocks, taking it easy. Are investors worried about something?
KOSIK: They are always worried about something. The focus still remains on Greece's debt issues.
Also, we've got a weak factory orders report. Also, the market's kind of waiting on the big jobs report coming in on Friday. We're waiting to see hopefully a good jobs number there. But investors being cautious on that -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thank you very much.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn may face new sex crime charges, this time in France. I'm going to discuss the new allegations against the former IMF chief with our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are looking at ahead.
Up next, waiting on the jury. The ongoing verdict watch in the Casey Anthony murder trial.
Then, how sitting for too long puts women at risk for deadly blood clots.
And later, calling them out. Politicians' statements and claims tested in the Truth-o-Meter.
Well, right now, back to the Casey Anthony murder trial.
It is day two of jury deliberations. Will the Florida woman be convicted of killing her little girl? Well, that decision rests in the hands of a seven-woman, five-man jury.
We want to focus on the jurors, on them.
Our defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes is back with us.
And Holly, I understand -- you have been waiting -- they deliberated for, what, some 10 hours or so? They took a break.
HUGHES: Right.
MALVEAUX: They will be back shortly. HUGHES: Absolutely. They are closing in on that 10-hour mark, which means they're just going through it one step at a time. And this is a really interesting jury panel we've got here.
MALVEAUX: Who has caught your attention?
HUGHES: Well, I'll tell you, number one. She is usually the first one out of the back into the jury box, so this woman is not afraid to be a leader.
She was a nurse. She told us in voir dire that she had actually smelled dead bodies before, so she is going to be able, when the jurors are in the back talking about that, to say hey, you know what? My experience is that it's very unique or eh, maybe not so much. So, her life experience is going to play into explaining to the other jurors about that.
Then we have juror number four. Everybody's been talking about this lady.
She's an African-American older lady who said hey, you know what? Based on my religious views, I find it hard to judge other people.
Now, the state challenged that juror and they said hey, Judge, if she can't judge other people, Judge Perry, let's let her go. And the defense said no, no, no. We want keep her. And therefore, the judge said, you know, based on this legal case called Batson (ph), we are going to keep her.
So she's on the jury. And, interestingly enough, I think all she's going to do is she's going to look at the evidence and she's going to understand, ultimately -- I'm sure she's an intelligent woman -- that you can have your religious views, but you can still forgive somebody and judge them at the same time.
MALVEAUX: All right.
HUGHES: So hold her accountable and say yes, she did do this. And I think she's smart enough that if the evidence shows she did it, she'll say yes, OK, I can forgive you, but you've still got to be held responsible.
Then we've got a couple others. We've got an IT fellow on there.
MALVEAUX: OK.
HUGHES: This is a gentleman who's got two young children. So anybody -- we've got six parents and/or grandparents on that jury.
MALVEAUX: And that's going to make a difference, obviously --
HUGHES: Oh, huge.
MALVEAUX: -- when they're looking at this case, whether or not she actually killed her child. HUGHES: Because here's the thing, Suzanne. They have raised children, and they obviously, since they're on a jury, haven't killed theirs, although I'm sure there were days when they wanted to strangle some little person. But they didn't do it. They maintained that self-control and they did not harm their children, or we wouldn't have them on a jury.
So I think what you've got is a fantastic composite of people who are going to sit down and say hey, you know what? You don't treat a baby like that. You don't chloroform a baby.
MALVEAUX: It sounds very balanced. I mean, a good representation --
HUGHES: Yes. Oh, I think so.
MALVEAUX: -- when you talk about racially, when you talk about gender-wise.
HUGHES: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: Is there anything specifically that these jurors will bring from their personal experience, their personal lives, that they're going to be really interested in?
HUGHES: Absolutely. Every single experience we have in life shapes us. It makes us who we are. And we actually tell the jurors that.
The judge says in what we call the pre-charge, which before it all starts, he says hey, look, we don't expect you to come in as blank slates. We understand you have life experiences. We understand you have all gone through things. And one of the really fascinating things about this jury panel is a lot of them have had either personal experience, brushes with the law, or close family members who have had brushes with the law.
So, when Jose Baez -- he was very smart in this -- when he got up in his closing statement, and he started saying, oh, they want you to hate my client because she did some bad things and made some bad decisions, he's talking to those jurors who have family members that have made bad mistakes in the past, because what he's saying is, you wouldn't want somebody judging your family member on what they've done in the past. So just because she's -- and he used the s-word -- he called his own client a "slut."
Unbelievable. The state never called her that. But what he's doing is he's trying to inflame those passions, like, just because you don't like her, don't judge her for that.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
HUGHES: And what he's doing is talking to the life experience of the jurors who know people who have made mistakes in the past.
MALVEAUX: All right. Holly, it's all very fascinating.
HUGHES: It is. MALVEAUX: And we'll be watching. And, of course, the countdown continues to see --
HUGHES: Yes, great stuff.
MALVEAUX: -- when are they going to come up with a decision, a verdict?
HUGHES: Edge of the seat. I think we're probably looking at late today or before lunch tomorrow.
MALVEAUX: Wow. That's pretty fast.
HUGHES: They're ready to go, Suzanne. They have been taking them notes. They have been locked up. They are done.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: All right. We'll see how this goes. Thank you, Holly. Appreciate it.
HUGHES: Yes. Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: Well, the jury, as we mentioned, deciding Casey Anthony's case here. You don't want to miss a minute of this riveting action. Tune in to our sister network, HLN, for trial coverage throughout the day. You'll be able to catch all of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a reminder about your "Choose the News" stories for today. You can vote for your favorite by texting 22360.
Text 1 for "Libya's Fighting Women." Moammar Gadhafi is asking them to defend their country.
Text 2 for "Your Digital Footprint." What information are you unwittingly exposing with your phone and your car and your computer?
Or text 3, "Distracted Driving." Parents and teens trying to drive an obstacle course while texting.
The winning story is going to air later in the hour.
Well, a British tabloid crosses the line to get a story. "News of the World," part of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, is being accused of hacking the phone of a missing teenaged girl.
Well, that girl was Milly Dowler, who was later found dead. The case is causing public outrage, and now the family is looking for justice.
I'm joined by Mark Lewis. He's the lawyer who is representing the Dowlers.
And Mark, thanks for joining us. First of all, this isn't just about hacking. I mean, I assume this is also about the mental anguish that this family went through thinking that their daughter was alive because of what was going on. Explain to us what happened.
MARK LEWIS, LAWYER FOR THE DOWLER FAMILY: Well, one of the things that happened, the most perhaps traumatic part of it, is the fact that when people leave messages on a phone after a while, it gets filled up and a message is given out saying, "Sorry, the voicemail you're calling is full, please try again later."
Now, if after a while, there is an ability to leave a message, one can only assume that somebody has deleted it. And that's what happened to the family and friends of Milly Dowler. The voicemail was full, or full from people saying, please phone your parents, please phone home, and all of a sudden there was a ray of hope that messages had been wiped off and could be left again. And so they had this hope raised in them, the false hope that she would be all right, that there was some sign of life.
MALVEAUX: Because they thought that she was the one, right, that was actually deleting these messages?
LEWIS: Well, that would be the natural assumption for parents. I mean, this was before anybody was aware of phone hacking, before anyone was aware of anybody doing things. That would be the natural and ordinary assumption to make for a parent, who wanted to hear good news, and therefore, there was a sign of some good news.
MALVEAUX: And Mark, does it make a difference whether or not this paper thought that she was still alive or missing, not dead?
LEWIS: Well, there was no -- there was no public interest in what they were doing. The newspaper should not have been instructing their inquiring agent, their investigator, to try and hack into a phone to listen to voicemail messages. I mean, they had the interest of trying to get the story and to sell papers without thinking of, actually, the effect on the family or the effect on the police investigation that was trying to trace a missing teenager who was possibly -- who had possibly been killed.
MALVEAUX: There's nobody who is denying that this is a huge breach of ethics.
What are you trying to achieve legally here for this family?
LEWIS: Well, in terms of legality, there is only so much. Obviously, one can't bring back the daughter. One can't undo the harm that's been done.
One can only obtain some monetary compensation for them. And that's actually one of the reasons that we're suggesting that there should be a full judicial public inquiry into finding out what has happened, because the way the court system in England works is, if people have an offer that they do not accept, which was a reasonable offer, they're at risk of paying the other side's legal cost, which could wipe out many people, not just the Dowlers, if they got into that situation.
MALVEAUX: OK.
LEWIS: But the effect of being forced to take a financial settlement is that the truth doesn't come out. And even if there are criminal trials, a criminal trial, if there are any criminal charges, people can plead guilty. There's not an investigation into them and they're not going to charge people for every single item of hacking a phone. So that's why we're saying something more public has to be done to investigate properly.
MALVEAUX: Right. OK. Mark Lewis, thank you very much. We appreciate your bringing that story to us. Thank you.
All right. Everybody who is sitting down should stand up. After this, we're going to tell you why you might want to stand up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: If you're a woman and you sit a lot, well, listen up. A new study suggests you might be more likely to get a life-threatening disease.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here.
Wow, that sounds scary. What did researchers find?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. These researchers at Harvard looked at tens of thousands of nurses and what they found was that those who sat a lot, who spent a lot of time sitting in their off hours, not at work, but, you know, when they were home or whatever, were much more likely to get three things.
Let's take a look at those three things. They were much more likely to get heart disease. They were much more likely to have hypertension or high blood pressure, and much more likely also to have clots in their lungs.
And that, Suzanne, was a bit of a surprise finding.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
COHEN: I mean, we all know heart disease, you know, not getting exercise and heart disease are linked but the clots in the lungs, they're not quite sure why that is, but it's definitely a scary finding -- three times more likely to get clots in their lungs when they were more sedentary.
MALVEAUX: So, you know, a lot of us are couch potatoes, you know? But what do they mean when they say a lot, sitting a lot? What does that mean?
COHEN: The women who have this three times higher risk of clots in the lungs, they were sitting for around six hours a day in their off hours. Which doesn't sound like much but you get home from work and you sit and you watch some TV and then you sit at the computer and it was an average. So, maybe some days, they were only sitting for four hours, other days they were sitting for longer than that, but an average of about six hours a day. That's how sedentary they were.
MALVEAUX: That sounds like a lot to me, six hours.
COHEN: Yes, it is quite a bit.
MALVEAUX: What's the minimum amount of exercise that you should be getting?
COHEN: OK. You know what? It's exactly in some ways less than what a lot of people think. And so, I always like to say, you don't have -- I mean, you don't have to be a marathon runner like --
MALVEAUX: Thanks for the shout-out.
(LAUGHTER)
COHEN: -- in order to get enough exercise. It can be much more modest.
So, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 30 minutes a day, five days a week of something like brisk walking or even mowing the lawn is enough to make you healthier. When we say 30 minutes a day, it doesn't mean OK, it's 2:00, I'm going to take a walk until 2:30. You can do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at your lunch hour, 10 minutes after dinner. You can spread it out.
MALVEAUX: So, it's a reasonable amount of time.
COHEN: Yes. Exactly. It's something that a lot of people can do.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, good tips. Boy, important study.
COHEN: It is an important study. And, you know, you mentioned that it's a reasonable thing that you can do. We actually have on CNN.com/EmpoweredPatient a couch potato wrote about how they trained for a triathlete because all of us think there's no way I could do this.
MALVEAUX: Right.
COHEN: And so, they give tips on how to get that exercise into your schedule. So, CNN.com/EmpoweredPatient.
MALVEAUX: That's awesome. All right. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: Well, U.S. versus Korean cars. Ethanol versus gasoline. We will take comments on both to the truth-o-meter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: He's wanted for the murder of an American university professor, but the suspect has fled across the Mexican border and is now out of police reach. Not only that, he seems to be taunting them from his Mexican hideout.
Our CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jorge Landeros is known as a stock trader, yoga teacher and poet. Investigators say he had a relationship with a popular accounting professor at American University named Sue Ann Markham, made lucrative investments with her and was the sole beneficiary of her $500,000 life insurance policy.
They also believe he did this.
CAPT. PAUL STARKS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, POLICE: She was hit with some force somewhere on her body. She was also choked to death, according to the medical examiner.
TODD: That was last October at Markham's house outside Washington.
(on camera): At first, the case had all the signs of a burglary gone bad. Police say there were signs of forced entry at this window, signs of a struggle. A teenager was arrested later in Markham's stolen vehicle. But police say as the evidence built, it led them away from that teenager, who's no longer a suspect and straight to Jorge Landeros.
(voice-over): According to an affidavit obtained by CNN, Landeros gave a DNA sample to police in El Paso, Texas, a sample that matches one on what's believed to be the murder weapon. But then, investigators say, he skipped across the border to Juarez, Mexico.
There's now an Interpol arrest warrant for him, and the FBI has filed a criminal complaint naming Landeros as the only suspect in Markham's murder.
Landeros has not only refused to come back to the U.S., but it appears he's taunting police. "The Washington Post" obtained a recent e-mail from Landeros to an El Paso detective who'd asked to meet with him.
"Of course, you are cordially invited to cross the same bridge in the opposite direction and meet me at Sanborn's, a great cafe and restaurant here in Juarez, and we can talk shop all you want. It's best if you come on a Sunday. We can have brunch. It will, of course, be my treat. Yours, Jorge."
(on camera): How frustrated are you at that?
STARKS: It's causing some delay. We believe he's using the shield of an international border to delay and slow this process. We'd like justice to start; we'd like him to return and have his day in court.
TODD (voice-over): Dan Morse of "The Washington Post" obtained those e-mails and spoke with Landeros over the phone. Morse says Landeros even corrects the detective's grammar when he answers the e-mails.
(on camera): Is this a game to him? DAN MORSE, "WASHINGTON POST": I don't know if I'd characterize it as a game. I think he is a confident person. Confident when he's talking to me. Professor Markham's friends who met him said he seemed confident, and, you know, that's certainly the posture he's taking with the detectives.
TODD (voice-over): We've tried to contact Jorge Landeros over the phone, with e-mail and Facebook messages. We've not heard from him. His attorney won't comment on the complaint or the affidavit.
(on camera): In his conversations with the "Washington Post," Landeros denied killing Sue Ann Markham, saying he wasn't in the U.S. at the time of her murder. Police here won't say much about any extradition deal with Mexican authorities, only that they're working through the process.
Brian Todd, CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Checking the math and checking the facts is what Bill Adair does every day. He's editor of PolitiFact.com, and Washington bureau chief for the "St. Petersburg Times."
Hey, Bill. Good to see you.
Let's get right to it again. Here's one from President Obama. He said, "You see a whole bunch of Korean cars here in the United States and you don't see any American cars in Korea."
What about that?
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: We gave that a "mostly true" on our truth-o-meter, Suzanne. He is right that there is a big trade imbalance between the U.S. and Korea. It's something like 30 to one.
So, 30 Korean cars for every one U.S. car. But there are some U.S. cars there. So, we took it down a notch to mostly true.
MALVEAUX: OK. Mostly true.
Next one is from a recent advertisement spotted in the Washington, D.C. metro system. The Renewable Fuels Association claims that "ethanol reduced gas prices by 89 cents per gallon in 2010. And if ethanol disappeared, gas prices could rise by as much as 92 percent."
True, false, what do you think, Bill?
ADAIR: We gave that one a "barely true." The numbers based on a study that indeed does show that. But, unfortunately, the study is paid for by the ethanol association or at least largely from the ethanol trade group. And when you look at it, you see they have done some cherry picking of their numbers and they've used some pretty unrealistic assumptions -- this idea that prices would go up 92 percent is based on the idea that ethanol would go away completely which is unrealistic. So, "barely true" on that one. MALVEAUX: OK. And you've launched something that's new on PolitiFact site. Tell us a little bit about it, Bill.
ADAIR: Yes, we have launched the PolitiFact truth index -- sort of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of truth is how we think of it. It is an average of all of our truth-o-meter ratings. And what it allows you to do is to follow the ups and downs of truth. And so, we come up with a number every day, a statistical average, and you can see whether we're giving more false ratings or more true ratings, and you can sort of see the ups and downs of the truth-o-meter.
MALVEAUX: Pretty cool. All right. Bill, thank you. Appreciate it.
ADAIR: Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: We are asking you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, the question, what does the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case say about our justice system?
Ivry says, "It shows there is no justice for the poor. Our justice system is set so that those with money can manipulate those laws and what they say the law is."
Carol Costello has more of your responses coming up.
But, first, here's some free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions.
Joining me this hour: Greg McBride. He's a senior financial analyst at bankrate.com. Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is founder of the financial advice blog, Askthemoneycoach.com.
Rod in Indiana asked, "We recently picked up a second mortgage on a home that we're renting out. Now, this second mortgage will deplete our savings within two to three months. Our first child is going to college soon. We have very little money to help her with now.
Would it be better just to let this home go into foreclosure or should we draw against our savings and possibly some of our 401(k)? Would a foreclosure impact our ability to secure a loan for her education?"
That's a tough question. Greg?
GREG MCBRIDE, SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: Well, look, you took out a loan on that second property. That rental property. That means you had to have had some equity and probably -- or some significant cash down in order to get that loan. What happened to the loan proceeds? I'm sensing a bigger problem here in terms of the borrowing. In this day and age, you can't borrow on a second mortgage on a rental property unless you've got some serious skin in the game. Now, your daughter can go to a cheaper school, she can get financial aid, she can work, but you need to stop using borrowing as a way to -- your pathway to prosperity. It's only causing you to dig that hole deeper. EVANS: OK, here's an interesting question from Kyle in New York. "Can I negotiate down a student loan that is not in default if I want to pay it off in a lump sum? And who do I contact to negotiate that?"
Lynnette.
LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Well, this is a great question because about 7 percent of student loans outstanding are actually in default. This person said, I'm not even in default, but I just want to get a settlement because I want to pay less, apparently. It frankly doesn't just work that way. You know, and, first of all, it depends on whether or not you've got a federal loan or private loans. Federal loans are frankly a lot easier to deal with. Better loan forgiveness, deferment and forbearance options.
But if you want to negotiate anything, and I actually have heard of people who have been able to negotiate settlements on their student loans, you've got to reach out to your lender, the person who -- the entity that originally gave you the money, or the loan servicer that's currently handling the loan. Dig out that old paperwork. See who you have to contact. Get on the phone and start trying to, you know, talk. But don't expect a lot, especially, like I said, if you're not currently in default they're going to say, why, you're not necessarily struggling, you're not behind on the bill, why should we let you pay less than you originally borrowed?
EVANS: OK. Have you got a question you want answered? Send us an e- mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: :New sex assault allegations against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. This time, in Paris. A French journalist has just filed a criminal complaint alleging that Strauss- Kahn tried to rape her in 2003. Now this comes as a separate New York rape case against the French banker appears to be on shaky ground. Our CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, he joins us by phone from New York.
And, Jeff, her name is Tristane Banon and she waited years to file these charges against Strauss-Kahn. How does that affect her case? Does it hurt her case? Is it still viable right now?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, I think this is a very much long shot of a criminal prosecution. The French legal system, of course, is considerably different than ours and an individual can initiate a criminal investigation in a way that the police have to do it in the United States. But the way it works is, she is essentially going to the police in France saying, please prosecute him for this crime. But it was eight years ago and even though that was -- that's within the statute of limitations in France, of course there's going to be no physical evidence eight years later. So I expect this will be a very difficult case to pursue, though it is, of course, a serious embarrassment to Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
MALVEAUX: And, Jeff, and Strauss-Kahn is fighting back with a counterclaim against her. What is he saying?
TOOBIN: Well, he's saying this is a libelous accusation and he is filing a civil suit against the woman. This story of this woman's accusation circulated widely in France for a long time. It's not a surprise that this story, this accuser has gone public. This is the first time she's initiated legal proceedings.
But I think, you know, the accusations against Strauss-Kahn when they were first made here led to a lot of soul searching in France that perhaps he was allowed to get away with this behavior in France for too long. Now, of course, the story is complicated by questions about the accuser and the possibility that he was right in his defense all along in the New York case. So I think the cases are very much separate and each one will stand or fall on its own merits.
MALVEAUX: OK. And, Jeff, real quick there, what is the latest on the New York case -- the New York rape case against Strauss-Kahn? Where is that now?
TOOBIN: Well, prosecutors are weighing the question of whether they can proceed knowing that their main witness is so compromised. I would describe this case as hanging by a thread. It's still hanging by a thread, but the prosecution seems almost resigned to having to dismiss it, given the damaging information that they had to give up about their main witness.
MALVEAUX: All right, Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you very much, Jeff.
Well, you've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question and here's Carol Costello with some of your responses.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, today's question, Suzanne, what does the DSK case say about our justice system?
This from Tom. He says, "it just displays at the highest levels the difficulties women prosecuting for sexual assault face. Think of all the teenagers nationwide who keep quiet to avoid being called a slut or a liar."
This from G.L. "Thanks for clearing something up, Carol. It shouldn't matter what she said to her boyfriend after the fact."
This from Arli. "The U.S. justice system has become a television drama for its people. The United States needs to rework some privacy laws so people aren't subjected to slander by the American public if charges are ever laid against them without being proved guilty."
This from Eddie. He says, "it says money, power, respect, rules of our land. I feel so bad for this woman. We all have lied at some point in our lives. We all know someone who did something illegal, but does that mean you should shut up and stay a victim?"
You can see more responses at facebook.com/carolcnn. And, please, keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol. Good to see you.
Well, you told us what you wanted to see. Your "Choose The News" story just moments away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time for your "Choose The News" winner. You wanted to know how you are leaving digital footprints everywhere. Our Michael Holmes reports on how your phone, your car, other devices are constantly exposing your personal information in the digital world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every time we use online technology, we're exposing some kind of personal information. Countless digital footprints left behind, lasting sometimes forever. Our location, our interests, information about our friends and families. What would it take to live life just one day without a digital trace? I set out to find out with the help of "Wired" magazine writer Evan Ratliff. In 2009 he tried to disappear and leave no digital trace behind and dared his readers to find him.
EVAN RATLIFF, ATAVISTIC.ORG/"WIRED" MAGAZINE: What surprised me most was how quickly people were able to uncover facts about me. People conducting their own investigations, finding information about me online. You know, the deed to my apartment. Those sorts of things that they could find really within a matter of hours.
HOLMES (on camera): If I'm going to leave no digital trace, the first thing I have to leave behind is this, my smartphone.
RATLIFF: If you think about it, it's basically a device that says where you are within a few feet at any given time, all the time. If you look at the history, the graphic history of a phone, it's basically the graphic history of your life.
HOLMES (voice-over): Even without a smartphone tracking my movement, I'll have to be careful online. Even with simple things, like Internet searches, since many search engines keep records of everything I type into that little box.
HOLMES (on camera): Now the same goes for online shopping. That's when you leave a lot of digital fingerprints. If you don't want to do that, you've got to go to bricks and mortar shops and just do it the old fashioned way. A lot of these online companies aren't just selling you a product, they're selling your information.
RATLIFF: Any time you're shopping online, your information is probably going into a database and it's probably a database that they can sell. If you go look at most sites' privacy policies, they will tell you that they are able to sell the information to select marketers or marketing databases. And that's sort of the reality of online shopping. HOLMES: And it's not just online either. Even when you're away from the computer, technologies like that guy there, that's a toll booth transponder, it keeps digital records of where I've been and when I was there.
HOLMES (voice-over): But the biggest challenge may be social media. All those tweets, the photos and status updates leave a trail that can be hard to erase.
RATLIFF: You, of course, have to realize that that's information that you're putting out there that you can't pull back in. So you can't later get that information off of the web.
HOLMES: Despite our best efforts, leaving no digital footprint may be all but impossible as Evan learned when readers tracked him down by following an online trail he tried his hardest to hide.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: If your choice did not win or you just want to check out the runners-up, I'll have links to them on my page at facebook.com/suzannecnn.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Deborah Feyerick, in for Randi Kaye.
Hey, Deb.
