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We Are Running Out Of Time; President Obama Phones ISS; U.S. Recognizes Libyan Rebel Group; Bin Laden's Plot Against President Obama; Murdoch Says "We Are Sorry"; FBI Launches Phone-Hacking Probe; FBI Launches Phone-Hacking Probe; Trusted Traveler Program

Aired July 15, 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: And thank you, Suzanne. Hello to you, everyone.

A standoff over spending cuts, tax increases, authority to borrow. A presidential news conference imploring Republicans to compromise, that was Monday, it's also today. The major different being we're now four days closer to August 2nd, that's when the treasury says barring an increase in the debt ceiling. It'll have to pick and choose which bills it pays and which it let's slide.

Five straight days of face-to-face talks at the White House have fielded no agreement on President Obama's wish for a grand bargain, $4 trillion worth of spending cuts, tax increases and reforms, and so- called entitlements, including Social Security, nor is there an agreement on a house Republican push for a much smaller plan made up of spending cuts alone.

Now, if all else fails, we may end up with an idea floated by the top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell. We've laid it out for you, if you take a look here along with me. Three separate votes between now and the next elections to raise the nation's debt by $2.5 trillion, there would be $1 trillion in spending cuts and a special Congressional panel to shore up entitlements, and the up side supposedly for Republicans is keeping the issue alive for another year and blaming the president, who, by the way, isn't ruling it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is constructive to say that if Washington operates as usual and can't get anything done, let's at least avert Armageddon. That's -- I'm glad that people are serious about the consequences of default.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: I want now to bring in my colleague, Dan Lothian, at the White House, and Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill.

Dan, to you first. The president says the negotiations have not been ugly, as some have claimed, and he still has hope for a sweeping agreement. I mean, is that realistic at this point?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of getting that big agreement, it looks highly unlikely at this point, but certainly as you pointed out, the president joking that his campaign was built on hope and change. It will be interesting to see if that hope will also win out in this debate.

But, look, what the president is pushing for still is the biggest deal possible. He acknowledged, though, that it is hard to do that, but nonetheless, he has been telling Congressional lawmakers during negotiations all this week that if they can't get the biggest deal possible to attack the problem of the debt and the deficit over the long term, then they should still be ambitious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are obviously running out of time, and so what I have said to the members of Congress is that you need over the next 24 to 36 hours to give me some sense of what your plan is to get the debt ceiling raised through whatever mechanisms they can think about and show me a plan in terms of what you're doing for deficit and debt reduction. If they show me a serious plan, I am ready to move. Even if it requires some tough decisions on my part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: There was no real new ground broken during the president's news' conference, but at one point on entitlement programs that we have known for some time now from sources that as part of the discussion, the president had been looking at so-called means testing, essentially wealthier Americans paying more for premiums or co- payments, so sources have been indicating that that was the president's thinking, but today, for the first time publicly, the president acknowledging that that's something that's been part of the discussions. But still, the president urging these lawmakers to come back with something in order to avoid what everyone agrees will be a negative situation for the U.S. economy.

KAYE: Yes, and it certainly sounds like, Kate, that both side seem to laying claim to the word, serious. I want to play a little bit of sound from John Boehner, the speaker, earlier and then we'll talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: We're in the fourth quarter here, time and again Republicans have offered serious proposals to cut spending and address these issues, and I think it's time for the Democrats to get serious as well. We asked the president to lead, we asked him to put forward a plan, not a speech, a real plan, and he hasn't. We will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Kate, when you listen to both of those sides talk, I mean are we any closer to a compromise here? Does it sound that way to you? KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me put it this way, it's hard to tell when we're really closer to a compromise, because they tend to come quickly whenever we hear about one. But I'll tell you this, at this moment, house speaker, John Boehner, he says that he's not willing to give up on these White House talks, these White House negotiations, but I will say, when he said if the president will not layout a plan, we will, House Republicans are pushing -- it's not a new plan for people up here but a new plan as part of the talks, really, on the -- that's very much supported by house conservatives.

It's a cut cap and balance plan. It calls for drastically cutting spending, capping spending as a -- at a percentage of GDP, and also calls for a balanced budget amendment that would make raising the debt ceiling contingent on passing a balance budget amendment. Amending the constitution to require that the federal government balance its books, basically, every year.

Now, they're pushing this, but I will hedge myself a little bit to say that the house speaker said, this is what they are looking at, this is what they're looking at right now, and they say this is their serious plan, but there is general kind of understanding for people up here that are covering it, that this, no matter how this would turn out, because it's unlikely you would get very far, especially in the Senate, no matter how this would turn out, Randi, you can read this as it would allow conservatives, it would allow House Republicans to kind of blow off political steam, if you will, and be on the it -- be on the record voting for something that really gets to the core of their principles as we continue these negotiations at the same time, really trying to raise the debt ceiling.

And Dan, just very, very quickly here, I want to ask you about the so-called plan B, McConnell's plan has been floated out there, the president says, hey, it's a good backup, better than nothing, right? So, when we will know if he is going to go with plan B?

LOTHIAN: Well you know, yesterday, the charge from the president to these Congressional lawmakers was to come back in 24, 36 hours with some kind of, you know, word agreement on how they could move forward. So, we're expecting, you know, over the weekend at some point, the president should hear back from them, and what he indicated at the time is if there was no real movement in that direction, that there may be another meeting here at the White House over the weekend.

So, that's sort of what we look -- we're looking at that in terms of the time line, but you know, the president has been dug in in the past about saying he doesn't like this notion of, you know, multiple short term agreements, and he wants to do something over the long haul, because imagine dealing with all of this, again, in the middle of this election cycle. So, it's a difficult situation but certainly we should know more in which direction they are going over the weekend.

KAYE: All right. Dan Lothian, Kate Bolduan, thank you both.

Our "Sound Effect" is one more last -- in the space shuttle era, one last phone call from the oval office. Just minutes ago, President Obama called in to the combined crew of "Atlantis" and the International Space Station, and here's a bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: While this mission marks the final flight of the space shuttle program, it also ushers in an exciting new era to push the frontiers of space exploration and human space flight, you guys will continue to operate -- or crew members like you will continue to operate the ISS in coming years, and seek to use it to advance scientific research and technology development.

I've tasked NASA with an ambitious new mission to develop the systems and kind of the space technologies that are going to be necessary to conduct exploration beyond earth, and ultimately sending humans to mars, which is obviously no small feat, but I know we're going to be up to the task. So, I just want to say how proud I am of all of you, congratulations to NASA, to all our international partners and all of the personnel past and present who spent countless hours and untold effort making the space shuttle and the International Space Station a unique part of our history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The 135th and final space shuttle mission is due to end next Thursday. After that, astronauts will still travel to and from the ISS and presidents will call them I'm sure, but they won't be riding in shuttles.

The United States is throwing its full support behind the rebels fighting to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Secretary Clinton said today the U.S. is recognizing the opposition transitional nation counsel as the legitimate governing authority for Libya. She announced the move in Instanbul, Turkey at a meeting of over 30 nations comprising the so-called contact group on Libya. The move makes available to the rebel group some of the more than $30 billion in Gadhafi government assets frozen in U.S. banks.

Documents recovered from Osama Bin Laden's compound indicate that the Al Qaeda leaders spoke about attacking President Obama and General David Petraeus. The source familiar with materials says one idea involved destroying the aircraft carrying Obama and Petraeus in the region. It's not clear whether the documents indicated a specifically planned attack or if they refer to a general desire by Bin Laden to attack Mr. Obama and General Petraeus.

The documents also revealed that while hold up in Pakistan, Bin Laden encouraged direct plots to attack Americans and U.S. interest in Europe late last year. Bin Laden was killed in the U.S. raid at his Pakistani compound in May.

The man at the center of Britain's phone hacking scandal says he is sorry. Media giant Rupert Murdoch's apology is set to appear tomorrow in British newspapers. It reads in part, we are sorry for the serious wrong doing that occurred. Murdoch also has apologized to the family of Milly Dowler, the murdered teenage girl whose phone messages were allegedly intercepted by Murdoch's "News of the World" newspaper.

In another key development, Rebekah Brooks, Murdoch's loyal top aide, seen right here, has resigned as chief executive of his British newspapers. She was the editor of the "News of the World" at the time of some of most serious allegations against the newspaper.

We're going to have much more on Brooks' resignation, her relationship with Murdoch, and the new FBI investigation into Murdoch right here in the U.S. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: As Rebecca Brooks steps down in the U.K., the investigations ramp up in the U.S. with the FBI now looking into the Murdoch empire. CNN's Susan Candiotti has been all over the story, she joins me now live from New York. Hi there, Susan. The lawyer for the Dowler family telling us that Rupert Murdoch has apologized to that family. What else is Rupert Murdoch doing in terms of the damage control, and is there any indication that Brooks in her role might have known what is going on?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a good question, isn't it? Certainly she has publicly denied that, but as you have indicated, she was editor of "News of the World" when many of the allegations of this hacking scandal were taking place before they came to light. She's been with that paper for 22 years and clearly she is falling on her sword. She did put out a resignation letter and part of it states, I am sorry for what we now know has taken place, which seems to indicate again she didn't know what was going on, and she is saying now she is going to fight that allegation, cooperate in any investigation, and we'll see where it goes from there.

In the meantime of course, Rupert Murdoch is taking out a full page ad in papers in the U.K. tomorrow with a big banner headline, you'll see this ad, big bond (ph), and it reads in part, the "News of the World" was in the business of holding others to account, it failed when it came to itself, we are sorry for the serious wrong doing that occurred. So, will that be enough, Randi? We'll see.

KAYE: Yes. I also want to ask you, I mean, since we've learned that the FBI is now involved in this probe of the Murdoch empire, especially related, I believe, to the 9/11 victims, do we have any idea how that came to be?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, it seems to have been sparked by a single newspaper story published in the U.K. in a paper there that was about a retired New York cop, private I who said he was contacted by the "News of the World" to hack into phone records and voicemails of 9/11 victims. So of course, there was a lot of fuss over that, needless to say and understandably so, by members of Congress and 9/11 families urging the Justice Department, urging the FBI to look into this, and so that's what is happening now.

But, you know, it would be interesting to see where this goes. That's where my sources tell me it will start. They plan on following through with that, and that obviously is going to have to include some cooperation with Scotland Yard to try to track down the source of that story and run it into the ground and see where it goes from there - Randi.

KAYE: All right, Susan Candiotti on top of it for us.

Susan, thank you.

The debt ceiling debate. Is raising taxes the way to a deal? We'll take a look in "Your Money."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Part of the debt ceiling debate has centered around the world we sometimes dread, taxes. In today's "Your Money," Ali Velshi talks with the president of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, to see if raising taxes might be the way to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GROVER NORQUIST, PRESIDENT, AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM: Raising taxes does not make the economy stronger, it makes it weaker.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK.

NORQUIST: Spending money you don't have does not make us stronger, it makes us weaker. We've got to spend less and not raise taxes. That's what people take the pledge to do.

VELSHI: You want -- and you believe --

NORQUIST: Obama wants to spend more. We're going to beat him.

VELSHI: I'll give you this -- I'll give you this, Grover. You were into this long before it was a majority opinion. But right now you've seen the Quinnipiac poll, you've seen the Gallop poll that says most Republicans -- not most Americans, most Republicans agree with the fact that there need to be spending cuts and some corresponding tax increases. Do you think that there is not a tax in America on the wealthy or on corporations that needs to be increased? There's just no tax anywhere that you think needs to be increased?

NORQUIST: Well, the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which any of your viewers can go read on Americans for Tax Reform's website, atr.or, makes it very clear, tax reform, if there's a credit or a deduction that's inappropriate, get rid of it.

VELSHI: Right.

NORQUIST: Just reduce rates so that it's not a hidden tax increase. We're Americans for Tax Reform. We were founded to pass tax reform in ;86. We want lower rates and a broader base. We want tax reform, but not hidden tax increases. VELSHI: And I'll save the viewers, by the way, from going to your website. The pledge reads this. "I the undersigned pledge to the taxpayers of the state of undersigned and all the people of this state that I will oppose and vote against all efforts to increase taxes. That's accurate, Grover?

NORQUIST: Pretty simple.

VELSHI: All right, so --

NORQUIST: No net tax increase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And be sure and join Christine Romans for "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern. And don't miss "Your Money" with Ali Velshi Sundays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00.

It is about 20 minutes past the hour. Here's a look at the top stories this hour.

The drawdown of 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan by year's end, now underway. Six hundred and fifty U.S. soldiers left the northeastern province of Parwon (ph) on Wednesday. Military officials say this is the first group of soldiers whose redeployment will not be replaced by a fresh rotation of troops.

Five years after the idea was initially vetoed, the state of California will now require public school history books to feature contributions by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The law, signed by governor Jerry Brown, won't go into effect until January of next year and textbooks won't be fully updated before the year 2015. Brown calls the legislation, quote, "an important step forward for our state."

One of California's most important commuter highways will slow to a crawl this weekend, and some are calling the expected gridlock carmageddon. Drivers on the 405 are being urged to stay away from a 10 miles stretch of the road as it's closed for construction. The end goal of the project is to widen that part of the road to ease congestion. The roadway will reopen fully at 6:00 a.m. local time on Monday morning.

And coming up in the next hour, we'll talk with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about the road closure and how his city is preparing for carmageddon.

After hinting around it for months, some of you may soon be able to breeze through airport security. Doesn't that sound nice. But get ready to give up some of your privacy. I'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In a much anticipated move to make your life a little easier at the airport, TSA announces a new program to get you through security faster. It's called the Trusted Traveler program and basically it expedites screening at airport checkpoints for passengers who voluntarily release certain information about themselves. Only a select few travelers will be able to take advantage of this program at first, but some in the travel industry see this as a huge shift in philosophy and opens the door to some controversy, of course.

Joining me now is Jonathan Tal. He is the president and CEO of TAL Global Corporation.

Jonathan, thanks for coming on the show. You are an aviation and security expert. So I have to ask you, what are your initial thoughts on this whole Trusted Traveler program?

JONATHAN TAL, PRESIDENT & CEO, TAL GLOBAL CORPORATION: It's a great first step. And although it doesn't go far enough just yet, I think this is a great beginning.

KAYE: The TSA did release just a few details about the program. So let me share them with you and with our viewers here. We'll take a look here. It starts this fall to a small group of travelers. Those select few, they won't have to take off their shoes, their jackets, nor take their laptop computers. They won't have to do -- go through any full body scanners. The frequent flyers, of course, will be, just for American and Delta Airlines, that's who it's going to be offered to, and they have to be flying out of certain airports. Delta passengers have to be flying out of Atlanta and Detroit. And American passengers have to be flying out of Miami and Dallas.

So what do you think the chances are that this program will grow and might be opened up to other travelers?

TAL: Well, I hope it will grow. We actually pitched this to the administration over a year ago. I'm very glad that they are moving forward with this. As you know, TSA is a hug organization. They spent $7 billion. They have 50,000 employees. They are trying to keep us all secure.

But the job is enormous. You know, they have to deal with every passenger, whether it's an infant or an elderly person kind of in the same way. This program will hopefully ease some of that burden and will help TSA focus on those people that really need to be looked at, therefore making the passage to people, to some people a lot faster, and all of us will be more secure.

KAYE: And for those people, though, who might be able to join this program and be a part of this program, what type of personal information might we have to release?

TAL: So, you know, there is a -- there's a program called Global Entry, which Custom and Border Protection have already. In fact, I'm a member of that. There are a number of programs already in existence to expedite some of the passage and to sort of do a preferred approach.

The kind of information that you give is some biomatrix (ph) so that you can be identified as who you are so that no one can kind of slip into your skin. It also is very important to have a background check and a thorough background check so that we -- you -- the preferred people are, in fact, vetted. And when they present their bonefida (ph) and their credentials, we know that that person poses a lesser risk.

Let me give you an example. I'm originally from Israel. And Israel aviation security and security in general is a very hot issue. And the method that's being used there is the 80/20. Eighty percent of the people are not being look at as much as the 20 who are getting 80 percent of the attention. We are on the way here. This is a great program, but it's just the first, big step.

KAYE: All right. Well, we will continue to watch it. We appreciate you coming on and helping us make sense of it. Thank you very much.

Murdoch is continuing, as in Rupert Murdoch. He's on an apology tour, of sorts. We'll tell you who he is saying he's sorry to, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. It is just about half past the hour. Let's check some of the news that you may have missed.

President Obama continued to push for a broad debt reduction plan. He told Congressional leaders to, quote, "seize the mobile and stabilize America's finances by agreeing to a grand compromise that would include entitlement reform and higher taxes on wealthier Americans."

Top house Republicans, in turn, blasted Obama for failing to produce what they consider a legitimate spending cut plan in the debt ceiling talks.

A major announcement today from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding U.S. policy in Libya. She told a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey that the U.S. will now recognize the main opposition group in Libya as, quote, "the legitimate governing authority."

The Libyan uprising against Leader Moammar Gadhafi began earlier this year. The U.S. move could give the rebels, called the Transitional National Council, access to Libya regime assets that had been frozen by Washington.

Well, Rupert Murdoch is apologizing. We have just learned the head of News Corp, whose tabloid "News of the World" was shut down amid phone hacking allegations, has apologized to the family of a murdered girl.

The Dowler family accused "News of the World" reporters of allegedly hacking into their daughter's phone while she was still missing and deleting her messages, giving them false hope she was still alive.

Murdoch has also taken out ads in tomorrow's papers to officially say he is sorry.

His apologies come the same day the former editor of "News of the World," Rebekah Brooks, announced her resignation. Brooks was the editor at the time of some of the most serious allegations against the newspaper.

Meanwhile, U.K. police have identified nearly 4,000 potential targets of phone hacking. There are also allegations that reporters may have bribed law enforcement officers.

Federal investigators are in Boston today to look further into an accident at Logan International Airport. A Delta 767 jet was taxiing yesterday when its wing clipped the tail of Atlantic Southeast commuter plane. A passenger was taken to the hospital to be checked out after complaining of some neck pain.

It took a long time for the FBI to catch up with ex-mob boss "Whitey: Bulger, but how did his story begin? We take a look next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It took one of the FBI's most intense manhunts to finally nail mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, but where does his story start? Deb Feyerick reports in a CNN Presents Special this weekend, and here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bulger's life of crime started early. Arrested in his teens, he was robbing banks by 20. His shock of blond hair earning him the name "Whitey," a name he is said to despise.

With his rugged good looks and reckless flamboyance, Bulger imagined himself Boston's version Hollywood gangster Jimmy Cagney. But instead of red carpets, he was headed to Alcatraz, a string of bank robberies landing Bulger 10 years in federal prison at age 25.

He did his time and upon release vowed he would never ever go back.

They had no hard proof.

FEYERICK: "Boston Globe" reporters Dick Leaher (ph) and Gerald O'Neil ultimately uncovered the deal he cut to make sure of that.

GERALD O'NEILL, AUTHOR: He got out of prison in 1965, and we started doing research in 1988, and he had not got so much as a parking ticket.

FEYERICK: Whitey Bulger, fresh from prison, went to work as a mob enforcer, but Bulger wanted more and federal investigators say he would stop at nothing to get it.

O'NEILL: Then he went on a killing rampage. I think it's like a month he killed six guys in 1972.

FEYERICK: And he was making his move with this man, Steve Flemii, AKA "The Rifle Man." Among their alleged victims, Flemii himself testified, his own girlfriend, Deborah Davis (ph).

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ORGANIZED CRIME CHIEF: Back in those days, before DNA was in use to identify victims, he would personally get involved in cutting off the fingers or hands of the victims and extracting their teeth.

FEYERICK: Tom Fuentes, now a CNN consultant, ran the organized crime squad for FBI headquarters.

(on camera): Give me three words that describe Whitey Bulger.

FUENTES: Stone cold killer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Well, Deb, those are pretty strong words.

Bulger, 81 years old now, is he going to cave and tell the authorities what they want to know, assuming there's even anything left to tell, or do you think they he's going to fight these charges?

FEYERICK: It's so interesting, because we spoke to the guy that used to run drug operations for Whitey Bulger. He says, there is no question that Bulger is likely talking to authorities. The question is, is what he saying the truth and what does he have to gain.

This guy is a fighter. Had he not been drawn down from his apartment into the garage, who knows what could have happened. Think about all the weapons that were found in the apartment. You had assault rivals, shotguns, revolvers, silencers, knives. So he rally is a fighter. That's his mentality, that's his spirit. The question is what does he have to gain by cooperating.

One thing is, for example, remember, a lot of mob associates have already stood trial and so there's a lot of information out there, but Whitey Bulger could be sort of the cherry on top of all of it to find out exactly what was going on in his mind.

KAYE And he was picked up in California, so I guess it seems that he was moving around a lot over the years, but is it true he did return to Boston sort of undercover?

FEYERICK: Well, that's what he told authorities. That's what he told authorities. Whitey Bulger was a kind of guy that never liked to develop any patterns. It's a habit he picked up when he was a gangster, because that's how he was able to track his enemies, and in some cases allegedly kill them. He did not even go -- we found out he did not go to the same hair cutting place twice.

So there is a suggestion that, for example, he went to Las Vegas, that he is said to have gone to Tijuana, Mexico allegedly to pick up medications. But one neighbor said for a while he disappeared and she never saw him, and when the neighbor asked his girlfriend where he was, she claimed he was suffering from depression and therefore had to sleep during the day. So very interesting. Was that just an alibi or is that true? It's clearly something authorities are looking at. Whitey Bulger, he is lawyered up, they're preparing to go to trial. Prosecutors think it could be at least a four-week trial, and then the defense will have to mount its own case. But 19 murders is what he is accused of.

KAYE: Such an interesting case that's gone on for so many years. Deb Feyerick, thank you so much.

And be sure and tune in on Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the CNN Presents special on Whitey Bulger, "STONE COLD KILLER."

Just what the Libyan rebels have been waiting for it seems. Secretary Clinton's announcement from Turkey up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The Obama administration is throwing its full weight behind the main rebel group fighting to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi. Secretary Clinton announced today the U.S. is officially recognizing the Rebel Transitional National Council as Libya's legitimate government. Clinton made the announcement at an international conference on Libya in Istanbul, Turkey, and CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom joins us now from Istanbul.

Mohammed, just how will this help the rebels, do you think?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, that's the key question. It was a huge announcement made today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the fact that the U.S. is now for the first time recognizing the Libyan Transitional National Council as the official and legitmate governing body of Libya. The question is how will that help the rebels?

At this point, we spoke today to the press secretary for the Transitional National Council, and he told us what they are in need of most of right now is funding. That this council has been promised for the past few months, $700 million to $800 million, they've been given assurance and credit lines form country's that have frozen assets that belong to Libya, but that they have not received those funds, that they need those right away.

In fact, he said they need at least $3 billion in aid immediately. They need it as quickly as possible in order to establish the democratic institutions and reforms that the international community and the Libyan rebels are so desiring for Libya.

The fact of the matter is, it's a political crisis. The participants at the meeting today were frustrated because the campaign is going much slower than everybody thought it would, and the council and rebels said they need the money and need it now, and without it, as many assurance they might get, as many conferences as there might be, not a lot is going to happen in Libya that is going to assure what needs to happen in order for the council to be the governing body and for them to get along with the Democratic institutions they want to establish.

KAYE: Why now? The rebels have had trouble all along, and they needed money and weapons, and they have had people on roof tops shooting at them, and they have been underfunded for quite some time and at a real disadvantage. Why is the Obama administration doing this now?

JAMJOOM: Wll, again, that's a key question. There have been so many more questions that came up today rather than answers, and at the end of so many of the meetings, and this is the fourth such meeting of its kind, and the previous ones have happened, and every time these countries meet assurances are made and promises are made and a lot of goodwill assurance are made, but the money being promised is not being received.

Yes, they are going to work towards another meeting in a few months, but what happens until then? Will more money be need? Will the fighting spread? When we speak to the spokesperson today, he said they believe they were days away from capturing Brega and they believed they would have it very soon. The military campaign going much slower than anybody. The rebels are saying they're in no mood to negotiate. Gadhafi said many times he doesn't want to go to negotiate. Looks like a stalemate at this stage.

KAYE: What has been the reaction in terms of the rebels in getting the news today from the group?

JAMJOOM: We have not heard reaction from the rebels, but the Transitional Council representatives at the meeting were happy about it, even though they were expressing frustration at the lack of funds they were promised and they were happy they were recognized officially and finally by the United States and we heard participants in the room that there was. There was applause. And they also said that they believed that all the foreign ministers were behind this and everybody there was in fact recognizing the Libya transitional counsel as the legitimate governing authority.

KAYE: All right, thank you for the update. We appreciate it.

In Afghanistan, a new development today in the assassination of president Hamid Karzi's half brother. The killer, police commander Sardar Mohammed, spent years as a U.S. ally in the war against the Taliban, it turns out. Officials say he received training from U.S. special forces and took part in intelligence gathering against the Taliban. They describe him as a long-time trusted guard for President Karzai and his half-brother. His half-brother, Ahmed Whali Karzai, was shot and killed Tuesday at his him in the southern city of Kandahar. The Taliban claimed the shooter was one of their agent.

Forty-five minutes past the hour. Here's a look at some other top stories. Thousands of protesters continue their week-long sit-ins across Cairo's Tahrir Square. The square was a focal point in forcing former president Hosni Mubarak from office. Protesters are there now with the goal of seating a civilian presidential council to rule Egypt during a transitional period. In Indonesia, more than 4,000 resident have been evacuated from the country's central province after a massive volcanic eruption. The first eruption happened last night followed by a second one this morning. There have been no immediate reports of causalities, and the country's disaster management teams have been dispatched to the area to assess the damage.

An event more than a decade in the making. After years growing alongside the boy who lived, Harry Potter fans packed into theaters at midnight Thursday to behold the final battle between their hero and the Dark Lord. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" marks the end of the book series and film franchise that has captivated a generation for more than 12 years.

And want a behind-the-scenes tour of the making of the final movie in the series? How about never-before-seen footage? Now you're interested. Join Larry King tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 Eastern for a CNN special: "HARRY POTTER, THE FINAL CHAPTER." It airs right here on CNN.

Well, he's not a cop but he saw the clues and connected all the dots. How one man was key to catching a confessed killer in Brooklyn, New York. We'll talk to him in just two minutes.

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KAYE: The murder of Leiby Kletzky is an unimaginable tragedy that has gripped his tightknit religious community in Brooklyn. Levi Aron remains under suicide watch until he completes a mental evaluation. He was arraigned yesterday for first-degree murder and kidnapping of the little eight-year-old boy.

Police showed up at Aron's home early Wednesday morning. Inside investigators discovered a gruesome scene. Kletzky's butchered body parts were found inside Aron's freezer and in a trash bin a couple of miles away.

But in the critical hours right after Kletzky went missing, a close family friend was already leading his own investigation to find this little boy. He's not a cop and he's not a detective. But what he learned in the hours that followed were key and helped lead police straight to Aron's door. His name is Yakov German, and he joins me now over the phone.

Yakov, the surveillance video here I know is key. Your son was Kletzky's schoolteacher, so you had access to the school's surveillance video. You were able to see the direction that this little boy left school in. Where did you see him going?

YAKOV GERMAN, HELPED POLICE CATCH KLETZKY'S CONFESSED KILLER (on the phone): I actually saw him go out from the building and go in towards the left. That's heading to 13th Avenue and 44th street.

KAYE: So walk us through, if you can, how you started to connect these dots. Where did you first see him? After he left school, where did you pick him up? GERMAN: Actually, the next morning 10:00 at the store at 13th Avenue and 44th Street at children's place. I went in there and begged them to show me the surveillance cameras. And after they had showed me, I saw four sets of kids, and it was not clear. So, I went to the next one to see, requested if I could see the cameras. They asked security to e-mail it to them. Once that was done, I saw all four sets of kids that that is not Leiby Kletzky. So, I made up my mind he did not make a right on 13th as everybody thought, and the whole investigation was going towards that way.

I just headed straight down 44th Street going towards 14th Avenue. Once I hit 14th, there was the first surveillance camera at the store -- variety corner a toy store. I went upstairs to the father, and he opened up his cameras and that's where I saw him the first time, the boy passing by crossing the avenue.

KAYE: And when you saw him on this videotape, did you expect that someone would bring him home alive?

GERMAN: Yes. I was confident that I'm going to go further, and I'll get him alive home.

KAYE: And you called his family?

GERMAN: I had called his family, the father on the phone, and I told him that I see his son in the first time I have anything. (INAUDIBLE) He went straight down, and he looks very confident on his walking.

KAYE: At what point did you see this little boy with the suspect in this case, Levi Aron?

GERMAN: That's three or four blocks later after another two surveillance cameras brought me further. I saw him another block at 16th and 75th Avenue to a school surveillance that brought me down to 18th corner of 44. (INAUDIBLE) I saw two surveillance. I went in there and I brought at the condition (ph) a friend of mine to open up the cameras. We went back and we saw him that over there, he's lost. He walked to 18th (INAUDIBLE) to the hands, looked up and down. He didn't know where he was going anymore. Walked back --

KAYE: We see the video of them together as you and I are talking here to the phone. How did you bring this to the attention of the police? And what was their reaction?

GERMAN: Right after I saw back and forth and we saw the guy he's following, I picked up my phone and called (INAUDIBLE) in Brooklyn man from 66. His name is Yankee (ph) Meyer, that he was a car of three of the detectives. I called him, I finished. I have exactly four different civilians and I see him going to the car leaving the scene. And I need detectives to take over from here further to find the model and the make and everything further.

KAYE: How do you -

GERMAN: Hours later, I reviewed the film again with the technician. We started seeing that while he was at the corner, he crossed and he walked into a white house. So I passed by, and we saw it was a dentist. We went back to the detectives, we told them to look at that part. And that's when the detectives went to the dentist, opened it and saw that Levi paid a bill, and they have a copy of his I.D. from his credit card.

KAYE: Right.

GERMAN: And that's when they made the search, and they saw he went to 7-11 with the credit card. And from 7-11, they saw exactly the car with the boy in the car.

KAYE: And Yakov, I know you that you did go -- we're almost out of time here - but I know you went with the detectives to the house, and it was a very emotional, horrible scene. I would just like to ask you, how do you feel about the role that you played in bringing this suspect in to police custody?

GERMAN: I was broken. We cried, but I was happy. It was very important by our laws to bury the body. And I'm happy that I was the one that God gave me the power and will to bring the body to be buried in the right manner.

KAYE: Yakov German, I know this is very hard for you and your community and certainly the family. And we certainly appreciate you coming on and sharing your story with us. Thank you.

GERMAN: Good-bye.

KAYE: GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann officially has left her church. We'll have details of this new development right after the break.

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KAYE: Time now for a CNN political update. Michele Bachmann officially left her church last month. CNN Belief Blog co-editor Eric Marrapodi joins me from Washington to help explain what this all means.

Hi there, Eric. What is the significance of Bachmann leaving the church?

ERIC MARRAPODI, CNN BELIEF BLOG CO-EDITOR: Well, there's some big significance here. June 21st, Salem Lutheran church out there in Stillwater, Minnesota lost two members, Michele Bachmann and her husband, Marcus. They were formally released from their membership. And what's most intriguing about this is that the church said they hadn't attended for two years.

And for all those evangelical conservatives in Iowa, that could be something that impacts them very directly. As you well know, Michele Bachmann has been a darling of conservative evangelicals for a long time. And if, in fact, she hasn't been attending another church for the past two years, that may not play so well in Iowa.

KAYE: Yes, I was going to ask you, what type of issues do you think this might raise, her leaving the church?

MARRAPODI: It certainly raises a lot of questions, and the one we're all still struggling with is why she left that church. That's something that hasn't quite been answered.

The church she was going to is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Senate. They're the most conservative of the Lutherans. They oppose same-sex marriage, they oppose abortion and a number of other issues. That could be one of the reasons. But Michele Bachmann for the duration of her career has been in lock step with those positions. And of course, she's very popular with pro-life movements in Washington and around the country. So, we'll all just have to wait and see.

I bumped into the Congresswoman just yesterday at the airport and asked her about this. I asked hey, I just talked to her pastor. She said, "Oh, which one?" And I asked her about her membership status and an aide quickly rushed her away and said she had a plane to catch.

Now in fairness to the congresswoman, we were both at the airport. I was leaving a flight, and she was headed towards one.

KAYE: All right. Well, good perspective there. Eric Marrapodi, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Your next update from The Best Political Team on Television is just an hour away.