Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Huge GOP Upset in NY House Race; Taliban Siege on U.S. Embassy Ends; Iran Court Considers Bail for Hikers; Tainted Cantaloupes Sicken 16; Stocks Set for Third Straight Gain; Obama Stumps for his Jobs Plan; TSA Criticized Over Kid Patdowns; The Case for Paying College Athletes; TSA Agents Arrested for Drugs; Execution, Texas-Style
Aired September 14, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: This morning, President Obama is waking up with a whole new reason to worry.
That is Republican Bob Turner celebrating a huge upset in a Democratic stronghold of New York City. He won the seat of Anthony Weiner, the disgraced lawmaker whose sexting scandal went public.
Mary Snow is live for us in New York.
So, Mary, is this a referendum on the Obama presidency?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Republicans certainly worked to make it so, Kyra. But you know there had been polling done ahead of this election and it showed that the economic recovery was the number one theme.
The fact that Bob Turner, who was a former cable TV executive, has never been a politician before, although he's run in some other races -- the fact that he could beat a Democrat in this district where the Democrat was really expected to win this race easily until the past few weeks.
Democrats became increasingly nervous. This is a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1. It's not as liberal as many people might think. There are a lot of conservative -- conservative Democrats, that is, and the Republican candidate here seized on their frustrations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB TURNER (R), NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: I've been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington and I hope they hear it loud and clear. We have been told this is a referendum and we're ready to say, Mr. President, we are on the wrong track.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: You know, Kyra, the Democrat in this race, David Weprin, tried to make the protection of Social Security and Medicare an issue in this race. It was one that helped a Democrat win in a special election last spring and in a Republican district, but he couldn't gain traction here. PHILLIPS: All right, Mary, well, this election wasn't all about local politics, right? I mean Israel was a huge issue.
SNOW: Yes, and it was really unusual in a special election that it would play such a big part and the Republican here, Bob Turner, a Roman Catholic, really accused the David Weprin, the Democrat who's an Orthodox Jew, of -- you know the question became, who is the stronger supporter of Israel, and the Republican went after President Obama, saying he wasn't supporting Israel enough.
And he got some help from Ed Koch, a former New York City mayor who is a Democrat. He endorsed the Republican in this race over the issue of Israel and post-President Obama's policies on it.
PHILLIPS: We're going to talk a lot about this, of course. Mary Snow out of New York for us. Thanks so much.
And Turner's win in New York is not the only victory that Republicans are celebrating this week. They also won a special election to fill a House seat in Nevada.
Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington.
So, Paul, tell us about this race.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, you know, Kyra, the Republicans went two for two last night in these special elections. The one in Nevada, this was seat that's been held by Republicans for a long time in the central northern part of the state. And it was a seat that they, once again, held on to.
A guy called Mark Amodei won that race and he won it by more than 20 points, Kyra. And this is the interesting part here. Listen, this is a state, Nevada, where Barack Obama won it last time around in the presidential election in 2008, a battleground state. It's also a state that he wants to win again and it's a state where the Democrats think they have a shot at maybe winning back a Senate seat.
So a 22-point victory by the Republican candidate is a little bit troubling, no doubt about it, for the Democrats.
Now Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, he had this to say about both the victories last night. "This should be cause for concern for Democrats across the country." He goes on to say, "Tonight's elections prove, yet again, that President Obama is failing America."
Kyra, listen, both these elections, they were local issues, as Mary said. Israel and also gay marriage was a big deal back in the New York '09 race and there were also issues here. But Republicans were trying to make both these elections a referendum on Barack Obama, on the president, and it seemed to a degree they were successful.
But I will say this, special elections, Kyra, taken with a grain of salt. The Democrats did very well in those special elections in 2009 and 2010 but they did very poorly in the 2010 midterm elections -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And you've got Massachusetts making news, too. Elizabeth Warren throwing her hat into the ring.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, she made it official. We knew she was going to do it, but this morning Elizabeth Warren -- remember her? The former Obama administration official, consumer advocate? She was the person who headed up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the White House.
Made it official, launched her bid in Massachusetts. She joins seven other Democrats there now going for the Democratic nomination in the Senate. Who do they have their eyes on? Scott Brown, of course, the Republican senator there. Democrats think he's vulnerable. Remember he won here, that huge upset back in January of last year, winning that seat that was once held by Ted Kennedy, a long-time Democratic seat. Democrats would like to know Brown out next year.
Stay tuned on that one -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: OK. Paul, thanks.
We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can go always go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Well, in Afghanistan, the Taliban siege in the -- on the U.S. embassy is over and it was almost a full day of street warfare. Coalition forces have killed the last of the militants.
Suzanne Malveaux is in Kabul.
And Suzanne, you actually went inside the building where the insurgents were holed up. What exactly did you learn?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we saw a number of things when we went there this morning. First that we saw is that they actually carried out one of the dead insurgents. The last that had been killed. We were not expecting that. But he was carried out on a stretcher and -- to a cheering crowd outside.
We went inside there to check out how all of this happened. What we have learned is that you had six who were in this vehicle. They went up to the building, five of them were wearing burqas to disguise themselves as women, so they didn't have to be searched or get through the checkpoint.
They then took the burqas off, branded themselves with weapons, and then went inside of that building.
It was the second floor, Kyra. You had six police officers, Afghan police who are protecting this building. It was under construction, essentially. So they confronted the first police officer. We saw a television set. We saw bedding there to see that there was evidence that the police had been there, they were staying there for a while.
They shot and killed a police officer in the second floor. They threw him over the balcony then they headed up the building.
Now there are 12 floors of this building. Throughout the building, we saw wires cut, we saw huge, hundreds and hundreds of bullet holes in the walls, shell casings on the ground, all kinds of evidence of the firefight that had ensued over the course of hours.
Now, Kyra, what happened was at the very end it was the 12th floor, the top of this building, when the huge fire fight continued and then finally ended when they killed the four remaining Taliban insurgents.
Had a chance to actually seize some of the evidence of that. You had a scarf ridden with bullet holes, you had a shoe that had blood stains, empty water bottles, food stuff where they had been staying, where they were holed up, even had blood on the wall and grain matter, Kyra, that was on the floor from this kind of fresh fire fight that we saw.
And if you had a chance -- if you have a chance to take a look at it, it was completely open at the top. So you could see how it was that the embassy and the NATO compound was a clear shot. It's just about half mile or so, but very much explains why it is and how it was that you had this very fierce firefight going on for hours for nearly a day -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live in Kabul, Afghanistan, for us. Suzanne, thanks.
And there's more confusion whether Iran is going to release two American hikers jailed for spying in Iran.
CNN's Max Foster is following that story for us out of London.
Max, the hikers' lawyer says that bail has been set but Iran's court seems to contradict that. What's going on?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's right, Kyra. We talked yesterday about how the State Department was cautious about this statement from President Ahmadinejad because his promised have been made before and haven't been followed through.
We're seeing that sort of happened again. It's all about the internal politics, really, in Iran. You've got President Ahmadinejad saying the two men will be released. Then we've had a statement from the courts saying no decisions have been made about bail or whether or not they will be released and any decisions about that will be the court's, no one else's.
The court saying no other sources entitled to provide news about this case, apart from the presiding judge. So some confusion there. We're waiting now, really, to hear from the ultimate authority in Iran who's the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. We're waiting to hear some statements from him because he's the decider, really. Got the courts on one side at the moment and the president on the other.
PHILLIPS: Now we talked a little bit about this yesterday and what Ahmadinejad had said about why this happening now. Any more insight to that?
FOSTER: Well, some ideas are that a year ago Sarah Shourd, one of the other hikers, was released just before Ahmadinejad appeared at the United Nations. He's about to appear at the United Nations again. So some suggestion that he's going to release the hikers before that to strengthen him. And here's the view of one analyst talking about the ayatollah's view and that's the crucial one, really.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARIM SADJAPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Over the last several months (INAUDIBLE) has been emasculated domestically, and I think this is a move by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who has to clear the release of these hostages to show to the world that Ahmadinejad still has some power, still has some clout because I think it's in common interest that the world continue to focus on Ahmadinejad.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So the decider in Iran is the ayatollah. Will he give authorities to release these hikers? It will strengthen Ahmadinejad ahead of the U.N. If the analyst is right, it does seem more likely that they are going to be released than not.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it along with you, Max. Thanks so much.
And back here in the U.S., a warning about cantaloupes. The CDC says that 16 people in four states have gotten sick after cantaloupes contaminated, rather, with listeria.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with more.
So what can you tell us about the outbreak?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've been able to trace this back which is saying something, because you know how difficult it is to figure out what people ate in different states, what would they have in common and trying to put it all together.
They think this came from the rocky ford region of Colorado. These cantaloupes over there contaminated with listeria which is not something we hear about as much compared to E. coli or salmonella.
This is potentially really problematic bacteria, especially for people who had weakened immune systems and also pregnant women. Particularly of concern to them. For now, you know, all the things are in place, Kyra, that you might imagine. Obviously trying to prevent those cantaloupes from getting out into the market but also encouragements to people that, you know, any time they eat this sort of food, they've got make sure obviously they're washing their hands and washing their produce. And also, you know, taking the skin off the fruit as well where a lot of the bacteria can reside.
So 16 people, as you mentioned. Several different states, Kyra. It looks like they'll probably get this under control. They're able to figure this one out a little bit more quickly than in times past.
PHILLIPS: All right. And you're talking about another food safety issue, I'm looking here, coming out of the Department of Agriculture. These new steps to prevent E. coli.
GUPTA: Yes. Right. This is sort of fascinating. We know about E. coli but there's actually several different strains of E. coli. And what they're talking about now is trying to test for the other sort of minor strains and if they come back positive, keep those foods from ever getting into the food supply.
In the past, it was thought, look, it's trace amounts, it's not going to have a significant amount, but the attitude, Kyra, I think is changing. As much as we've talked about food outbreaks, you're starting to see things change. For example, the FDA now has the authority to actually issue recalls. In the past they could just recommend recalls, now they can enforce it.
There's also so much more in the way of inspections, such as this one. So inspecting food before it gets into the food supply. This is, a lot of people say, a long-time coming but there are other people who say, look, you inspect more food, it adds more costs, those costs are passed down to the consumer, and we're not sure how much of a public health benefit we're actually getting.
So there's obviously two sides to this. But for now, you're definitely seeing a trend towards more inspections and more safety overall.
PHILLIPS: Well --
GUPTA: It's a good thing.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's not a bad thing.
GUPTA: Right.
PHILLIPS: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, coming up, less intrusive airport screening for kids. Fewer pat-downs and fewer bare feet. We're talking about the changes with an Israeli security expert.
And a shame of college sports. Civil rights historian writes about the plantation mentality in the NCAA. He joins me live this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories "Cross Country."
A fast-moving wildfire in Minnesota has gotten so big the smoke is impacting neighboring states. In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Brewers' baseball team had enclosed the roof on its stadium and air quality warnings were issued in Illinois. The NTSB is recommending that commercial truck drivers be banned from using either handheld or hands free mobile phones while behind the wheel. This comes after an accident last year when a truck driver distracted by his phone crossed the median, smash into a van and killed 11 people.
Fourteen-year-old Lexi Peters of suburban Buffalo will appear in an NHL '12 video game. An icon is the likeness of her after she complained about the guys only virtual player choices.
All right. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange where she's watching Microsoft roll out its next big thing, right? Windows 8, Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You said it, Kyra. It could be Window's biggest visual overhaul that Microsoft put out in decades. Gosh, we haven't heard about Microsoft ever since Apple has really been the focus.
And it's not just a new look with this operating system. It actually feels different, too. Windows 8 is designed to be a touch operating system. First, it is designed for tablets but it also works with a mouse, a keyboard and a typical PC.
Now, the focus these days is on touchscreens and tablets because they're really all the rage and those traditional PC sales are really weak. So, this also is an attempt to try to grab some of that market share away from Apple. I'll just say good luck to Microsoft with that.
But Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 at a conference in California yesterday. Hasn't put out an official launch date just yet but Microsoft is hinting it could roll out next year -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, stocks made it two for two on Tuesday. I guess you could say two for two Tuesday and hopefully we'll see a third straight day of gains, right?
KOSIK: We could go three for three, especially what's showing now continues. We do look like we're going to have a positive start in about 15 minutes when the opening bell rings. This is after European markets are rallying because there is some talk that Europe may issue common bonds for the Euro zone. Currently, each individual country issues its own bonds and a common Euro bond would consolidate all of that debt of those Euro zone countries.
And analysts say essentially what this would do is help the weaker countries like Greece, Spain and Italy because everybody's debt would all kind of be rolled together. The market here on Wall Street is always happy to hear something positive come out of Europe. Once again, opening bell, again, in a little over 10 minutes -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Alison, thanks.
Well, look out below. Space junk in the forecast for the western hemisphere. Where it will fall, nobody really knows. So, what NASA is saying as to where it may land.
Plus, little Lamborghini, huge price tag. This model car costs 12 times more than the real ride.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, let's get to your showbiz headlines.
Two years after his death, Michael Jackson is still taking care of his family. The executives of his estate are setting aside $30 million for a trust fund for Jackson's mom and three kids. The estate grossed more than $300 million, with a huge chunk of that going to pay down the singer's debt.
Paul McCartney is about to get hitched for the third time, according to USWeekly.com. The Web site says that he is going to marry his fiancee Nancy Shevell this weekend at his English farmhouse. They have been together since 2007.
And a sneak peek at Edward and Bella's wedding in the first full thriller for the new "Twilight" movie. The vampires start their new life and new movie in twilight saga "Breaking Dawn Part I." It's out November 18th.
What better way to blow a few million dollars than a sports car that you can't drive or even sit in. I'm talking about the most expensive model car in the world.
Max Foster -- of course, men love cars. That's just bottom line. He's got all the details.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lamborghini Aventador is a great, great car. You can't disagree, can you? It needs to work, like you say. This is just a bit strange.
Anyways, one-eighth the size of the original. You can take it away, Kyra, today from Frankfurt, the motor show, for $6 million. Otherwise, it's going to go on auction starting at $5 million later on in the year.
This is why it's expensive. It's truly crafted. It's a one-off. Diamonds inserted into the seats, headlights and steering wheel. The rims, the wheel rims, solid gold.
This is interesting, Kyra, a selling point is the doors open and close and the wheels turn. Not quite enough for most people.
PHILLIPS: That would be one expensive gift for a youngin'.
Now, has anyone shown interest in buying this? I mean, Max, who would buy this? Why make it?
FOSTER: I don't know. I don't know. And also, there's all sorts of problems in Frankfurt, the motor show, with all the securities behind this glass wall. I don't know.
Dubai and London is where it's going on sale. That might give a clue to who they think will buy it.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
FOSTER: The material value is $2 million. Some people suggesting that it's an investment.
PHILLIPS: An investment. All right. We will track it. Thanks, Max.
Well, what goes up, must come down. But where NASA's UARS satellite will actually land, it has some people on a couple of continents looking to the sky.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras live in the CNN weather center.
So, did you find the picture? I was hearing a little panic back there. Where is the picture? We got it.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we got the picture. This is what this thing looks like over here. It's kind of cool to look at. It's kind of big. It doesn't make you feel better thinking to yourself no one knows where or when this thing will hit the earth, right? So, it's kind of scary to think about, but not as bad as you think. That according to scientists, all right?
What is this? All right. This is a big satellite. It weighs about six tons. And it's about the size of a school bus, to put that in perspective for you.
It's the upper atmosphere research satellite that has been up in space since 1991 and been decommissioned since December of 2005. Well, this thing is slowly making its way down towards the earth and they say a lot of this will actually burn up into the atmosphere, but, about 26 large pieces of space chunk are basically expected to fall down to the earth.
And the largest of those pieces could weigh as much as 300 pounds. So, if that lands where somebody lives or somebody happens to be standing, yes, you could imagine that would certainly be a very large problem.
Now, where and when is this going to hit? They don't know exactly. Scientists think it will happen towards the end of the month. Where will it fall? Well, somewhere between northern Canada and the southern part of South America. They don't know exactly where.
They say it's more likely it will land over the ocean and the debris stretch will be about 500 miles long. We can track this thing, believe it or not. This is kind of cool.
This is Google Earth and it shows you exactly where that satellite is right now. So, it's over Brunei, just north of Indonesia, moving through the area right now. And it's common. There's a lot of space junk out there. On average, 400 pieces of satellite pieces or maybe old space debris make their way to the earth's atmosphere every year. Nobody has been hit up to that point. So, that's good. There's so much space junk out there now that scientists think we need to start cleaning it up. They are trying to devise ways that they might be able to do this. So, we'll continue to track this situation. We've got another couple weeks to go, Kyra.
They say the chances are like 1 in 3,200 that a person would actually get hit by this. So, when you think about winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning.
PHILLIPS: All the other odds that are out there. I know people that try to find this space junk. You probably have talk to these space junkies, shall we say.
JERAS: Yes, they can track it, like even just a four-inch piece, they're able to track this stuff. You can also get updates on the Web, by the way. I'll have it on Facebook and also have it on Twitter, if you want it be a little paranoid and, you know, get more updates as we go along.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jacqui. All right.
Well, President Obama hits the road, his poll numbers hit rock bottom. We're going to tell you about his effort to sell his jobs plan and sell himself.
Also ahead, less intrusive airport screening for kids. Fewer pat downs and fewer bare feet. We're going to talk about the changes with an Israeli security expert.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories.
An Iranian court says it's considering bail for imprisoned American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer. That report contradicts the hikers' attorney who said their bail had been set at $500,000 each.
A House seat that had been Democratic for years now belongs to Republicans. Bob Turner won yesterday's special election in New York. He replaces Anthony Weiner who resigned over a sexting scandal.
And the CDC says 16 people from four states have been infected with listeria after eating cantaloupes. Cantaloupes grown in the Rocky Ford region of Colorado.
Well, just minutes from now, President Obama goes back on the road to sell his jobs plan to the American public. Here is the reception that he received at a rally yesterday in Ohio.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: White House aides say the president is planning another bus tour. He's trying to steer up support and turn up public pressure on Congress. But before that, he's hopscotching by plane. This afternoon, he makes a couple of stops in North Carolina. Yesterday, he visited the capital of Ohio. Now, President Obama is choosing states where he needs to get the most political bang for his buck. New polling results show just how skeptical the public has become. Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser joining us from Washington with more on the numbers.
Hey, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Kyra. Yes, I guess, it's location, location, location. Ohio yesterday, North Carolina today, Virginia last week, all three battleground states the president won last time around, but could be tough this time.
As for our polls, check this out. Check this out. Brand-new numbers from CNN and ORC. What do Americans think? Is President Obama doing a good job in the white house? 43 percent giving him a thumbs up in our brand-new numbers. This was over the weekend, after the president speech to Congress on jobs. Look at that 55 percent number. That disapproval number now an all-time high in CNN-ORC polling.
Go to the next number. Do Americans think President Obama is strong and decisive? Is he a strong and decisive leader? Now 48 percent saying that back in May that number was a little bit higher. You could see it right there. A lot higher, actually, 57 percent.
What about the president's economic numbers? Is he doing a good job, or are his economic policies working? Americans seems split. But look at this. Who do they trust more in the economy? The president or the Republicans in Congress? The president has got that one by 9 points. At the bottom there, Kyra, 15 percent say they don't trust anybody right now when it comes to jobs and the economy. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, Paul, we're going to have live coverage of President Obama's remarks on the American jobs. It's now scheduled for 12:55 Eastern Time from North Carolina State University. We'll take it.
And new guidelines on the TSA on how your kids will be screened at the airport. The announcement comes after outrage from videos like this. This was in New Orleans airport in April.
Remember how this child was padded down? Well, coming soon for travelers 12 and under, like this one, shoes will stay on. And if a kid is flagged by the metal detector or scanner, they'll be able to go through a few more times. If officers still can't resolve the issue, they can swab their hands for explosive residue all of this before resorting to a physical patdown.
So let's bring Rafi Ron on all this. He is the former head of security at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.
So, Rafi, first of all, should we be making changes like this in our security public?
RAFI RON, FORMER SECURITY CHIEF, BEN GURION AIRPORT: Well, yes. I think that the -- it's a good idea to show the public that TSA responds to criticism in a positive way. And it recognizes the different needs of different groups in the population. But I think that we still have a way to go before we fully adopt what we call a risk-based approach, which would resolve this issue in a much more fundamental way.
PHILLIPS: Well, if you were in charge, what would you do with regard to kids?
RON: Well, the question, again, is not so much limited to kids, but it's the question of identifying the level of risk of the individual, the passenger. And that includes kids. Obviously, kids do not belong to the obvious high-risk group, although that cannot be completely ruled out in light of some incidents that took place during the last ten years where kids were used cynically by terrorist organizations to either smuggle or to even carry suicidal devices. But --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: And knowing what you know -- let me ask you before we be wrapped. Knowing what you know about terrorist tactics, you know, what are the chances of a kid that age being used as a suicide bomber here in the United States? We've seen it overseas, but, really, what are the chances of that here?
RON: Well, I think that largely speaking we can say it is lower than the other part of the population. The adult population, but it cannot be completely ignored. So, I think that largely speaking, again, the TSA is doing the right thing by creating a special procedure for kids in order to avoid some of the images that we have seen earlier that most of us oppose to, including the professionals among us. And at the same time, they not drop the ball completely.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
RON: But, again, I think that we are still not there. We have to do better than that by identifying the fact that kids are mostly not high-risk passengers and most of the kids can avoid even that.
PHILLIPS: Rafi Ron, appreciate your time today, thank you.
Well, major college football program can make tens of millions of dollars a year, but perhaps a player on that team can't afford to go out to dinner. Fair or not, case for paying college athletes presented by a civil rights historian -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You know, we -- I was just talking to our next guest about an article that he wrote, Taylor Branch, it's called "The Shame of College Sports." And I'm just going to get right to it because I want to get as much time in on this subject as possible.
Taylor, you are a -- you know, you are known for your civil rights background and you have written so much about injustice on a number of different levels. And this is the approach you took while researching "The Shame of College Sports" for "The Atlantic" magazine. You already have received so much feedback. If you don't mind, what we were just talking about on the break, because I think it's fascinating. A lot of people angry about this article. How are you taking that, and what is that telling you?
TAYLOR BRANCH, CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORIAN: Well, I'm a little shell shocked. People, they just released it online yesterday and people care about it an awful lot. It's like sports. It engages great passion. We're the only country in the world that hosts big money sports and universities and colleges. And, so, we have this clash there between whether colleges should be about education or thought, or whether they should be about entertainment for all of us. And it really does arouse a lot of passion.
PHILLIPS: And you know what, I pulled out a couple things that I'm guessing. This is what aroused a lot of passion and I guess, you know, fire, about this article. You lay out what you describe a plantation mentality in your article. You know, you write about the least educated being the most exploited. Talk to me about that.
BRANCH: Well, college sports uniquely has a multi-million, really multi-billion dollar industry whose one rule is that the people who generate most of the income cannot share in it. That's not by law. You could not write a law to deny these people the revenue that they earn. It's by conspiracy and by custom. We call it amateurism. And, therefore, these college athletes, I'm not saying colleges should have to pay players, I'm just saying the system now where they're prohibited from playing players cannot be justified by anything other than a plantation mentality.
PHILLIPS: Well, you also talk, too, about the anti-AA being criticize for enabling universities and corporations to make money from as it states in the article the unpaid labor of young athletes, and you make the point that slavery analogies should be used very carefully.
BRANCH: Yes. This is not slavery, but it's a lot like colonialism, and we are saying we should do this for the athletes and not pay for them for their own good, which is more or less the way colonialist treated all the countries around the world that we ran.
Last year when Cam Newton was being investigated at Auburn, the NCAA specified at exactly the same time the exact size of the corporate logos for under armor that he had to wear on his uniform. Fifteen of them. Four on his helmet visor, one on his headband, one on each sweatband, on his wrist for underarmor because underarmor had a $10.6 million deal with Auburn.
So it's not very attractive. The real question is whether professionalized sports are compatible with higher education. But we're not even raising that question, which is an honest question and a real one because we've been diverted by the notion that the big problem is dirty athletes getting some of the money. That's not the problem.
PHILLIPS: And, well, you do lay out the academic shortcomings and shortcuts for athletes, as well. It's a fascinating article, and my guess after this interview, Taylor, you're going to get a lot more hits on your Web site and "The Atlantic" Web site. And it will be interesting to see what kind of comments come forward.
Taylor Branch, thanks so much for your time.
BRANCH: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Coming up, Texas just kicked off a busy week. We're going to take you in depth on the 7-year-old capital case that is still dogging Governor Rick Perry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories across country.
Federal authorities in Connecticut say three TSA agents and two police officers were among the 20 suspects rounded up in an alleged interstate narcotics ring that was trafficking pills. The officers allegedly got cash and gift cards to allow the drugs transport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH RUBEL, MR. BEST & PIZZA: See, the device is on his underwear. This is when the alarm goes on. You see his face. Do you see he just look like that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Police in Mt. Prospect, Illinois say a 19-year-old man stripped down to his underwear, burglarized a local burger joint last week. And cops say he wasn't on drugs or looking for money, but he was definitely hungry. He's on the kitchen. That's infrared security camera there scavenging for some food. Now when the cops nabbed him, he allegedly was cooking up some chicken tenders and French fries.
And Target stores may want to go bigger with their Sony clothing and home goods collections. After selling out six-week long promotion in less than a day well, Target calls it a quote, "unprecedented demand".
"CNN in Depth" this week. We're looking at the career of Texas Governor Rick Perry. In Texas last night a man was put to death, the first of the state's four scheduled executions in nine days. More people have been executed under Rick Perry than any other governor in the country and he's been criticized for that. With one case, in particular, sparking nationwide outrage and disgust.
CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cameron Todd Willingham was executed seven years ago, convicted of setting his house on fire to kill his three children. His appeals, including to the Supreme Court, repeatedly denied. Texas Governor Rick Perry signed off on the execution.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Willingham was a monster.
LAVANDERA: Just before Willingham's death, a nationally known fire expert studying the arson investigation found it horribly flawed that the original investigators had relied on outdated arson science. Willingham supporters asked the governor to halt the execution and Perry refused.
PERRY: We have a system in the state that has followed the procedures and they found this man guilty every step of the way.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Cameron Todd Willingham's execution still haunts Rick Perry. The question is not only did Texas execute an innocent man, but did Perry use his power to try and shut down a potentially embarrassing investigation into how Willingham was convicted. If there was no arson, Willingham would not have been executed.
STEVE SALOOM, INNOCENCE PROJECT: If this case went to trial today, I can't see any way that Willingham would be convicted. I can't see any way that this -- that a prosecutor will bring this case forward today.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Innocence Project brought Willingham's case to an obscure state agency called the Texas Forensic Science Commission which started looking into whether bad arson investigative techniques were used to convict Willingham.
SAM BASSET, FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION: That the science was, indeed, junk science.
LAVANDERA: Sam Basset was head of the commission. He says he was called in to a heated meeting with two governor's aides and told the investigation was a waste of state money.
BASSET: I couldn't believe that they were injecting themselves into the commission business so directly and so confrontationally.
LAVANDERA (on camera): You got the sense clearly they wanted to influence the outcome, I guess?
BASSET: Yes. That was my sense, that they wanted us to stop the investigation.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The commission kept working. More fire experts agree the investigation relied on junk science. Seven months later, Basset says he was suddenly told he was not being reappointed because the governor wanted to take the commission in a different direction.
BASSET: I've seen just kind of analyst drum beat of -- of strategies and actions to stop this investigation. It's been terribly disappointing.
LAVANDERA (on camera): And why do you think you were taken off this commission?
BASSET: It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that -- that this was a situation that the governor's office clearly did not want us to conclude.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Perry has denied Sam Basset's removal was politically motivated and the Governor remains as unwavering today as he was two years ago in his opinion that Willingham deserved to be executed.
PERRY: Go look at the facts and you will find that this was an incredible bad man who murdered his kids and the record will stand this scrutiny.
LAVANDERA: More than two years later, the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation is still stalled and nobody can say for sure if Texas executed an innocent man.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Austin, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Governor Perry is scheduled to speak next hour at Liberty University in Virginia. We're going to keep an eye on that for you and we may take some of his remarks live.
Everybody knows NASCAR's Jeff Gordon gets around, but not just on the track. Jeff joins us next hour to talk about his visit with the President and his recent trip to Africa and of course, we'll talk racing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, stories making news later today.
At 12:30 Eastern, in Richmond, Texas Governor Rick Perry speaks at the Republican Party of Virginia's Grassroots luncheon.
Later that hour, President Obama is slated to speak at a North Carolina manufacturing plant as he pushes his new jobs bill. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to discuss the President's jobs bill as Reid hosts his first town hall on Twitter at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Well, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM for you. Let's check in first with our Paul Steinhauser -- Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hi Kyra. As the President gets ready to talk about jobs, we've got brand new poll numbers. Some good news and some bad news for the man in the White House, details at the top of the hour.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Max Foster in London. Was President Ahmadinejad of Iran making false promises when he said two U.S. hikers would be released? There's confusion in Iran. Details at the top of the hour.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Move over Orbits, Kayak (ph) and Expedia (ph), Google is launching a new way to search for a flight. The question is, will it take off? Kyra, I'm going to have details in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, guys.
Also ahead, Wal-Mart giving a boost to businesses owned by women. We'll explain their $20 billion effort and how it will help women around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Major League milestones for two veteran pitchers, right Jeff Fischel?
JEFF FISCHEL, ANCHOR, HLN SPORTS: It's actually been a great year for baseball milestones. Derek Jeter made 3,000 hits. Jim Thome, 600 home runs. A sure-fire hall of famer had a big night last night Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera got save number 600 in the Yankees' win over the Mariners. He actually got it and the last out was caught stealing. Mariano, 41 years old arguably still the best closer in baseball.
Rivera with 600 saves, he's just one short of the all-time record. You have to think he'll get a couple before the season ends. And he says he'll come back for one more year. I think most agree without a doubt he is the best reliever in baseball history.
Red Sox knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, going for career win number 200. Look at the pitch float, that's the knuckleball. It stifled hitters for years. Getting Toronto's slugger Jose Batista, he didn't have his best stuff but he did get the champagne shower after getting the win. It was his eighth shot at going for win number 200. It feels good, he's 45 years old. Wakefield becomes the second oldest pitcher to get win number 200. A great career for a guy who actually was drafted as a hitter, not a pitcher. He turned his career around.
The team trying to catch the Red Sox in the AL wild card race, the Tampa Bay Rays -- look at the catch by Desmond Jennings right into the wall. The rookie, a great play, protect yourself -- great catch. But the Os would win the game 4-2, snapping the Rays' five-game one streak.
And I hear you've got a guest coming up next hour.
PHILLIPS: Yes, little Jeff Gordon.
FISCHEL: Jeff Gordon.
PHILLIPS: He get a champagne showers right? He's had a lot of them.
FISCHEL: 85 wins, third all-time in NASCAR history.
PHILLIPS: That's right. FISCHEL: And the two guys in front of him were early days. So we're talking in the modern era for NASCAR he is probably the best ever. So --
PHILLIPS: Well, I'm a big NASCAR fan. I didn't get a chance to ride with Jeff Gordon, it was actually Elliot Sadler. So maybe I shouldn't say that, right?
FISCHEL: You're still driving fast, turn left.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I just love to drive fast, period.
FISCHEL: Yes, all right, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jeff thanks.
Well, police are supposed to serve and protect. But does that include dancing? Some New York City officers are getting some heat for getting caught on camera doing the bump and grind.
Jeanne Moos, of course, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about arresting images. New York City police officers surrendering to scantily clad dancing girls?
Laughter gave way to wide eyes and gaping mouths.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
MOOS (on camera): Now wait. It gets better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
MOOS (voice-over): The video was shot at last week's West Indian Day Parade known as New York's most raucous parade.
Nine people got shot at this year's parade, but the only shooting where these officers were posted was the shooting of the video that's now gone viral. "Stop and Frisky" read "The New York Post" headline.
Forget force, the "Village Voice" called it "Excessive use of dance," though actually only a couple of officers did much dirty dancing on duty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's reprehensible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're supposed to keep the order.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're too busy humping girls.
MOOS: On the other hand --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are human. If I was at a parade and having fun and I had a cop having fun with me, I'd be happy about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But they're having fun like they're at a bar.
MOOS: Think of it as community outreach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's having too much fun working. If I do that at work, I think I'd be fired.
MOOS: But New York's police commissioner wasn't firing anyone.
RAY KELLY, POLICE COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK: You know, I prefer it didn't happen. But I don't want to make too much of it.
MOOS: Commissioner Ray Kelly told WOR radio that the young women approached the police officers, and he noted that it's quite an unusual parade.
KELLY: You know, you're going to get caught up in the spirit of it.
MOOS: Even the commissioner has gotten caught up in the spirit of it enough to play the bongos. But New York cops aren't the only ones to get lured into dancing to the beat while they're on their beat. Look at this British policeman at the Nottinghill carnival.
Instead of getting heat, he got a Facebook fan page dedicated to the dancing policeman.
And we're always seeing soldiers in Iraq letting off steam.
This retired police reserve sergeant says the New York officers were just being part of the neighborhood. It's community policing --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His sergeant's going to educate him very quickly. It won't happen again.
MOOS: At least the New York cops didn't take their hats off.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
