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BlackBerry Says Problem is Fixed; Pennsylvania City Files for Bankruptcy; Foreclosures Up in 3rd Quarter; Who Wins from Trade Agreement
Aired October 13, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you. Have a great afternoon.
PHILLIPS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Be careful as you walk in your Louis Vuittons over there.
PHILLIPS: Yes, right. I've got to learn how to say these fancy -- you know, fancy designers. I'm a DSW girl.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK. Take care. Have a good one.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Live from Studio 7, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get you up to speed for this Thursday, October 13th.
South Korea's president is at the White House for a rainy day state visit. It comes hours after Congress approved trade deals with three countries including South Korea.
The U.S. says opening Korean markets to American automakers and farmers will create 280,000 jobs.
More next hour when President Obama and Lee hold a news conference at the White House and you'll see it live here on CNN.
All right. In Libya today, the battle for Sirte has come down to a few streets.
It's his tribal home and fiercely loyal. The new government says it will declare Libya liberated once it controls all of Sirte.
Our Dan Rivers is there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like the troops we're with, we try to stay out of the line of fire. Sometimes the bullets come out of nowhere. Comfortably close, even battle-hardened soldiers flinch sometimes. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Libyan fighters claim they have captured one of Gadhafi's sons in Sirte. That has not been confirmed. Such reports have been wrong in the past.
And freed American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this afternoon.
Iran held the men prisoner for more than two years before releasing them just last month. Sarah Shourd, who was held with the pair for one year, will join them at the U.S. State Department.
Paris prosecutors have dropped a sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. They say there wasn't enough evidence to pursue charges against the former IMF chief. A French journalist accused him of trying to rape her during an interview back in 2003. A similar case against Strauss-Kahn in New York collapsed this summer when prosecutors raised doubts about the woman's credibility in that case.
The manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor resumes shortly. It's possible prosecutors could rest today. Experts have testified that Jackson would be alive if Dr. Conrad Murray stuck with customary standards of medical care. They say anesthesia isn't a sleep aid and not monitoring a patient is, quote, "unethical."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ALON STEINBERG, CARDIOLOGIST: When you monitor a patient, you never leave their side, especially after giving propofol. It's like leaving a baby that's sleeping on your kitchen countertop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Murray's defense team no longer claims Jackson overdosed by drinking propofol. The anesthesia apparently is an effective by mouth. Instead, the defense maintains that Jackson instead injected himself.
A stunned community south of Los Angeles wants answers after a man opened fire at a hair salon. Eight people were killed. Police arrested the suspect a few blocks away. Officers say he had several guns in his car. The "Los Angeles Times" reports that the suspect was locked in a bitter custody fight with his ex-wife.
Our affiliate KTLA reports she is among the dead.
And Research In Motion announced a short time ago it has restored BlackBerry service to all customers worldwide. There have been outages from the U.S. to the Middle East since Monday. RIM says a backup computer system failed and it doesn't know why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LAZARIDIS, PRES. AND CO-CEO, RESEARCH IN MOTION: I apologize for the service outages this week. We've let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working round the clock to fix this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And RIM says no customer e-mails have been lost and that you will get them eventually. About half of the 70 million BlackBerry users around the world had trouble.
Another kid? In this economy? Well, many Americans say not a good idea. A study by the Pew Research Center says U.S. birth rates have that fallen steadily each year since the recession began in 2007. That year, Americans had a record, 4.3 million babies. By the time 2010 rolled around, there were 300,000 fewer births.
All right. Now your chance to "Talk Back" on one of today's big stories. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has pulled ahead of the pack in a new national poll for the very first time.
The NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll shows Cain with a four-point lead over Mitt Romney but can he stay ahead and win the GOP nomination? That's today's "Talk Back" question.
Carol Costello joins me now from New York.
So Carol, first it was Romney, then Michele Bachmann, then Rick Perry, then Romney again. Now it's Cain's turn. He is apparently the one to beat. Volatile race, to say the very least. But anything can happen, right?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, to say the least. As you said, Fredricka, Herman Cain, once an afterthought, is now leading Mitt Romney by four points in a new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll. Republicans seem drawn to his debate skills, his straight talk, and, of course, 999.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have an economic crisis, this economy is (INAUDIBLE). This is why I propose my 999 plan. It attracted a lot of attention in the debate last night. You know you must be doing something right when you get a lot of arrows in your back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You betcha. And he now has something far more important. Hub. Cain is everywhere. On "The View," on Leno, on Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, THE LIVE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": She took on Herman Cain's 999 plan. Here look at this.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're never going to get rid of it. And one thing I would say is when you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down, I think the devil is in the details.
CAIN: You got to let me respond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll give you several chances to respond. I'll come back.
CAIN: That's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Some analysts say Cain's popularity have more to do with voters wanting anyone but Mitt Romney than Cain himself.
Roger Simon writes on Politico.com, "The Republican Party is like the Wizard of Oz. Rick Perry wants a brain, Mitt Romney wants a heart, and Herman Cain is seeking courage to face the fact he's never going to be the Republican nominee no matter how well he does in the polls. He needs the courage to settle for something far better than the presidency, his own show on FOX.
So the "Talk Back" question today, is Cain able to go the distance? Facebook.com/carolCNN, Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll read your responses in the next hour.
WHITFIELD: OK. We can't wait to hear them. I know you're going to get a whole lot.
All right, thanks so much, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, here's what's ahead on the rundown next. A big apology from the maker of BlackBerry smartphones. We'll find out why millions of people had to go without full e-mail or Internet service for days.
Also a city council files for bankruptcy protection, but the mayor says they can't. We'll have a live report from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Plus the American auto industry has been pushing hard for free trade agreement with South Korea, but what do South Koreans think?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, he says, parking spaces in Korea are made to fit Korean cars. European and Japanese cars are OK, but the big American cars will have problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And a cardiologist says Michael Jackson might have lived if 911 had been called sooner. We'll get the latest from the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.
And finally, radiation levels spike in a Tokyo neighborhood. Why the damaged power plant in Fukushima may not be the source. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The company Research In Motion says BlackBerry service is now fully restored. An executive with the company says it has fixed the outage that left millions without e-mail or Internet service worldwide.
Take a look at how the problem spread across the globe over the last three days. It had such a huge impact because there are about 70 million BlackBerry users around the world.
Dan Simon joins us live now from San Francisco.
So, Dan, BlackBerry says the problem was fixed, but are there still people who can't get their e-mails, et cetera?
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we'll have a better idea as the day goes on. You're right, BlackBerry now saying that, you know, service is total restored, but you know we'll see what on social media what people have to say. But this is a problem, you know, that it took three days to solve, which is really unacceptable from BlackBerry's point of view and from their -- you know, service point of view.
What happened was there was a problem with what they say is their core switch, and this started in Europe and then it spread across the country. And I want you to listen now to BlackBerry CEO who issued this mea culpa earlier today. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LAZARIDIS, RESEARCH IN MOTION CO-CEO: Since launching BlackBerry in 1999, it's been my goal to provide reliable, real-time communications around the world. We did not deliver on that goal this week. Not even close.
I apologize for the service outages this week. We've let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working round the clock to fix this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: There are two problems here. There is the service problem and then there is the public relations problem. I would suggest that the PR problem is more severe for BlackBerry. Obviously you have a lot of competitors nipping at their heels. BlackBerry once owned this category just a few years ago, now they're in third place behind Google's Android system and behind Apple's iPhone which by the way their new model goes on sale on Friday.
Apple generating so much buzz for their products. But BlackBerry, it's a different story, not a whole lot of buzz and just a lot of bad PR lately -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so what about businesses and how BlackBerry's being down may have impacted productivity at many businesses and so many people reply on it?
SIMON: Well, it's a good question. You know so many companies provide employees with BlackBerries, and the fact that, you know, employees could not access e-mail is a huge problem, so you wonder what -- you know, steps companies will take. Will they issue employees different phones?
BlackBerry, you know, they've always provided themselves on the fact that they had a more secure service and a more reliable service than their competitors. That's what they had going for them. Now that appears to be weakened somewhat, and you're right, the question is how will, you know, companies structure things going forward?
WHITFIELD: OK. And while BlackBerry or RIM is saying we're still not quite sure how this all happened, is it possible that hackers could have been involved? Are they looking into that?
SIMON: You know, one of the big problems here is, you know, as RIM has been talking about this for the last couple of days is they've never identified what caused their server to go out. The one thing they have said is that this was not a hacking issue. So I guess there is some comfort in knowing that people aren't able to access their service from the outside, but a little disconcerting that they haven't quite figured out the issue or at least they haven't said so publicly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Simon, thanks so much.
All right. Checking stories "Cross Country" now.
Federal investigators are trying to find out what caused one Amtrak train to slam into another last night in Oakland, California. The train that was hit was taking on and letting off passengers. At least 18 people were injured.
In Texas, storms packing winds up to 65 miles an hour caused quite a bit of damage around Houston. At least one person was injured when a tree crashed into her mobile home. It's possible a tornado touched down.
And these students in Connecticut are trying to help break the Guinness World Record for most jumping jacks done in a minute. The worldwide challenge is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign to fight childhood obesity. More than 20,425 people had to jump for 60 seconds between noon Tuesday and Wednesday. No word yet if there is a new record.
All right. These tough economic times have had a big impact on state and local governments all across the country.
Pennsylvania's capital city of Harrisburg is so broke that it can't pay its bills. And now the city council has voted to file for bankruptcy protection.
Alison Kosik is with us now from Harrisburg.
So, Alison, why the city is so broke and if bankruptcy, the best answer?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fredricka, the interesting part about this situation for Harrisburg is that you think that they're in this predicament because of the recession or the slow in the economy. But that's really not the case.
You know Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy because of a trash incinerator of all things because this trash incinerator would basically built on borrowed of signs and continue to be updated and upgraded on borrowed funds as well. It puts the city of Harrisburg in the hole, I'm talking death wise -- to the tune of $310 million and Harrisburg found itself unable to pay for its debt.
So I went ahead and voted a few days ago, to go ahead and file for bankruptcy. That was the city council voting. It was not a unanimous decision, definitely sparked a lot of political debate. One councilman that I talked to said it was really the best decision in a very difficult situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD KOPLINSKI, HARRISBURG, PA. CITY COUNCILMAN: I'm up for election in four weeks, all right? This is the popular or practical thing to do, sticking my neck out there? If it was popular or practical I'd kept my mouth shut so I can make sure I win my election. Nobody is sticking out for the people of Harrisburg, not the bondholders, not the lobbyists, not his legislatures, and I would venture this day this administration because we've got to make our city better than it was, and better than it is right now in fight years down the road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And so the dysfunctional political environment continues here. The mayor of Harrisburg, Linda Thomson, is going to be challenging this decision by the city council to file for bankruptcy. It may ultimately, Fredricka, be a good judge to decide if this impasse will go through -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: So overall, how is this going to impart basic city services?
KOSIK: Well, right now it's not going to impact anything. Everything is pretty much frozen, but what could happen, some of the discussions, is that residents could see their property taxes hike by anywhere from 9 to 20 percent.
Because when everybody sits down at that bankruptcy table, they're going to have to give a little, and go ahead and try and raise some money in addition to working out -- working out, you know, the numbers with their creditors, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: So what happened? It wasn't long ago the Harrisburg was kind of touted as having lots of jobs, a rather stable economy, what changed in a such a short amount of time. We're talking about just a year or so. KOSIK: Yes, I mean, you look at Harrisburg, it is the state capital. It's being held up by state government jobs. That's really a stabilizing factor in this economy. But the fact is, this is really a product, I'm talking about the bankruptcy -- is really a product of bad decisions. I mean the fact that filing for bankruptcy truly hinge on the success or failure of this trash incinerator showed that some bad decisions were made in building this trash incinerator up as a revenue-producing project -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.
The housing market is still taking a big hit from foreclosures and they were up again in the third quarter. We'll go live to the New York Stock Exchange to find out what caused the increase?
But first, did you know President Obama's jobs plan which was shot down in the U.S. Senate, have extended unemployment benefits. How many Americans will lose benefits come January if something else isn't done. The answer in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Before the break we asked, how many Americans will lose unemployment benefits in January if Congress doesn't pass an extension? The answer, 1.8 million Americans. That's just in January. A total of six million will lose unemployment benefits sometime in 2012.
Meantime, we continue to watch your money at CNNMoney.com where the top story today, BlackBerry, the outage that so many people -- millions experienced over a three-day period.
Well, top story now, BlackBerry executives saying, we're sorry, and still trying to get to the bottom of exactly why that all happened.
We're also watching the markets where the Dow right now is down 126 points. We'll keep you posted throughout the afternoon.
All right. Meantime, foreclosures are still causing a big drain on the housing market. And they were up slightly in the third quarter.
Karina Huber is with us now from the stock market.
So Karina, how much did foreclosures jump and why?
KARINA HUBER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, let's take a look at the numbers according to RealtyTrac we saw foreclosures jump to 610,000 in the period from July to September. That's up less than 1 percent from the second quarter, but it's notable because we actually saw foreclosures -- they were going down, not up.
Now what's at play here? Remember we had that whole robo-signing period where the banks were signing off on mortgages without looking at the paperwork, so falsely foreclosing on some people? Well, that process was stopped and so we saw basically a backlog of foreclosures. Now that the banks have gone through the paperwork, we're seeing a pickup in foreclosures, so that's really the reason for that jump up in the number -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime also a growing backlog of foreclosures. What's that doing to this foreclosure process overall?
HUBER: Well, overall, of course, this is not a good thing. It's a very painful process, it's making things very slow. I mean, the average amount of time that passes from a foreclosure filing to the actual foreclosure is 336 days. And in New York, it can take up to three years. That is the state that has the longest process.
So all of this is payment for everyone involved, from the homeowner of course, it's a very emotional period for them, and of course for the market, it's not a good thing because as we have this glut of inventory, we can't get prices to rebound, so it could take be a while before we actually see the housing market recovering. It's very crucial that the foreclosure filing get over and done with before as can see a turnaround in housing -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Karina, thanks so much.
All right, today we're hearing from the Florida man accused of hacking some Hollywood celebrities. The Fed say Chris Cheney hacked into computer accounts and other devices of more than 50 people including Scarlet Johanssen and singer Christina Aguilera.
Investigators say he uploaded nude photos of some of the victims online. Cheney tells our affiliate WAWS what started out as a curiosity soon turned into a strong addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what would you do with the information you found in those e-mails?
CHRISTOPHER CHANEY, HACKING SUSPECT: It's nothing. I mean, it was almost like reading a completely uncensored blog. I mean I wasn't saving archives of e-mails to maybe blackmail someone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Cheney is charged with 26 counts and could be looking at years in prison if convicted.
Cementing the biggest trade agreement in the U.S. in almost 20 years, South Korea's president is at the White House right now. We'll look at his visit and what the free trade deal means for the U.S. auto industry.
But first, can you answer this? Are there more people or wireless devices in the U.S.? The answer in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Before the break, we asked you a question about which outnumbers the other in the U.S., people or wireless devices? What did you guess? The answer, wireless devices. There are 327 million of them in service. That's 15 million more phones and tablets than there are people in this country.
All right. Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're working on next.
Would a new free trade agreement with South Korea hurt or help American autoworkers?
Then a doctor testifies that Michael Jackson would be alive today if Dr. Conrad Murray had called 911 sooner. We'll have the latest on the trial.
And later, why radiation levels are spiking in a Tokyo neighborhood.
But first, pomp and circumstance mixed with some rain this morning at the White House as President Obama welcomed his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung Bok, in his first official state visit to the U.S. The president -- the two presidents rather right now are holding meetings. Live pictures of the White House.
They start in the Oval Office then go to the Cabinet room for expanded talks with U.S. and Korean delegations, and the next hour, you will hear from both leaders at a joint news conference in the Rose Garden. The visit cements a long-delayed trade deal.
The U.S. Senate last night passed free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama. The U.S. International Trade Commission says the South Korean deal could create as many as 280,000 American jobs and boost exports by more than $12 billion. But some labor unions say the deals will actually hurt U.S. employment because of increased competition from South Korean imports.
The auto industry is one sector to watch. Our Paula Hancock reports on what this might mean for U.S. and Korean carmakers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chung Hung Su bought his Chevrolet three years ago. Since then he's become a big fan of the U.S. car, even joining a local Chevrolet club. But he's not convinced the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement will lead to an influx of U.S. models into South Korea.
"First of all," he says, "Parking spaces in Korea are made to fit Korean cars. European and Japanese cars are OK but the big American cars will have problems.
(on camera): The Korean market is an attractive one for the U.S. given the phenomenal explosion in car ownership here. Back in 1990, there were just over three million vehicles on the road. Twenty years later, there were almost 18 million. That's an increase of more than 400 percent.
(voice-over): Environmental concerns could make some U.S. models undesirable in an increasingly green Korea. As part of the FTA agreement, South Korea agreed to lower its strict emission and safety requirements in some cases.
Car design is also a factor. One FTA expert tells me: "When Koreans buy cars, they look for style, design and convenience. Big powerful cars like in the U.S. are not seen as stylish here, so I don't expect a surge in demand for U.S. cars."
Korean car and auto parts companies decline to talk about the FTA, saying the topic was too sensitive. But Korean's trade investment promotion agency, KOTRA, says they benefit. KOTRA says GM has hinted they will imports of auto parts to $1 billion from the current $700 million.
And Ford predicts imports rising by over 20 percent in the next 10 years. Korean cars are expected to travel well, but for now, experts assume U.S. car fans like Chong could remain in the minority in Korea.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And a reminder: President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak plan to hold a joint news conference. That's next hour right here in the NEWSROOM, and they will be doing that in the White House East Room, not in the Rose Garden. It is a little rainy out there. So now it will be in the East Room, by the way. You can watch it live right here 12:20 Eastern time.
Potentially damaging testimony against Michael Jackson's doctor. An expert witness calls Conrad Murray's treatment of Jackson bizarre and says it definitely caused the singer's death. We will break down, what all this means for the defense in particular.
But, first, Sunday is World Food Day. It's meant to raise awareness about the millions of people who don't have enough to eat. Entertainer Christina Aguilera is on a personal mission to fight hunger.
She recently traveled to Haiti and Guatemala with the World Food Program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MUSICIAN: Hi. I'm Christina Aguilera.
And we can make an impact on world hunger. After I had my son, Max, I realized this was a huge issue and went on a trip to Guatemala with the World Food Program and saw women and children living in these dirt huts that have nothing. It's just so crucial and vital for these people to get nutrition.
Haiti was devastating, because of the earthquake. I got it meet so many young people that were just so eager to learn and you see they're faces light up. Every child deserves the chance to dream and to hope.
Join the movement. Impact your world. Go to CNN. com/impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician is set to resume in just a few minutes in Los Angeles.
An anesthesiologist is expected to testify that Dr. Conrad Murray's treatment of Jackson was so grossly negligent that it was criminal in his view. That's consistent with the testimony of a cardiologist and a sleep expert who took the stand yesterday describing Murray's behavior as bizarre and listed several examples of extreme deviations from standard medical care.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ALON STEINBERG, CARDIOLOGIST: Giving propofol, giving propofol in an unmonitored setting, without personnel, without appropriate monitoring, without the appropriate equipment, not being prepared, not doing -- appropriately reacting to an arrest, not calling 911 in a timely fashion all directly impacted his life, because if these deviations would not have happened, Mr. Jackson would have been alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes is here right now.
So,Holly, the testimony from that cardiologist seemed quite damaging. And he actually took it further, didn't he, saying it's like leaving a baby unattended on a counter for a doctor to have left Michael Jackson after administering drugs.
HOLLY HUGHES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And the most powerful thing about this is this is really the first time, Fred, that we have heard the words Michael Jackson would have been alive. But for Dr. Murray's care or lack thereof, this great pop icon would have survived.
This is incredibly damaging. This is not just you're a little bit negligent. This is you're so grossly negligent that you are responsible directly for the death.
WHITFIELD: And a fellow cardiologist saying, I know this as a cardiologist. You should have known this as a cardiologist.
HUGHES: And board-certified. Let's not forget this. This fellow, Alon Steinberg, the doctor who testified yesterday, he's board- certified, so right there he's got a leg up on Dr. Murray, who is not board-certified for whatever reason. We don't know. Whether he couldn't pass them, didn't take them, we don't know.
But we do know that Dr. Steinberg is more of an expert and has accomplished more in his field.
WHITFIELD: So the defense may soon have an opportunity to try to respond to this, whether it be by testimony or perhaps some other evidence because the prosecution may be closing, ending its case some time this week. What can the defense possibly say to counter what we have heard?
HUGHES: Well, what they're going to do is they're going to have their own experts. You better believe that this trial is going to come down to a battle of the experts, Fred.
What the defense is looking for is an expert who will say, yes, Dr. Murray might not have done everything exactly the way another doctor would have, but it is not the cause of Michael Jackson's death. They're still going to go with Mr. Jackson did this to himself, and Dr. Murray couldn't have possibly foreseen that Mr. Jackson would go and take those drugs without him being present.
WHITFIELD: And the defense is going to change that argument a little bit about did it to himself, where at first the defense was going to say that Michael Jackson may have ingested this on his own when Dr. Murray left the room. Now there is going to be a bit of a reversal. He may have administered this to himself by injection.
HUGHES: Exactly. And they have to go there because they're stuck with the evidence.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: ... they're changing that scenario?
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Actually, no. Typically, we would think that.
We would say, well, you said A in the beginning and now you're switching it up to B midstream. But jurors don't really hold that against defense attorneys. Defense attorneys have to look at the evidence as it comes in, and now they're stuck with all the testimony that there was not any residue of the white milky substance in Michael's mouth, down his airway, down his passages where he would have swallowed it.
WHITFIELD: And then there's been some argument that even ingesting it orally would not cause death even if it had happened.
HUGHES: Right. That's exactly right.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So is that really what is at the root of changing the scenario?
HUGHES: It's probably a combination of the two. A good defense attorney looks at the evidence as it comes in, and then they say, hey, based on what's in front of the jury now, we're going to have to switch it up, and they're allowed to do that. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and it all comes down in this case to those closing arguments. WHITFIELD: What's your expectation in terms of who the defense would need to bring forward to be able to save Dr. Conrad Murray's life?
HUGHES: I think what you're going to see is you're going to see a couple different medical experts, one who will probably testify about standard of care, and while it may not be what we'd all like to have, it might not be the ultimate pinnacle of care, that it's not as negligent as the state says.
They're probably going to call another cardiologist to back up Dr. Murray and say he acted appropriately, he did what he could, and, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a third maybe sleep doctor who says I do use propofol for sleep, because you can find -- for every expert out there that says black, you can find one that says white. It absolutely happens, and that's why we have an adversarial system.
The state says yes, the defense says no, and you can find somebody who will back you up. I think we will see a couple different experts go directly to those points that Dr. Murray is not the cause of Michael Jackson's death, even if you think he's not the best doctor in the world and you might not want him to be your personal physician.
WHITFIELD: All right, Holly Hughes, thanks so much.
HUGHES: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And of course we will be bringing you the highlights from the trial. If you want to see gavel-to-gavel coverage, you can tune in to our sister network, HLN.
All right, he's not running for president, but is Governor Chris Christie interested in being the GOP's number two? Hear what he has to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, Jay Leno has a complaint about the music at the Republican presidential debates. It's today's "Punchline."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Have you noticed during these debates the more boring the candidates are, the more dramatic and exciting the music is? Here is the music, this is the actual music from last night's debate. Listen to it.
(MUSIC)
LENO: Now, see, for that kind of music, this is what the candidates should look like.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right.
Fund-raising for the president's reelection campaign is exceeding even some Democrats' expectations.
Peter Hamby is live from the political desk in Washington.
So, Peter, how much has been raised?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, the total number for Barack Obama's reelection campaign is a combined $70 million over the last three months. That's less than the last quarter earlier this year, but it's still a substantial amount of money.
The breakdown is $42.8 million directly for the president's campaign itself and then the Democratic National Committee, which he's also been out there raising money for, collected $27.3 million. So together they're going to go out there.
And his Republican opponents, Fredricka, have been really saying that Obama is going to raise a billion dollars for this election. This doesn't quite put him on pace to do that, but he is far ahead of his Republican opponents. But this is the reason Barack Obama needs to raise this much money. And this hasn't been talked about a lot.
But a lot of these independent groups, these super PACs, some of these IRS groups are going to be spending a ton of outside money in this election. You know, they can raise and spend unlimited sums. Some of these groups don't have to report their donors, so these Republican groups can go outside of the campaign and really hammer Barack Obama in the general election. So he's got to stock a massive war chest, Fredricka, and this is just the start.
WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, people are still talking about Governor Chris Christie. And he says, you know what, I wouldn't be the best number two. What more did he say about the notion of possibly being a vice presidential nominee?
HAMBY: Yes, this is going to happen for the next year, and we love talking about Chris Christie, obviously. He was asked back in New Jersey after he came out to New Hampshire the other day and endorsed Mitt Romney -- he returned to New Hampshire and at a press conference, they asked him, would you leave the state before your term is up and be V.P.? Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: There are certain personalities that are appropriate for being vice president. I don't know that mine necessarily fits in that typical mold, you know? So, I think that there might be other folks who, by their disposition, are more appropriately suited for vice president.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HAMBY: And, you know, he's kind of right. Chris Christie speaks his mind, he's very blunt. And when you're the vice presidential nominee, your job is to be on message, generally raise money for your nominee. You're an attack dog. You go out there, but you stick to the message.
Chris Christie has always kind of gone his own way. Again, he will definitely be on the short list. He's enormously popular among Republican activists, but I think number one person on the V.P. Short list continues to be Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He checks a lot of boxes for the Republican candidates. He's Hispanic. He's popular among the Tea Party. So look for him to be number one. But Christie will certainly be on that short list, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Peter Hamby, thanks so much.
HAMBY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
We have got a little advice for the next time that you fly Ryanair. You better go before you go, if you know what I mean. There is a toilet shortage at 30,000 feet.
But, first, a snapshot of America. What do more Americans do for fun, play chess, take part in a fantasy sports league, or join book clubs? It's all in numbers, the census numbers -- the answer in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, so before the break, we asked, what's more popular playing chess, joining a fantasy sports league or joining a book club? The answer, joining a fantasy sports league -- this tidbit from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 statistical abstract.
You have been sounding off on today's "Talkback" question. Is Herman Cain able to go the distance?
Carol Costello, what are people saying?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm still getting over the fact that you thought the most popular club would be a book club.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: I did?
COSTELLO: No, you didn't think so.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK.
COSTELLO: I know you didn't. I know you didn't.
WHITFIELD: You're trying to read my mind? OK. Wrong. (CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: I knew it was going to be fantasy football. The other stuff just was -- you know, made too much sense. It was too cerebral. People want escapism.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: But, anyway, go ahead.
COSTELLO: I know.
OK. Here goes.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: The "Talkback" question today: Can Herman Cain go the distance? That was the question today.
This from Steve: "I think he can. His ideas are unique and different. I think America is tired of the same legislation repackaged with a different label, D or R. Someone who talks about reforming tax codes and making it simpler, instead of talking about more tax cuts and more 'sock it to the rich' nonsense."
This from Harry: "Love the potion 999. It isn't going to float with the middle class. We're already paying more than our fair share. The rich don't need any more help."
This from Danny: "I hope he gets the nomination because he and his wacko tax plan would be easy to beat. Who needs the rich and big corporations paying half the tax that I'm paying? We already have that, 9 percent for the rich, 9 percent for me, 9 percent sales tax equals 18 percent. I'm on Social Security. I can't afford that."
This from Melanie: "Cain 2012. He will be our next president. The 999 will work because it will lower the price -- it will lower the price of items and you will not have money taken out of your paycheck."
This from Jim: "We need to see a broader spectrum of Cain's views on foreign policy, on immigration and others before we know he's the real deal."
And this from Hadayai: "Herman Cain is an intelligent man who can do anything he wants to do. People need to beware of the forecasting. Many people said Senator Obama would not be the Democratic nominee for many reasons. Who's the president today? Look out. Herman Cain could do an Obama on us."
Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I will be back with you in about 20 minutes.
WHITFIELD: OK, Carol, but don't go away, because you will have to weigh in or at least pay attention to what I'm about to tell you about. This is corporate cost-cutting gone mad. Is it? Ryanair. Something tells me you're going to say no to flying Ryanair once you hear this. Europe's short-haul budget airline is cutting back on toilets. Instead of three, a plane will have just one, one toilet for almost 200 passengers to fight over. Ryanair says it can cram six more seats on its planes without the toilets and shave maybe $3 off the tickets.
COSTELLO: Three bucks?
WHITFIELD: So, Carol, you will have to go before you get on the plane and before it goes. What do you think?
COSTELLO: It only shaves $3 off the ticket? I would rather pay $3 more for a ticket to have an extra bathroom. Can you imagine if there's a delay?
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: But the airline can get more people on, six more passengers. They're making more money.
COSTELLO: Right. I know. I totally get that. But I just can't imagine that. Like, what if there is a delay and you're stuck on the runway for a couple of hours? That would be fun.
WHITFIELD: There is going to be a really long line or a lot of crossed legs.
COSTELLO: There is going to be a riot.
WHITFIELD: That, too, that on Ryanair.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: All right, Carol, we will find another way. Maybe you just have to walk, right?
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Yes, maybe another airline.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
All right, let's talk about Japan now.
There's a new very serious radiation concern there today. An extremely high level has been detected in Tokyo. We will check in with Chad Myers. He's tracking the story for us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, in Japan, tests have detected an extremely high level of radiation in a central Tokyo neighborhood. In fact, it's higher, apparently, than the level around the nuclear plant that was damaged when the earthquake and tsunami hit.
Chad Myers tracking this story for us.
This is very unsettling for a whole lot of people. And this is what many people feared in Japan.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sure. You have to understand that they are on edge.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MYERS: They are on edge from radiation from a number of other sources as well.
This radiation that they found in a suburb, literally, the Upper East Side of New York City in Tokyo, is a very posh area of Tokyo, was very high. It was so high that people could be nowhere near it. They had evacuated now 80,000 people from this area. But when they went in and they said where did this come from, did it really come 140 miles from Fukushima all the way down into Tokyo, into this neighborhood?
They said, no, probably not. So they went looking for the source and in fact here's some of the pictures where they were looking at these readings. The readings on these dosimeters, the dosimeters, they were looking so high that it was off the charts. So where could this come from?
Well, actually, they found bottles under the floorboards of an abandoned building and the bottles were emitting all of this radiation, clearly not the same radiation that came out of the reactor, not the radiation that people fear around that Fukushima Daiichi plant, a different, completely different type of radiation.
But still, they have to get these bottles out of the way. And the reason why they found it was because Tokyo, these people are buying $1,000 detectors and walking around their neighborhoods looking for this radiation. So this is a big deal.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So, what is with the bottles, though?
MYERS: Well, the latest I just read out of the "AJC" is that bottles may contain that old chemical, the radiation, that you would put in a watch to make the nighttime readable.
You can see it now, but it's not radioactive. The old times, they'd paint these little notches on the watch and that paint was radioactive. Now, radioactive may be what's in those bottles, so if they get those bottles out and take it and remove it, then the radiation will go away.
WHITFIELD: Are they going to try to track down the bottles' origin? They came from where?
MYERS: An abandoned building.
(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: That is so odd.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, I know people are probably happy to hear where the source has come from, but still want to know how it got there and why them after all they have been through.
All right, thanks so much, Chad. Appreciate that.
MYERS: You're welcome.
