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Murdoch Hack-Scandal Widens; Afghan President's Half-Brother Killed; NASA Engineers Take Last Spacewalk; Army Ranger To Receive Medal Of Honor; School Cheating Scandal; Atlanta School Cheating; Rethinking How We Retire; Afghan President's Half Brother Killed; Bionic Glasses Help Legally Blind See
Aired July 12, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Talk about a shot in the dark as the CIA was closing in on Osama Bin Laden, it apparently called on a Pakistani doctor to start a vaccination program in hopes of collecting DNA from Bin Laden family members. That doctor now is in Pakistani custody for reasons not entirely clear. It is the latest fascinating chapter in the take-down of the world's most wanted terrorist.
And my colleague Reza Sayah joins me from Islamabad with all the details. Reza, begin by telling us what this plan was supposedly all about.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was a look, this is a glimpse at high stakes international spying at its best, very intricate plot. But we should note it's not clear that it actually worked, but here's what we do know. Pakistani security official is telling us that this Pakistani doctor is in custody. He's being suspected of helping the CIA set up a plot to find out where Bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad. They apparently set up a free vaccination campaign offering free vaccinations, free polio drops of the children and residents of Abbottabad where this Bin Laden compound was located.
According to the guardian paper, he had hired two nurses. These nurses were going home to home. The plan was to find Bin Laden's kids, get to them and somehow extract some blood or perhaps use the syringe from one of the vaccinations and match their DNA samples with samples of Bin Laden's sister's DNA, Bin Laden's sister passing away last year in Boston, Massachusetts. We haven't been able to verify if indeed these two nurses made it into the Bin Laden compound.
We did track down one of them several hours ago, spoke to her on the phone and she repeatedly said she can't talk about this matter. We have also talked to a number of residents of Abbottabad and they tell us that indeed just days before the Bin Laden raid in May, two nurses were going around house to house offering vaccinations.
We should also note a U.S. official has told the Guardian paper this plot was in place but it didn't succeed in getting the necessary DNA samples, Randi. So, a rare glimpse of what the CIA was doing in the days leading up to this raid on the Bin Laden compound.
KAYE: So, just to be clear though, they wanted to get this DNA to compare it to the sister and then what? That would have told them that this was indeed Bin Laden's compound?
SAYAH: They could have used it for two things. They could have verified that indeed Bin Laden was there and perhaps after they had gotten him, they could have verified that indeed, this was Bin Laden. It's not clear exactly what they wanted to do with DNA samples but what is clear is that they went to great lengths to get these nurses, to set up these nurses with this doctor to somehow gain access to the Bin Laden compound and get these DNA samples.
KAYE: And Reza, do you have any idea where this doctor is, why he's being held? Has he been charged with anything? Or how is he being treated?
SAYAH: We don't know where he is, we just know that he's in custody. It's not clear if he's going to be charged with a crime, it's not clear why he's been picked up. What we do know is Pakistan has said they haven't been happy with how this operation was conducted, this unilateral operation by the U.S. They called it a violation of their sovereignty, so there could be a number of reasons why they have taken him into custody.
It could be payback against Washington, it could be payback against these Pakistanis that allegedly helped the CIA. Another plausible reason could be they want to find out how the CIA established a very intricate intelligence network here in Pakistan on their soil behind the government's back -- Randi.
KAYE: Yes, so this may say quite a bit, really, about U.S., Pakistani relationships.
SAYAH: It certainly does. At this point, those relationships are not good and this is an indication that at least when it comes to the Bin Laden operation and some intelligence gathering, these are two countries that despite advertising themselves as partners, they're not on the same page.
But certainly, in fairness to Pakistan, we should note that if American citizen was helping Pakistani spy services on American soil, he probably would be in custody, too. It is unusual circumstances but certainly not a shocker that this Pakistani is being questioned and held in custody.
KAYE: Reza Sayah for us in Pakistan. Thank you, Reza.
Well, our "Sound Effect" today is the latest public outrage over private information that found its way into Rupert Murdoch's newspapers in Britain. Now, let me say for the record that journalists are supposed to dig up information and just because somebody considers something private doesn't necessarily mean it's not newsworthy.
But the Murdoch scandal centers on alleged illegal phone hacks and bribes to police to get phone numbers, voice mails and documents from literally thousands of celebrities, politicians, members of the royal family, even murder victims. It's CNN's in-depth story of the week. Today, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says Murdoch papers got hold of his family's bank records. Here's what Brown told the BBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think what happened pretty early on in government is that the "Sunday Times" appeared to have got access to my building society account, they got access to my legal files, there's some question mark about what happened to other files, documentation, tax and everything else. But I'm shocked, I'm genuinely shocked to find that this happened because of their links with criminals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Brown's predecessor reflected on the Murdoch scandal and media transgressions in general with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What is important to realize this is not about one group of newspapers or one part of the media or one type of procedure, whether, you know, in this case hacking. It's about a whole range of things that need to be looked at so that we understand what's acceptable and what isn't acceptable because in a way, you know, what I was trying to say to you earlier was that I think as the result of this, over the years, you tolerated what in a sense is intolerable. But you did it because, look, when you're the prime minister, you're running a country, you can't go out there every day and start complaining about the media. You know, the public would say, well, that's fine but get on with your job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Back in London, a parliamentary committee has summoned Murdoch, his son, James, and the head of their news international group to answer questions a week from today. All three are expected to appear.
Now checking other "Top Stories" that we're following. Republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul, says he won't run for re- election to the House next year. Paul is a 12-term Congressman from Texas. Paul's senior advisor, Jesse Benton, says Paul will instead focus all his efforts on winning the Republican presidential nomination. It's Paul's third attempt to win the White House.
In Afghanistan, the powerful half-brother of Afghan President Ahmed Karzai was assassinated today at his home in the southern city of Kandahar. Officials say Ahmed Wali Karzai was killed by a trusted guard. The suspect was then killed by other guards. The Taliban says the shooter was working for them.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was accused by the U.S. and some local Afghans of being involved in the drug trade and other illegal activities. President Karzai spoke to reporters about two hours after the shooting, saying only that quote, "This is the life of the Afghan people, this sorrow is in every Afghan home."
High above earth, a final walk in space, these are live pictures that we are bringing to all of you. Two crew members of the international space station, you see it here, venturing out on the last spacewalk of NASA's space shuttle era. Ronald Garan said it all, absolutely breathtaking, as he and fellow engineer Michael Fossum floated over the Yucatan Peninsula. Take a look at these live pictures.
Garan and Fossum's job today is to recover a broken pump and stow it in the cargo bay of shuttle "Atlantis" which docked with the space station on Sunday. The spacewalk was scheduled to last about six hours. The "Atlantis" mission is the last of the 30-year shuttle program. "Atlantis" due to return to earth on July 21st.
On the Afghan battlefield, it was an act above and beyond the call of duty. Army ranger sergeant first class Leroy Petrie lost his right arm below the elbow while tossing an enemy grenade away from his fellow soldiers. For that act of bravery, President Obama, today, will present Petrie with the medal of honor, the country's highest military award.
Petrie will become the second living recipient of the medal of honor from the Iraq and Afghan wars. The 31-year-old is the father of four children and had served two tours of duty in Iraq, six in Afghanistan. Sergeant Petrie, his wife and other family members will join President Obama at the White House at the top of the hour for the medal-of-honor ceremony and we will of course bring that to you live when it happens.
Meantime, coming up next, one of the biggest school districts in the country, once scoring high marks and high praise, turns out, well, it was all a big lie. Cheating, not by students but by teachers and principals. The one man charged with cleaning it all up, he joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This just in to CNN. President Obama has made some very interesting comments about Social Security during an interview with CBS evening news anchor, Scott Pelley. We want to bring you just a couple of those, we'll bring you the sounds as soon as we get it. In the meantime, we want to tell you exactly what he said. He said that he cannot guarantee, this is the president's words, cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3rd if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.
The exact quote apparently coming from CBS is, "I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it." That is a quote from President Obama coming to us from CBS, an interview with CBS evening news anchor, Scott Pelley. We'll have the tape for you as soon as we can get it in, but we wanted you to have that information, of course, first. Meanwhile, it is an act that defied the basic principles of education, an act that failed thousands of students and shamed an entire city school district. In the wake of the Atlanta public school cheating scandal, interim superintendent, Erroll Davis, has taken a first step to right the alleged wrongs of nearly 200 educators.
Last night, Davis replaced four area superintendents and one principal, nearly a week after an investigation revealed that dozens of Atlanta public school educators had falsified standardized tests. Also at the meeting, the former school board chairman, Khaatim El, offered his tearful resignation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHAATIM SHERRER EL, FORMER SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: I failed to protect thousands of children, children who come from homes like mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Someone who wasn't at last night's meeting, former superintendent Beverly Hall, who many blame for creating the environment of cheating and cover-up. Instead, Hall is vacationing in Hawaii and when an Atlanta TV reporter caught up with her, this is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
BEVERLY HALL, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: I'm fine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been calling you trying to get an interview.
HALL: Oh, I can't do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? Why not?
HALL: Because I want to get my voice back, as you can tell, I can't even talk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: There is no escape for Atlanta's former deputy superintendent either. A Texas school board decided last night to place Kathy Augustine on paid leave on her first day on the job. You see Augustine was just hired as the superintendent of a Dallas area school district. I know this is a lot to keep up with as this scandal unravels.
So, let's do this. Let's bring in just a little bit here to talk about the fallout, let's bring in the Atlanta public schools interim superintendent, Errol Davis joining us now in studio. Last night, Mr. Davis, you took a first step. But before we get to that, and your plans to help right this wrong, I want to get your take on what happened in your district.
ERROLL B. DAVID, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Well, what happened is very simple, people failed children, they cheated, and we can't allow that to happen. And we can't allow anyone who was involved with that to remain in our system.
KAYE: We're talking nearly 200 educators here that may have been involved. How will you decide who to keep, who to terminate?
DAVID: Again, the names are already out in public. They were named by the special investigator, and we are in the process of removing those who have been implicated. They will, of course, be given all of the due process rights that they deserve, but they will not be appearing in front of our children this fall.
KAYE: And in terms of the charges, I mean what kind of criminal charges might we be talking about?
DAVIS: Well, again, the criminal charges will be up to the local district attorneys and they will determine the nature and extent of any criminal violations. That's not up to us. The people will also be referred to the professional standards commission to determine whether they will, in fact, be allowed to keep their credentials or to teach elsewhere.
KAYE: You said the names are out there. Is there a possibility that we might see more names? That there are more people involved than we even know about right now?
DAVIS: Well, I think it is a distinct possibility as we speak with each one, as we go through each case. They may, in fact, implicate others. And we will take the appropriate actions as necessary against those as well.
KAYE: You've said, and I'm quoting you here, you've said "a focus on performance does not cause people to cheat." Were these teachers and these administrators under pressure? Could that have possibly led to this?
DAVIS: Well, I've worked all my life under pressure. I've worked all my life to achieve goals and objectives and I've never thought about cheating. And I think what is missing is an understanding that the repercussions and the consequences for cheating will always be and should always be far worse than they would be for missing a target or missing a goal.
KAYE: You may not want to point a finger here, but I'm going to ask you to. Who do you blame?
DAVIS: Again, I believe that all failures in any industry are leadership failures. I never blame workers when things don't work. It's leadership's responsibility to lead and leadership is accountable for every outcome that takes place on their watch.
KAYE: Two of the elementary schools with new principals begin classes tomorrow. The rest, August 8th. This is coming up pretty fast. Is there any plan in place? I mean what can we expect from the first day of school now for these kids? How are they going to deal with this?
DAVIS: Well, again, the people on the ground are much better than I and much more adept and equipped to deal with children, but we do have three -- excuse me, two new principals ready to go in two of the three schools. And I spoke with the staffs of each of the schools this morning. They are enthused. They are ready to go. They are angry and they are embarrassed that they've been tainted by a very broad brush when, in fact, we have thousands of really excellent teachers who were turning out excellent outcomes.
KAYE: But what's going to be the message to the students? I mean will these new principals and these teachers sit down with them and explain to them what happened and how it was so wrong and help them understand how it can't (ph) happen again?
DAVIS: Again, I'll leave that to the principals, but I --
KAYE: Do you think they should?
DAVIS: I think there certainly are lessons to be learned here. There are lessons to be taught. And one of the lessons clearly is that cheating is not the way to accomplish any goal or objective.
KAYE: So how do you go about fixing this, besides removing the people who may have been involved? I know you have an action plan. Can you give us some of the highlights of it?
DAVIS: Well, there are no short-term fixes. We clearly have to make it clear what our values are. There's no particular strategies to put in place because I think culture trumps strategy always. So we have to change the culture. It has to be more open and it has to be more engaging. I was very surprised this morning to find out that many of these employees had never seen the superintendent or met the superintendent. And I assured them that I was there -- of course there today, but I'll be back tomorrow for the first day of school. And I will visit all of the schools.
KAYE: How much pressure do you feel right now?
DAVIS: Oh, I don't feel any pressure. This is my third career. I think I'm becoming the patron saint of challenges. But I'm enjoying myself to the extent that one can in this environment.
KAYE: Yes. What are you hearing from parents? I'm sure that's not all enjoyable on that end.
DAVIS: Well, parents are rightfully angry. And they should be, because particularly those who had students who were cheated and where those teachers felt that perhaps these children were, in fact, too dumb to learn. And that is just not the case. And we will identify those children and we will make the requisite investments to remediate the wrongs that were done against them.
KAYE: And before I let you go, I mean, just, why do you think this happened? Why do you think this went on?
DAVIS: Well, I don't know why it went on. I -- clearly there were culture of fear and intimidation and people felt that or a very few people felt that it was easier to cheat than to miss their goals and objectives. And I just don't accept that that's the appropriate route and there are so many other teachers who have not made ethical compromises who are doing wonderful things on a daily basis.
KAYE: Erroll Davis, we certainly appreciate you coming in. We know it's a tough time for the Atlanta Public School District and we certainly appreciate your time.
DAVIS: Well, thank you for having me.
KAYE: Thank you.
DAVIS: It's a tough time, but we will get through it.
KAYE: I'm sure you will. And we'll be sure to check back and make sure that you do. Thank you.
DAVIS: All right, thank you.
KAYE: Well, how much have you put away into your retirement? A new study may have you rethinking everything. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The great recession was a punch in the gut to many of us, to our finances and future. But a new study shows it was a necessary jolt to shock Americans out of their financial habits. Most Americans agree the last few years provided a wake-up call. It's changing how we spend, save, invest and retire. This is the reality in America. You're looking at the population growth over time. Baby boomers are aging. Age Wave and Sun American Financial Group polled about 1,000 adults who were 55 and older and the study paints a very different financial reality than what you know about saving and has many rethinking retirement, actually. Age Wave CEO Ken Dychtwald, whose company conducted this joint study with Sun America Financial, joins me now from New York.
Ken, glad you're with us. This study talks about the new American family. You say the average American family isn't this traditional nuclear family, but really looks more like a Rubik's cube. Can you explain that?
KEN DYCHTWALD, CEO, AGE WAVE: Sure. The family's no longer the "Leave It To Beaver" family, nor even "The Simpson" family. Become of increasing longevity, it's become normal now to have three and four and even five, sometimes six generation families. And like a Rubik's cube, people are finding themselves more and more involved in support and friendship and connection with their brothers, their sisters, their moms, their dads, their in-laws.
In fact, one of the more fascinating outcomes from this study was the realization that people over the age of 55, about half of them expect that they're going to have to kind of step up and support a family member. As people have gotten through these tough times these last few years, and maybe they can't pay a house payment or put their child through college, they're turning to the bank of mom and dad. In fact, providing support from the elderly point of view to adult children was the number one expectation.
KAYE: Yes. Well, as we talk about that, I mean you mention that half of those polled expect they will have to bail out or at least help their family members. Sixty-eight percent, in fact, expect to help out their adult children, 60 percent anticipate that they'll have to support their grandchildren.
DYCHTWALD: Grandchildren.
KAYE: How do you think this changes the way that we should prepare and be retiring? I mean should we plan to save more? I mean do we need to do that at this point?
DYCHTWALD: Well, there's no question that if we're going to live longer and longer lives, and we are, living to 80 or 90 or even 100 will become commonplace in our future. So there's three or four shifts that we saw from the Sun America Retirement Reset Study. First of all, people are realizing it might be sensible to work a bit longer. That if you shrink retirement a little bit, it makes it easier to afford.
Second, people are really beginning to save more. In fact, the savings levels have hit a decade high as of these last few weeks, and that reflects a kind of a wise move and a course correction on behalf of the American population. People also, frankly, don't want 25 years of just kicking around on the sidelines. The boomers are saying, 77 percent of them say they want to work in retirement. They want to be engaged. They want to be connected. They want to volunteer. They want to have a more active and stimulating life than previous generations in that period of their lives.
KAYE: Yes, retirement sounds boring, really. Retirement now seems like a time to go back to work, quite honestly. But I want to ask you about some -- one of the more serious challenges I mean when you're talking about this so-called age wave. You actually compare it to Hurricane Katrina as a model.
DYCHTWALD: Yes. Think of the danger that we imagined when we saw Hurricane Katrina rolling into the Gulf of Mexico. Well, imagine we had a demographic wave coming at America for which we were unprepared. And there's probably two or three dangers that we ought to be thinking about way ahead of time so we don't find ourselves in a state of calamity.
By the way, there's good news with the age wave. A chance to live longer and know your grandchildren and to maybe reinvent yourself at 80. But the three dangers that I see, and I have been studying this now for 37 years, are, number one, do we have the right health technology in place to eliminate some of these horrible diseases of aging, like Alzheimer's and heart disease and stroke, or are we going to have pandemics of late life disease which will ruin people's lives, ruin their families and frankly bankrupt the economy. So I'd say vote for science to try to wipe out these diseases.
KAYE: Right.
DYCHTWALD: Second, people are going to have to be far more responsible for saving smarter and longer, starting earlier, or else there's going to be a lot of people in their later years who simply cannot afford to go the distance.
And, third, I think the missing link, and we saw it in our study, was, who will I be? What will my purpose be in my later years? We're going to have tens of millions of long-lived people without anything really useful to do. And I think it will be a great time for volunteerism and contribution in those kinds of ways.
KAYE: All right. Ken Dychtwald, we will leave it there. Ken, thank you very much. Appreciate your input.
DYCHTWALD: Thank you, Randi. Thank you.
KAYE: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is being summoned to answer questions about how his papers do business. Plus, police admit they have played a part in giving personal information to Murdoch newspapers. CNN "In Depth" for you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: CNN in depth and we're taking a closer look at the hacking scandal that has gripped the British media and could have repercussions right here in the United States. At the center is Rupert Murdoch, his son James and their media empire News Corp.
Murdoch shut down one of his tabloids, the "News of the World" for hacking into the voice mails of a murdered teenager and victims of the July 2005 terror attack in London, but there are more allegations being leveled against at least one of his other newspapers. Murdoch and his son have both been told to appear before lawmakers at a hearing next week.
And now, Britain's Metropolitan Police are investigating whether their officers are implicated. The department's deputy commissioner was asked about that at a hearing earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever received payments from anybody relating to a news (inaudible)?
JOHN YATES, DEP. COMMISSIONER METROPOLITAN POLICE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Information you have received?
YATES: That's an amazing question and I have never, ever, ever received any payments of that sort.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have any of your officers received payment that you know of?
YATES: I think it's highly probable that in light of the allegations that are surfacing and have been investigated, that we're very careful what we say, that has happened. We're an organization of 50,000 people. We have always said from time (inaudible) that some of those 50,000 people will be corrupt and accept payments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Now let's bring in our CNN senior international correspondent Dan Rivers. He's in London for us.
Dan, pretty shocking, wouldn't you say, to hear the deputy commissioner there basically say that he knows he has dirty cops?
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, breathtaking admission, isn't it, saying he knows they've got police officers who are corrupt. His line is look, there's 50,000 officers in London's police force, some of them therefore are bound to be corrupt and in light of the allegations that have been coming out in the last week, that looks like it's been confirmed.
We've had allegations that police officers have been selling phone numbers connected to the royal family, to tabloid journalists, selling their itineraries, all kinds of stuff swirling around here. So a breathtaking admission from that policeman.
And also more developments here on the ground as well. Rupert Murdoch himself and his son James and their chief executive Rebecca Brooks have all been called to appear before a similar parliamentary committee a week today. If they turn up, it will be incredible because there will be a real grilling from politicians who are furious about what has been going on in those Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers.
And already, the support that Rupert Murdoch used to have in the higher echelons of government is crumbling. This evening here in London, the government has announced that it is now going to side with the opposition Labour Party to say this takeover that Rupert Murdoch wants to have complete of a broadcaster here (inaudible) he should not go ahead.
So once when he had access to the highest people in the country who would fly over to see him in Australia, now they're not answering his calls. Worse than that, they're even withdrawing their support and siding with his political enemies.
KAYE: All right. Dan Rivers for us in London. Dan, thank you.
A reality TV family is fighting for its religious rights. We will tell you which one, right after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time right now, 35 minutes past the hour. Let's check out some of the other news and headlines that you may have missed. As Democrats and Republicans battle over a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling, President Obama is issuing a dire warning. In an interview with CBS News today, Obama says absent a deal, he cannot guarantee older Americans will continue to receive their Social Security checks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell the folks at home that no matter what happens, the Social Security checks are going to go out on August the 3rd? There are about $20 billion of Social Security checks that have to go out the day after the government is supposedly going to go into default.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, this is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans' checks, these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out each month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you guarantee as president those checks will go out on August the 3rd?
OBAMA: I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue, because there may simply not be the money in the coffers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Administration officials have warned that a failure to raise the current $14.3 trillion ceiling by August 2nd could trigger a partial default. Top lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are scheduled to resume negotiations with President Obama at the White House at 3:45 this afternoon.
The rift between Pakistan and the U.S. continues grow after Pakistani security forces detained a doctor who may have aided the CIA's search for Osama bin Laden. Britain's "Guardian" newspaper says the CIA recruited a Pakistani doctor to run a vaccination program in the area where bin Laden was living. The newspaper says the program was really an attempt to obtain DNA samples from bin Laden family members. It's not clear whether any bin Laden family DNA was actually obtained. There's no comment from the CIA.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half-brother was shot dead in his home in Kandahar today. Ahmed Wali Karzai was a provincial council chief and had often been accused of corruption. The motive is still unknown but Afghan officials are saying he was killed by one of his own guards. The Taliban are claiming responsibility for the shooting. The shooter was killed by other guards.
A polygamist family made famous by the reality TV show "Sister Wives" plans to challenge the Utah bigamy law that makes its lifestyle illegal. Cody Brown and his four wives, Mary, Janelle, Christine and Robin, have been featured on the TLC reality show with their 16 kids. Brown is only legally married to Mary, but in Utah, a person can be found guilty of bigamy by cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts. The family says it practices polygamy as part of its religious beliefs and the lawsuit will challenge Utah's right to prosecute people for their private relationships.
Marijuana has no medical use, at least according to the United States. What are we talking about? Well, Elizabeth Cohen will tell us in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is reiterating its policy that marijuana is not medicine. They released a new ruling last week, 15 years after the first state passed a law legalizing medical marijuana.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to explain.
Why is the DEA making this ruling now?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know. It seems like this argument has been going on forever.
KAYE: Right.
COHEN: In part it's because the pro-marijuana groups kind of forced their hand. They said we want you to declare basically what you think about medical marijuana, and the reason for that is that the pro-marijuana groups say now we can attack it. Now we can file a lawsuit. Now we can file petitions. They wanted to have it black and white, what the credible government's stand is.
KAYE: But if you look at the numbers, according to my notes here, 16 states allow medical marijuana. I mean, this helps with certain types of cancer, it helps certainly manage pain.
So what is the DEA's reasoning behind this?
COHEN: You know, the DEA said it very simply. They said there's no accepted medical use for marijuana and there's a high potential for abuse. So it kind of depends on how you define accepted medical use. I mean, what does that mean exactly? Do you have to have a vote of all doctors? Or, how do you define that? So they just said no accepted medical use.
KAYE: But there are certainly states where this is legal, states that have legalized it so what does this mean for the use of medical marijuana in those areas?
COHEN: You know, folks who are using medical marijuana legally in those states, they have their little card and all of that, it really doesn't mean anything for them because the DEA hasn't gone about prosecuting individuals. Maybe big groups or big money makers, but individuals, they kind of leave them alone.
KAYE: So this decision comes after all these years. I'm sure some of the proponents are probably fighting it. Are they -- COHEN: They are. Right. They filed a lawsuit, they filed petitions, they say they are going to go after this. They really want to force the government's hand, even though individuals are not really being prosecuted, they've decided to make an issue out of it.
KAYE: Do you see anything changing?
COHEN: You know, not really. I have a really hard time seeing the federal government saying sure, go ahead and smoke pot, we think it's fine. I just can't picture it.
KAYE: Yes. Something about that just doesn't fit.
COHEN: Doesn't quite work. Right.
KAYE: All right. Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
KAYE: Appreciate it.
One minute he's one of the most powerful men in his country. The next, he is shot dead. A live report right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In Afghanistan, the powerful and controversial half brother of President Hamid Karzai was assassinated today by a trusted guard. Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot during a meeting at his home in southern Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.
CNN's Jason Carroll joins us from the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Jason, what are officials there saying about this shooting?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are saying that his security guard, Sardar Mohammed, a man who had worked for Karzai for some eight years, is the man who is responsible for what happened.
Just to sort of review what happened, where it happened, it happened at the Karzai family home in Kandahar. Basically, the way we're hearing it is this man, Sardar Mohammed, again trusted security guard, Randi, went to Karzai, said he needed to speak to him. Others were there at the home. They went into a separate room. Gunshots were heard. Other security guards who were there then go in to see what's going on. They find out what's happening, and they shoot Sardar Mohammed and kill him.
So this is what we're hearing in terms of what happened, where it happened. The question is why it happened. What we're hearing right now is that the Taliban is saying that not only did this man Mohammed work for Karzai, the Taliban is saying that he also worked for them so that is something that I'm sure developments will sort of come out in the future about whether or not that is true or not, but this is what we're hearing in terms of confirmation about how this al went down today -- Randi. KAYE: Jason, do we have any more information about who this guy is? Why he might have had a beef with this half brother of Karzai? Any more on the suspect?
CARROLL: Well, just as we say, security guard for some eight years. Also worked as a police commander in the Kandahar area where Karzai's family resides. This is what we're hearing in terms of who this man is.
It's very interesting, though, when you see something like this happen, you already have a number of people from the Afghan government coming forward and saying how this is really damaging security in the area, simply because when you look at this man, Wali Karzai, I know you say he's controversial, controversial because so many people supported him, but on the flipside of that, there were also many, many allegations he was somehow involved in the drug trade, heroin, to be specific. These are charges that Karzai denied and denied for many, many years. Even at one point, Randi, saying he would take a lie detector test to prove his innocence.
So this was a man who was well-connected, well-respected by many people, and I think there are some here who would say that he helped keep Kandahar together, helped stabilize a region that was rocked by much violence -- Randi.
KAYE: Just very quickly, any sense of the reaction there in relation to the shooting?
CARROLL: Well, I think among the Afghan people, when you see what's happening in southern Afghanistan, where we spent some time, what you have is you have this ongoing effort to try to engage the Afghan people -- the farmers, villagers, teachers. And in the effort to do that, you say that what they're trying to do is trying to say we can keep you safe.
Now, how do you say that when something like this has happened to a man who, by all accounts, had so much security around him and when the Taliban allegedly wanted to take him out, they were able to do it.
So this really puts security, especially in southern Afghanistan, into question -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Kabul, thank you.
A pair of bionic glasses that has the power to let the legally blind see? You don't want to miss this revealing look in our "Big I." That's next.
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KAYE: Every day on this show we do a segment called the "Big I," it's about big ideas, innovations and solutions to problems. Well, today, we want to give you a glimpse of something remarkable that could help people who are legally blind see.
What you are looking at is a cutting edge bionic glass. You can see the glasses have tiny cameras built into the frames and small LED lights built into the lenses. They're using technology used in our smartphones and believe it or not, the Xbox game controller.
The man who invented this is Dr. Stephen Hicks from Oxford University. He joins us now from Oxford, England via Skype.
Dr. Hicks, thanks for coming on the show. Tell us briefly how this works.
DR. STEPHEN HICKS, DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY, OXFORD UNIVERSITY : Thanks very much for having me.
We've got a pair of glasses which are simply trying to prevent a -- to produce a very simplified view of the world for people legally blind. You have to remember, these are people who can see sunlight and dark, but aren't able to use it to focus to see a word or face would benefit from having a simplified and bright view of the world to help them get around.
KAYE: So are you talking about people that might help who say they might have macular degeneration or something like that? I mean, who does this work for?
HICKS: Yes. We're going to be starting to test on a wide range of people, primarily macular degeneration is the biggest source of visual impairment. It's a disease that affects 30 percent of people over 75. We can use the residual vision people have in order to put a small amount of information that relates to objects nearby them.
So if you want me to describe how it works, if you use a couple of cameras to detect an object, say a person in front of you or an obstacle, we can use a computer and a smartphone to simplify this into a nice, bright array which then gives a person a better chance to navigate and avoid objects just right in front of them there.
KAYE: And how do they feel to wear? They look bulky. Are they heavy or lightweight?
HICKS: No. They're relatively light. So we're building the prototype at the moment, and actually because we're using just LEDs and some simple techniques, they're actually as light as you can possible get.
Most of the electronics are actually in the computer. So we are use a smartphone, essentially, which sits in your pocket out of the way. So it really is just a couple of small mobile phone-style cameras, 100 or so LED lights. And in fact, it's not much more heavy than a normal pair of glasses.
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KAYE: And when will they be available?
HICKS: Well, we're working on the clinical trials at the moment. We're funded by the Department of Health to do a 12-month feasibility study to try it out. And if we have success with that, we'll do two years of clinical testing.
So if things work out well for us, we'll be thinking the beginning of 2014.
KAYE: Dr. Hicks, congratulations. It looks like a great product, and certainly can really, I bet, help restore quality of life to a lot of people that'll be thanking you when it reaches the market.
Thanks so much for coming on and telling us about it.
HICKS: Thanks very much.
KAYE: And for much more on this bionic glasses check out my Facebook page, RandiKayeCNN.
A surprising decision by Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. We'll have that in our CNN Political Update. That's next.
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KAYE: Time now for CNN Political Update. And one of the Republican presidential candidates now ready to leave his day job behind it seems.
CNN White House correspondent Brianna Keilar joining me now.
Brianna, can you hear me?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I cannot hear.
KAYE: All right, Brianna's having a little bit of trouble hearing us there. We will get to her, though, as soon as we can and get the very latest.
We have a live picture, though, for you in the meantime. This is the Medal of Honor ceremony that is going to begin here in just a few minutes. President Obama will bestow the nation's highest military honor on an Army ranger. We will bring you that live as soon as it happens.
In the meantime, I understand Brianna Keilar can hear us now. Communication is a wonderful thing.
Brianna, we're glad you're with us.
We were talking about one of the Republican presidential candidates who seems ready to give up his day job. What are we talking about here?
KEILAR: That's right. It's always nice to see and hear you, Randi, so good to do both.
Yes, we're talking about Ron Paul, Tea Party godfather, Texas congressman. He announced today that he's not running for reelection next year. He has served in the House of Representatives for almost 24 years representing Texas's 14th congressional district. He's currently in the middle of his third bid for the White House.
He tweeted out this news today, Randi, and his spokesman followed up saying that, yes, he's going to step aside and he'll be concentrating instead on this bid for the presidency. Though, of course, he's seen as a long shot, Randi, though he has a pretty enthusiastic fan base.
KAYE: Yes. Also, Brianna, as long as I have you, Michele Bachmann getting another endorsement of sorts. Who is this it from?
KEILAR: I don't think if she's going to be too thrilled about this or really care much, but Bill Maher, liberal comedian, saying that if he had to choose between the Minnesota congresswoman and Sarah Palin, the former vice presidential candidate last presidential election, he would actually go with Michele Bachmann.
He had some pretty stern things to say, some kind of cutting remarks, not surprising from Bill Maher. He said, she's not just there and reads the prayers on her Blackberry like Sarah Palin. He said, at least she is somebody who can read, you know, she has a job, she was a lawyer, she's in Congress. Sarah Palin has not yet announced if she's running for president. Michele Bachmann, of course, is in the race.
And I don't know, Randi, I don't know if Sarah Palin is too worried about what Bill Maher said about her.
KAYE: Yes, something tells me she won't be.
I do want to ask you, though, about Tim Geithner. A lot of people weighing in, of course, on the fast-approaching deadline August 2nd we're looking at in terms of the debt ceiling. What is he saying about this today?
KEILAR: He says there needs to be a deal on raising the debt ceiling by the end of this week.
So what does that mean? Well, he's talking about kind of a broad outline, a broad framework of agreement between the White House and Congress. And he said, though, that he is confident they'll be able to strike a deal by the end of -- by the deadline, the August 2cd deadline for increasing the debt ceiling. He said this today at the Treasury Department. He was speaking to a group of women in business.
And, of course, Randi, as you know, discussions set to begin again, yet another day of these discussions here at the White House. At 3:45 p.m. Eastern, President Obama is hosting the top eight Democrats and Republicans in Congress. And they're at an impasse right now over tax increases that Democrats want, Republicans don't.
And in these remarks, Tim Geithner, he actually strayed off of his prepared remarks to kind of deliver sort of some tougher words for Republicans saying that they're going to need to capitulate and do some things that are difficult for them. Not surprising from the Treasury secretary, Randi.
KAYE: Interesting days in Washington.
Brianna Keilar, thank you so much.
And we should tell you, your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is just one hour away.
