Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Deep South Votes; U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan Not Talking; Interview With Illinois Senator Richard Durbin; Neighborhood Watch Captain Allegedly Shoots Teen; Trucking Company Makes Turnaround

Aired March 13, 2012 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And it is officially the top of the hour. I'm Ashleigh Banfield, in for Brooke Baldwin today.

The American soldier accused of killing families in Afghanistan is refusing to talk.

Voting is also under way in the Deep South, as Mitt Romney hopes to seal the deal.

It's time to play "Reporter Roulette."

And we begin with Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, more fallout today from the massacre in Afghanistan -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ashleigh.

This was no mere apology. This was some of the strongest words yet we have heard from an American president in describing what happened during that shooting in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered. We're heartbroken over the loss of innocent life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: The thing is murder has a very specific legal connotation, and this suspect has yet to even be charged with a specific crime.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also said that capital punishment is a possibility in this case. Lethal injection is the method by which service members would be put to death. But, actually, that hasn't happened since 1961. The last time that a president even authorized the killing of a service member was in 2008, when President Bush approved the death penalty for a soldier.

But that soldier's crimes were actually committed in the late '80s, when President Bush's father was president, so it's very likely that by the time this moves through the long legal process and appeals are exhausted, it will be some future president that may have to ultimately make this decision.

BANFIELD: And that is a tough row to hoe.

Chris Lawrence, thanks very much for that.

Moving on to decision day in the Deep South. Voters in Alabama and Mississippi heading to the polls today.

Next on "Reporter Roulette," Shannon Travis following today's tight race in Mississippi joins me live now from Ocean Springs.

Lovely temperature, it looks like, Shannon.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lovely day, and I'm sweating a little bit so forgive me if you see a few beads up there.

But, Ashleigh, absolutely right. We're here at a polling station at the Ocean Spring Civic Center. This is a very Republican part of Mississippi. Of course, you know that Mississippi is Republican. Obama lost the state by 13 points in 2008, in this county alone, Jackson County, 33 points to John McCain. So we have been watching the voters come in and out and trying to basically ascertain who are they going in and voting for between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum?

A lot of the voters have differing opinions, of course, but by my very unofficial count, I have been hearing a little bit more weighted in terms of Romney, and that's noteworthy because this is the South. Even Romney himself has said this is an away game for him, so he has a lot to prove in terms of showing that he can win these kinds of very conservative voters in a state like Mississippi.

Again, we want to wait until later to see what the official tallies will look like. But he's been doing so well -- doing well so far with a number of people that I have spoken with, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Heating up in Mississippi. Shannon Travis, thanks very much.

Moving on in "Reporter Roulette" a closer look at the Alabama primary.

Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash in Birmingham with all the details joining me now.

And I'm guessing it's just about as warm where you are as where Shannon is.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not as warm. It's actually pretty nice here actually. It's a nice change.

But this is going to be absolutely of course the state to watch tonight, primarily because it has the most electoral votes, but also because Mitt Romney has been doing surprisingly well in recent polls, neck and neck between him and Newt Gingrich. And Rick Santorum may be trailing a little bit behind. I'm here in Jefferson County because this is the most populist county in the entire state. About 20 percent of the vote will come into this particular county. And I'm actually standing outside where we're going to later on see the cars and trucks drive up to this loading dock with the actual ballots. They're going to come in from the 177 precincts from around this county, Ashleigh, and they're going to drive up.

We have had a little bit of a tour behind. Right now that doesn't look like much, but behind that door over there is actually a vault and that is where the ballots are going to go in then and through there is where they're going to be tabulating the results for this very, very important county of Jefferson County here.

You talk to Mitt Romney's people and they will admit they have to really run up the vote here. This tends to be a more affluent county, particularly around the areas of Birmingham where I am, and they know that these are the kinds of voters that they need to come out and come out big, but I will tell you also anecdotally we have heard that turnout is pretty low in this county, at least so far today -- Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: I thought you were going to tell me on that loading dock were the 47 delegates. Is it 47 in Alabama?

BASH: Exactly, for this particular -- 50 ultimately, but 47 today.

BANFIELD: I have to say, Dana, I can't believe how close -- our Paul Steinhauser always says how knotted up the race is between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, I think particularly because I expected Rick Santorum to be closer into that margin of error.

BASH: Yes, you know, it is kind of fascinating that Rick Santorum hasn't necessarily taken off here.

I think part of -- or as well as maybe you would think. Part of the reason is because of a little bit of a north/south divide. You talk to people down here and they say he just -- he doesn't really connect with the voters and hasn't been connecting with the voters as well as he has in other sort of socially conservative pockets of the country.

Then again, it is surprising that Mitt Romney, who also doesn't necessarily connect, he started talking about cheesy grits.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: I was just going to say, the cheesy grits.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Yes, exactly. But the reason why he is seeming to connect a little bit more just again anecdotally is because of the fact that jobs and the economy is such a big issue here, perhaps trumping social issues in this state. And Mitt Romney has been able to sell himself as the Republican candidate who could do best on those issues.

BANFIELD: And, Dana, there's always that sweater vest thing, too. Maybe they don't wear a lot of sweater vests in Mississippi and Alabama. I'm just saying.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I have not seen a lot of sweater vests here.

BANFIELD: I am not the least bit surprised, my friend. Take care. We will be watching you throughout the night as those tabulations come on in.

Just two weeks after a string of deadly tornadoes ripped through the Midwest, several states have learned something they did not want to learn. They are not going to be getting any cash from the federal government, and one senator is none too happy about it. Dick Durbin from Illinois standing by live. He will talk to me about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: As the state of Illinois recovers from a killer tornado and a series of storms, it is now facing rejection from the federal government.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has shot down that state's requests for funds after the tornadoes hit Illinois in late February. I had a chance to be in that area just afterwards.

Here's some video of my producer and me in the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: We have just entered into an area that's considered under a tornado warning, and so we're watching extremely carefully as we follow in behind a semi. And we're looking for an underpass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: We actually visited the scene of an EF-4 tornado. It is the second most severe, and it hit the Harrisburg area, where at least six people died and the devastation was ugly, to say the least.

The leader of FEMA said in a letter to the governor the damage wasn't bad enough for the federal government to step in, for the state to use its own resources. Handle it on your own.

Here's more from the head of FEMA how it decides who gets the federal money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: What will be the unmet needs, particularly how many people didn't have insurance and had those type of impacts, and then we look at that against the entire state and the population and resources of the state to make those determinations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And joining me now is Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. He's in Washington. And I also have meteorologist Chad Myers standing by in Atlanta as well.

Senator, I would like to begin with you, if I may. You heard FEMA's response. They made a clear argument for why the state doesn't qualify. Why is that not good enough?

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: I was shocked by it.

Ashleigh, you saw it firsthand. As you mentioned, it was an EF-4 tornado. I have grown up with tornadoes. I have seen a lot of damage in communities as a congressman and senator; 175-mile-an-hour winds hit Harrisburg and Ridgway. The devastation was beyond anything I have seen from tornado damage.

Seven people lost their lives. I thought it was a sure thing that we would be declared a federal disaster declaration area, but apparently not. So I have asked the head of FEMA to come to my office tomorrow to meet with representatives of Senator Kirk's office and the rest of the delegation. We want to go through this thing in detail.

BANFIELD: Do you think that you may have suffered somewhat because of this series of storms just a day or two after the storm that devastated Harrisburg went on to be even more damaging and more deadly in the surrounding states?

DURBIN: I certainly hope not, and let me tell you why. And you can ask your meteorologist.

So far this year we have had over 300 reported tornadoes. For those who don't believe in climate change, some of my colleagues, they should take notice of the fact that that last year at this time, we had about 50. Now we have had over 300. If we're going to do this comparatively and say only the very, very, very worst are going to receive federal declaration, a lot of communities and a lot of states are going to be left in a terrible situation.

BANFIELD: Well, there is always a debate about whether climate change is the issue here or whether this is just happenstance.

But, Chad Myers, jump in here and tell me a little bit about that. As the senator talks about damage in Illinois, we saw damage in Indiana, we saw damage in Kansas, we saw damage in about six or seven states I think at last count. Why so sporadic, where was it worse, and can you shed a little light on why FEMA would come in and say one state qualifies and one doesn't?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I don't, and I want to ask the senator as well in a second about what he thinks he needs. Does he need private funds for private people to rebuild their homes, or do we need to rebuild the infrastructure of that entire town?

But let me tell, Senator Durbin, you are going to in eight days experience another outbreak of tornadoes. This is not over. And as you said, 300 already this year. We're not into spring yet. We're finally into the early part of March. A very vigorous storm comes out of the Rocky Mountains next Monday, gets to your state Tuesday night and Wednesday.

So there is more to come. Senator, but what were the uninsured losses? That's what Director Fugate was talking about, the uninsured losses compared to the insured losses and how much he thinks the state could handle. What do you think the state can't handle?

DURBIN: Well, our state is broke.

In fact, we're in a deep deficit. We're talking about cutting Medicaid coverage for the poorest people in our state. I think that's pretty well known throughout the Midwest. So when the FEMA director says, well, the state can rely on its resources, I really want to challenge that.

But the bottom line is this. They do a calculation based on the damage that is compensable, that can be paid for by the federal government. It has to reach a certain threshold. It's based on the population of the state. I live in a highly populated state, sixth in the nation. So this community and our state may be disadvantaged because of it.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Go ahead, Chad.

MYERS: Let me tell you, coming up in eight days from now, the populated part, the much more populated part around Chicago, will be under the gun for weather just like this.

BANFIELD: So, Senator, jump in with me. And I always want to ask whether the federal government isn't under an obligation to look at the larger picture. When doling out money, there are -- oh, I'm told we just lost the senator, unfortunately. I apologize for that.

Chad, if you're still there, maybe you can help me here.

MYERS: Yes.

BANFIELD: When it comes to the damage, when I was in Harrisburg, I have to say I drove into that town very late at night in the dark and thought I was in the wrong place because it looked fine.

It looked absolutely fine. I arrived on small pockets of absolute demolition, without question, demolition, but small pockets. My first thought was this is no Katrina and this is not what I expected.

Is that part of why FEMA would come in with this decision, saying, you had bad pictures, but it wasn't whole scale? MYERS: The entire damage length, where the homes were and where that big building was, where the strip mall was, only about mile through the town. But that's the width of the entire town. The southern half of the entire town was damaged just beyond belief.

The northern part did not even get hurt because the tornado did not hit up there. If you take a look at the town, sure, population wise, more than 50 percent were definitely affected. Seven people died in the storm. So by that town's threshold, certainly it would qualify.

But when you look at the size of the state and the number of people paying tax in that state and the people that did not get hurt in that state, the cities that did not get hit, this small fraction of one town wasn't big enough to get by FEMA's threshold to get them federal money. But we will be doling out federal money this year. This will be one violent year for tornadoes and hurricanes.

BANFIELD: And I think we might have the senator back.

Can you hear me, Senator Durbin?

DURBIN: I can hear, yes, I can.

BANFIELD: I'm so sorry we lost you for a short moment there, but I did want to ask you, doesn't the federal government have an obligation to weigh those who may be more in need against those who perhaps are not in as much need?

DURBIN: There's no question about it, and we haven't said just flat out don't even look at the numbers, reverse your ruling.

We're going to sit down and go through the numbers. You take into consideration the impact on the community. It's the physical impact, too. It's the costs to the local units of government for the overtime hours and the people that spend extra time, firefighters and rescue squads, and the hospitals and the like. All of that is calculated in.

I want a fair calculation here. And when I see the damage that you witnessed and I witnessed as well, I find it hard to believe we're not going to make the number.

BANFIELD: I think you're going to be going and doing some voting today, if I'm not mistaken; is that correct?

DURBIN: I am. As a matter of fact, I am.

BANFIELD: Senator Durbin, thanks for taking the time in between that to talk to us. And we will continue to follow the possible appeal on this case.

And, Chad, thank you, too. Appreciate your input on this one.

MYERS: You're welcome. BANFIELD: Closing arguments under way in the case of a student accused of spying on his roommate during a sexual encounter, a roommate who just days later killed himself by jumping of a bridge.

Today, the defense told jurors about a surprise the suspect got on his webcam. It's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Now to the webcam spying trial in New Jersey, specifically that case that ended with that Rutgers student, Tyler Clementi, committing suicide by jumping off a bridge.

In closing arguments today, the attorney for Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, said that Ravi was surprised by and wasn't ready for what he discovered on his Webcam, Clementi getting intimate with another man. With Tyler Clementi's parents and his brother looking on and Ravi's family also in the courtroom, the defense attorney argued that Ravi was acting like a teenager, but not acting like a criminal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN ALTMAN, ATTORNEY FOR DHARUN RAVI: He's an 18-year-old boy, a kid, who just graduated high school, who is heterosexual, who plays sports, hangs out with all sorts of guys and girls, and he finds out he has a gay roommate. He hasn't lived long enough to have any experience with homosexuality or gays. He doesn't know anything about it. He just graduated high school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Dharun Ravi is facing 15 counts, including bias intimidation, which is a hate crime, and also invasion of privacy, among other serious charges.

Many parents can be critical of who is teaching their kids, but perhaps too afraid to speak up about it, so one group of parents had an idea that allows kids to have a hand on deciding what they learn.

Here's a sneak peak at CNN's "NEXT LIST."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did we start a school? Well, I think it started with our own conversations about our own educations and knowing how hard it was for us to find our own perfect place in the world, wishing our school had done a different job, better in some ways than it had and wanting to know if there could be a better way to do it, and then maybe then doing some research, finding out that there is a bunch of people out there that think that there is a possibly better way to do things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And don't forget to catch CNN's brand-new show, "THE NEXT LIST," featuring some of America's brightest minds. Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts. It is on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

The redhead at the center of a hacking investigation is arrested again. But this time the drama includes her husband. What is the story there? It's coming up.

And if you lose your smartphone, there's an 89 percent chance that the person who finds it is going to snoop through your personal information. I will let you know how we know that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BANFIELD: A dad shot to death right outside of his own son's day care.

And just moments ago, both sides in the trial wrapping up the closing arguments in the trial of a man accused of killing him.

Find out why the defense focused on a love triangle and what the last words to the jury was.

Our Sunny Hostin is "On the Case."

And she's coming up next.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Hey, hey.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We are watching closely the case of this 17-year-old boy allegedly shot by a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida. The police are suspected to hand over the case of Treyvon Martin, the victim, to the state today. And they have faced a lot of heat because some people think that watchman should have been arrested and charged. The watchman is George Zimmerman. He claims he acted in self-defense in a confrontation. Here's what the police said at a press conference on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF BILL LEE, SANFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT: In this case, Mr. Zimmerman has made the statement of self-defense. Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don't have the grounds to arrest him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And Sunny Hostin is on the case for us. I want to focus on that claim that the watchman acted in self-defense. As I understand it, there's very little evidence that they're admitting to at this point, or at least releasing publicly. He's got a bloody nose, Zimmerman.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right.

BANFIELD: He's got blood and grass stains on his back, and says, look, I was in a confrontation. I felt that I was in jeopardy and I shot. That's pretty good but not enough for probable cause to keep him for something else?

HOSTIN: Well, that's what they're saying. I mean the police are saying there isn't enough probable cause to arrest him but the bottom line --

BANFIELD: We have a dead boy, a 17-year-old.

HOSTIN: That's right. That's the bottom line, and also we know that Florida has sort of the most expansive, I think, stand-your-ground law in our country, meaning you don't have to retreat. You can defend yourself. But there's always that exception, even in Florida, about the first aggressor.

If you start a fight, Ashleigh, and you are the first aggressor, and someone defended themselves and fight against you, you then can't invoke the self-defense doctrine. And so I'm so surprised that so many people are talking about this case, but no one is mentioning that. Isn't there sufficient evidence that Zimmerman, the watch person of the community, was the first aggressor? And now we're learning details that he has been aggressive before, that he may have been arrested and it was -- it was expunged but arrested for being very aggressive towards police. Other people in the home --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: We know that doesn't always factor into a case, though.

HOSTIN: That's right.

BANFIELD: We don't always get that, you know, that gets suppressed a lot of times.

HOSTIN: But that's -- yes, but that's important in terms of making an arrest, in terms of making a charging decision. Police are saying this kid was -- this guy was squeaky clean. Well, that may not necessarily be true. It's also being reported now that many people in the homeowners' association were saying that he used aggressive tactics. So, again, if we're talking about a first aggressor self- defense --

BANFIELD: And how much is the fact that --

HOSTIN: -- is inappropriate.

BANFIELD: If you're looking for probably cause, the standards are somewhat love. It's not a conviction level standard.

HOSTIN: No, no.

BANFIELD: So you've got a kid who's got Skittles in his pocket --

HOSTIN: And a can of iced tea.

BANFIELD: And a can of iced tea.

HOSTIN: Right.

BANFIELD: You've got a guy with a gun who's been calling 911 saying, I think there's a suspicious guy in my neighborhood. What we don't know is any other witnesses so far. We know other people called 911 --

HOSTIN: That's right.

BANFIELD: -- we just don't know if anybody is able anyone was able to say, look, Zimmerman met him with the force that was appropriate because he feared for his life. You've got to have that matching force, don't you?

HOSTIN: That's right, but bottom line is, I mean coming from the former prosecutor that I am, you've got to have the guts to bring these kinds of cases. And I hope that the prosecutors in Florida have the guts to bring this kind of case, because you have a dead kid that has Skittles and a iced can -- a can of iced tea.

BANFIELD: Let met scoot you next to this other case because this one is unbelievable. Not like we haven't covered this before, but prosecutors have just finished closing arguments in the case of a dad who was killed outside of his son's daycare. There is some thought that there is a love triangle here. Rusty Sneiderman, a Harvard educated businessman, dying in 2010 in Dounwoody, Georgia, allegedly shot by the man who was believed to be his wife's lover. But she is not accused in this yet. I say yet.

But the accused shooter, Hemy Neuman, is facing life in prison if he's convicted. And closing arguments today, his lawyers were maintaining an insanity defense. They say Rusty's wife Andrea manipulated Neuman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG PETERS, HEMY NEUMAN'S DEFENSE LAWYER: The gun in this case was in Hemy's hand but the trigger I respectfully suggest was pulled by Andrea Sneiderman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The prosecutors say that Neuman was making up the insanity defense. We hear that all the time.

HOSTIN: Right.

BANFIELD: Malingering. It's really hard. I mean I was talking to Toobin earlier today.

HOSTIN: Yes.

BANFIELD: It's hard to get a conviction in an insanity.

HOSTIN: That's right. I hope he backs me up on that it is very, very difficult. We hear about it all the time and we hear about --

(CROSSTALK)

HOSTIN: Yes, we hear about the insanity defense and people think that people get off because of that. That just isn't true. It's very, very difficult to be successful on an insanity defense. And I suspect it's going to be difficult here.

BANFIELD: Well, we'll have to watch for it. At least we're in the home stretch, right?

HOSTIN: That's right.

BANFIELD: Sunny Hostin on the case for us. Thank you. Appreciate it.

HOSTIN: Thanks, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And when we come back, I want to talk a little bit more about that American soldier who was accused in the mass killings in Afghanistan and especially what about the other soldiers who fought next to him? What do they have to say? They lived and they worked and they slept nearby. Did they know something that we don't know? And how is the fallout from his alleged killing spree going to affect them on the frontlines? That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Two days later and we still do not know the name of the U.S. Army sergeant who's being held in the slayings of 16 Afghan civilians. We're being told he's not cooperating, he is not talking, invoking up Fifth Amendment Right. We're also told that before being sent to Afghanistan in January, he served three tours of duty in Iraq where he suffered a traumatic head injury back in 2010. He was later cleared to return to combat.

Joining me now from Washington is Tom Tarantino who's an Iraq war veteran and the deputy political director of the Iraq and Afghan Veterans of America.

Tom, I guess the question off the bat, how many times do we have injuries with soldiers who are serving who are cleared too quickly, perhaps, and sent back into active duty?

TOM TARANTINO, IRAQ WAR VETERAN, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR, IAVA: Yes, I mean, we really don't know. What I can tell you is that, you know, from when I was in Iraq in 2005 to where we are now is night and day, it's a vast difference. You know IAVA champion mandatory mental screenings for everybody coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. The DOD now screens 100 percent of people who come back personally and face to face.

Where we are now is a huge leap from where we were from the start of this war. We have a long way to go. And it's important to really understand that, you know, correlation and coincidence doesn't necessarily equal cause. There is still a lot we don't know about traumatic brain injury, but what we do know is that typically this injury doesn't lead to violence. These are physical injuries to the brain, and generally if he was cleared for duty, and like I say, I'm not a medical person, nor do I know the specifics of his case, you know, I could take the DOD at their word for that.

BANFIELD: You know, and I'm not going to suggest for a moment that the traumatic brain injury that he suffered had anything to do with this. It will probably more than likely surface in any kind of defense he might mount in this case, but I am curious to find out that not only did he have this head injury, but then on top of that he had to sort of endure the stress and the mental trauma of four tours of duty. And that's a lot. And it just begs the question, do we turn these guys out quicker because we just need more guys?

TARANTINO: You know, and I think that we have gotten a lot better at that. And I don't -- and I think as a force and as a military community we've gotten a lot better at understanding the stresses that multiple deployments placed on men and women who have served.

You know it's important that as we talk about this that we focus on the facts at hand and we don't speculate and revert to stereotypes for post-traumatic stress and mental health injuries when trying to make sense of this horrible tragedy. That's what this is. This is one individual who can, you know, conduct a solitary act, and frankly, not only is it a tragedy for the people who lost their lives and for their families, but it's a tragedy for the 2.4 million Americans who have served, deployed sometimes two or three times and have come with honor and -- are building that new greatest generation.

BANFIELD: Well, and talk about those who were in the country right now, because not only do they deal with the regular stresses that they've been dealing with on deployment, but now they're facing all these increased threats from the Taliban to behead any Americans they come across, not that it wasn't already a dangerous place, but now the stressors are even more.

TARANTINO: And unfortunately, incidents like this do put people in harm's way. You know things like this and there have been extremely few over the last 10 years, thankfully, and every time there has, other service members have stepped forward and have either stopped or have brought these people to justice.

And that's because this type of incident does not reflect the discipline and training that they teach us in the military. And frankly, it sullies a lot of the honor that so many men and women do -- or so many men and women have when they go out and serve. Every single day, men and women are going outside the wire and putting their lives on the line to try to do some good. And they're going to continue to do so even despite this incident and despite that increased threat, and I think it is really a testament to the fortitude of this generation.

BANFIELD: It's got to be demoralizing for those who are serving with him and working with him. At this point, what's the -- what is the service doing to try to deal with -- you know, his buddies?

TARANTINO: Right. I mean, I don't know, but I would imagine coming from -- the perspective of a former officer that this is where leadership is really taking good stock of their unit, of their people, trying to make sense of this tragedy and reinforcing the discipline and professionalism that everyone was trained in. And it's important, because the United States military is the greatest military in the world not because of our technical prowess or because of our military powers. But because we fight with honor.

No matter how bad we perceive our enemies to be or how bad they actually are, we fight with honor and we follow the rules. And that's why whenever there is trouble in the world, people call on the United States. And I think they're going to reinforce that discipline and reinforce that training, and make sure that service members not only are dealing with the personal effects of this tragedy but also can continue their mission and continue serving with honor.

BANFIELD: And if you're looking at 10 years of war in two theaters, you're going to have bad apples that are going to sully it for the rest of them.

Tom Tarantino, thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Nice to talk to you.

TARANTINO: Thanks, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: President Obama is set to attend one of the March Madness play in games tonight. Have you heard? Who he's bringing as his date? I'll reveal the special guest in just moment.

Plus we're back in 80 seconds with an important piece of advice about your money. Yes, I said it. Your money. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Jack Otter. He's the executive editor of CBSMoneywatch.com and author of "Worth It, Not Worth It." And Stacy Francis is a financial adviser and the president of Francis Financial.

All right, thanks for coming in to both of you. Let's get to the first e-mail from Gerald in North Carolina. He's asking, "I bought my house in 1996 for $141,000. I still owe $106,000 on a 30-year fixed loan at 5.7 percent. I have about $70,000 in a regular savings account." Here's his question. "Should I take that money and use it to pay down the home loan?"

Jack, what should he do?

JACK OTTER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CBSMONEYWATCH.COM: I actually think his first step should be look into refinancing. He's got a 5.7 percent loan. Now he could get a 15-year loan, he's got about 15 years left in his mortgage for less than 4 percent. Now he's been on this loan for so long, he's already paid a lot of interest so he's going to have to run the numbers on a financial calculator. Maybe he just wants to stick with this one, but please go to something like HSH.com and run the numbers. Now the question of paying it off, you know, ,it depends. On the one hand from a purely financial perspective, it's not the best move. He's better off saving that money, maybe putting it into a 401(k) where he'll get a better return, because the tax advantages or just sitting on it so he's got cash flow. In an emergency that money is in the bank and it's safe.

KOSIK: All right. Some good advice there. Let's go to another one from Mike in Maine. He's asking, "I have Roth IRA and did online I brokerage account for investing in ETFs. Where should I park my different investment types such as bonds and ETFs to minimize my tax hits?"

Stacy, what do you think?

STACY FRANCIS, FINANCIAL ADVISER: Well, when we're managing money for our client, we take a look at the overall tax impact because that can really eat into your overall return. We put all of the tax inefficient taxable bonds in our IRAs, in all of our retirement plans, so that is actually saving a lot of money in taxes. Then we take any of those stocks that have a lot of capital appreciation that might be taxed at 15 percent, and we put it in that online brokerage, maybe a taxable account. Because again, remember, interest from a bond is taxed at your federal tax bracket.

Guess what, the growth and long-term gains on a stock are taxed at 15 percent. So if you can, again, try and put that high interest in your retirement plan and then put your stocks in your taxable accounts.

KOSIK: All right, some great advice. Thanks for coming in.

If you have a question you want answered, send us an e-mail any time to CNNhelpdesk at CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We've got your political pop. President Obama is getting a dose of March Madness. He's filled out his own bracket, and get this, he's going to one of the playing games tonight. And he's taken a date, and it isn't his wife. It's that guy. British Prime Minister David Cameron is going to the big game with him. They're going to take in the Western Kentucky versus the Mississippi Valley game tonight in Ohio -- yes, Ohio. Think about it, big battleground state for the upcoming election.

It's not the first time President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron have gotten sporty together. Isn't that adorable? In suits.

(LAUGHTER)

In ties they're playing ping-pong last year. That's just adorable. And I'm sure they had a spot of tea afterwards as well.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer is coming up at the top of the hour, he joins me now live with a preview. And you've got Mitt Romney on the docket for today. You're interviewing him live?

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Live during the 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour. We've got some good questions for him. He's obviously very, very busy. He's got a limited amount of time, but we'll try to get through some of the most important and substantive issues of the day, Ashleigh.

We're also going to set the stage for the big races as you've been watching throughout the day both the races in Mississippi and Alabama. And let's not forget Hawaii and American Samoa. But those results will be coming in way, way, way into the wee, wee hours of the night. So a lot going on that.

A lot going on in Afghanistan as well. We're going to update our viewers on what's going on. We're going to Kabul. As you know, they are now threatening, at least some members of the Taliban to behead U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan because of the rampage, what happened over the weekend when that American soldier allegedly went out and killed 16 Afghanis, including nine children.

So this is a very, very tough situation that we're watching. So we'll be all over that as well.

All the day's important news coming up, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

BANFIELD: And so I don't know a whole lot about basketball. So when I filled out my brackets, I did it with a dart, so I'm just going to ask you, between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley, who's going to get the most goals?

BLITZER: I have no idea who's going to win that one. You want to ask me, how did you pick some of the first-round winners? You want to ask me that question, Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: OK, if you could script it for me because I truly don't even know what the first-round is.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: First-round, I went through all of the colleges and universities who are playing in the NCAA.

BANFIELD: Yes.

BLITZER: And first of all I voted with my heart. All of those universities, for example, that allowed me to give the commencement address and gave me honorary degrees, they move out of the first round into the second rounds. You understand -- you understand where I'm coming from.

BANFIELD: You're pandering. You're pandering.

BLITZER: I have St. Louis and St. Bonaventure going into the second round, because they invited me to give the commencement addresses at their university.

BANFIELD: Hey, I think I ended up at Michigan State. Does that sound about right? Are they pretty good?

BLITZER: Michigan State is a great. It's a great school, great coach.

BANFIELD: Yes, what the --

BLITZER: Great basketball team. I have Syracuse going all the way, although there are some issues today.

BANFIELD: I have no -- I have no idea what we're talking about. I have no idea what we're talking about.

BLITZER: Really? What do you mean you have no idea?

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: You want to talk hockey? You want to talk Wayne Gretzky? Come back for a whole show.

BLITZER: I love the Sabers. Love them. I love hockey, too. We can talk hockey.

BANFIELD: Yes, we have to move to the same city, my friend.

BLITZER: All right.

BANFIELD: Wolf Blitzer, looking forward to your interview with Mitt Romney.

Also, do you want to know what's making a comeback? Ask the people who run the nation's small businesses. Next, we're going to talk to the man behind a family-run trucking company, who's going to show us how he fended off bankruptcy. And we've got great pictures, too. Take a look at that. Forklift cam.

(END)

BANFIELD: The owner of a Chicago-area trucking company brought his business back from the brink. He was close to bankruptcy and had to make some pretty tough decisions, including slashing his own pay.

Our Ted Rowlands explains how he turned it all around, though, in part of our series "In Depth Comeback Stories."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Tovo's company DNJ Trucking outside of Chicago is busy again.

JOE TOVO, PRESIDENT, DNJ TRUCKING: We really tightened up our ship and it turned things around.

ROWLANDS: In late 2007 and into 2008 The business which was started by Joe's father was on the verge of bankruptcy.

TOVO: It was probably the hardest time in my life working 16, 20 hours a day to do anything you could to keep it going.

ROWLANDS: Keeping it going, Joe says, wasn't easy, business was dropping because of the recession while expenses like tolls, licenses and labor were going up.

(On camera): As time went on, things got even worse. At one point Joe said he was having a difficult time even paying his employees.

TOVO: We hit the point where we just about lost it. When on Thursday when your bank account doesn't have money to make -- doesn't have enough money to make Friday payroll, that's -- that you're there.

ROWLANDS: To stay afloat, Joe figured out he had to cut, so even though he was running out of money, he hired an outside accounting firm to help him measure every expense.

TOVO: And you're talking about 120 trucks doing $20 million a year in business, you know, you're only looking for little bits of money.

ROWLANDS: Joe took a paycut, then asks his employees and his vendors to do the same. It took about a year but Joe says he remembers the relief he felt when he finally had an expense report that actually showed a profit.

TOVO: Didn't mean that I really made money because I had lost so much money the last two years, but I was heading the right direction.

ROWLANDS: Joe says his company now runs 93 trucks down from 120. He's cautiously optimistic about the future and says the lesson he's learned is to be prepared to change and manage every dime.

TOVO: If it's your business, chances are you have a lot invested emotionally, financially, look at it. Tend it. Don't take your eye off the ball.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And Ted Rowlands is standing by live in Chicago.

So, Ted, did Joe have to fire anybody to stay in the black?

ROWLANDS: No. He went to every one of his employees, however, and ask them to take a considerable paycut. Some of them said no thanks and left the company, but most of them stayed. And the ones that did stay, they haven't gotten a raise, but every year he does well, they do well. He gives them bonuses now, so that he doesn't get a hamstrung with high salaries. But he does -- it's like an employee profit sharing and he says the ones that stayed are rewarded.

BANFIELD: I like those good news stories so I'm going to be a bit of a Debbie downer here. Gas prices going up day after day. I know, I had to bring it up. These are truckers. Isn't that going to be a problem for him? ROWLANDS: Well, yes, it's a concern. In the trucking industry, basically they build in gas prices, and that they shove them off to the consumers to a point, but he says this year with the talk of $5 gasoline, diesel also going up, he says that's an absolute concern, and that's why he's changed his business model from the top down, and so he can possibly absorb those, but obviously a concern for a lot of businesses including his.

BANFIELD: And so just real quickly to wrap it up, how much does he credit his work towards making this work and how much does he credit, say, the economy and its slow turnaround?

ROWLANDS: He says that he absolutely credits the fact that he took the time to look at his company, hired an outside firm to come in and find cuts, because he said he wouldn't have survived until the turnaround. He absolutely had to make those cuts.

BANFIELD: That's a good story. Thanks for bringing it, Ted. Appreciate it.

ROWLANDS: You bet.

BANFIELD: Always nice to do Ted Rowlands and always nice to Wolf Blitzer, too, who's coming up next at "THE SITUATION ROOM", jam-packed show -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Ashleigh.