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Ted Nugent's Controversial Remarks; Obama Responds To High Gas Prices; Space Shuttle Flies On Jet's Back; Tax Day 2012; Latino Voters May Sway Arizona; Scandal Rocks Secret Service; Honey Pot Operations Used for Information; Reporter Sarah Ganim Wins Pulitzer Prize
Aired April 17, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed. We are continuing to follow developments in the secret service scandal. Eleven members have had security clearances yanked, pending investigation that also includes several military personnel. They are accused of bringing prostitutes to their hotel in Colombia. The agents, officers involved range in experience from relative newcomers to veterans of almost 20 years.
The Discovery space shuttle just made its final trip to the Smithsonian. That's right, carried on the back of a jetliner after traveling more than 148 million miles to -- in its 39 missions. In just a couple minutes, we're going to bring you more on what it means for the future of space travel.
And President Obama blames oil speculators for the soaring gas prices. Just a short time ago, called for tougher measures to crack down on those speculators. He wants to require traders to put more of their own money and increase the penalties for manipulating those markets. Republicans, they're blaming the president's policies for the rising prices. He says drilling alone is not going to solve the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The politicians who say that if we just drilled more, then gas prices would come down right away. What they don't say is that we have been drilling more. Under my administration, America is producing more oil than at any time in the last eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: More outrage today over the lavish $800,000 conference in Vegas paid for with, yes, that's right, your tax dollars. Lawmakers are holding another round of hearings on the spending scandal at the General Services Administration, the GSA. Now, they say huge amounts of money spent on food, parties, hurts the reputation of all federal employees even those not involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: We can pick out the things, sushi or whatever, makes the highlight tonight or whatever, but 44 bucks for breakfast? I'm a big man, I can't spend 44 bucks for breakfast. Somebody had to say that. Are you kidding me? (INAUDIBLE) And then what it does is the American public believes every single employee and every single agency is corrupt and not doing what they're supposed to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Taxes due today. The IRS has already received about 99 million tax returns, so if yours is not among them, and you don't have an extension, you have until midnight to get it in, to get it posted. If you are late with the payment, penalties can range as high as 25 percent of your tax bill.
And some breaking news. I want to go to Jim Acosta live from D.C. on important remarks that were made. Ted Nugent making some --
JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
MALVEAUX: -- remarks that are -- you know, got some folks in a tizzy or what is he saying?
ACOSTA: Well, you know, Suzanne, these are pretty controversial and probably, you know, I think, you could classify them as incendiary comments coming from a rock 'n roller, Ted Nugent. He made some controversial comments at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting last Friday when he went after President Obama, went after Democrats, in general, on the subject of gun ownership.
He was trying to make the claim that the president and his administration are coming after gun owners in attempt to take away their right to bear arms. And he made some comments that are starting to make the rounds, you could say, on social media, and popping up in blogs, a liberal leaning blog, the Right Wing Watch, has put this out. It started to get re-tweeted and is certainly out there. Let's play a little bit of what Ted Nugent had to say and give you a little context on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED NUGENT: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. You're laugh -- why are you laughing? You think that's funny? That's not funny at all. I'm serious as a heart attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, one of the reasons why, you know, these comments are stirring up so much controversy, Suzanne, is that Ted Nugent came out and endorsed Mitt Romney back in March. You know, it's not exactly clear how much Mitt Romney wanted that endorsement, there wasn't a huge event surrounding that endorsement. But in the circles that matter to people who care about gun rights, Ted Nugent is an important figure, I guess, to some of them.
And so, these comments are making news right now. But the Democratic National Committee is also making some hay out of this. They released a statement not too long ago from the chair of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. And she is asking -- she is calling on Mitt Romney to condemn these remarks. She says, here it is on screen. Mitt Romney surrogate Ted Nugent made offensive comments about President Obama and November's elections this weekend that are despicable, deplorable and completely beyond the pale.
She went on to say that Mitt Romney and the Republican party should be calling on Ted Nugent at this point to take back those comments and she said that this kind of political discourse has no place in the campaign. Here you go. She goes on to say, he called the administration vile, evil and American hating and said much worse. Yet we have heard nothing from Mitt Romney and the Republican party. So, we have reached out to the Romney campaign, no response from the Romney campaign, Suzanne.
Also, we are waiting to hear back from Ted Nugent's representative. We have actually reached out to his people to see what they have to say about this. But these comments were made at the NRA's annual meeting. And I should caution, they were not made on stage in any kind of prepared speech, this was sort of back stage, you know, at a lot of these conferences, as you know, there are side events that go on and he was doing sort of a media event away from what was happening on stage where he made those comments. But nonetheless, they are certainly stirring up a lot of controversy (INAUDIBLE)
MALVEAUX: Jim, do we think it's the kind of controversy that's going to stick here? I mean, is he all that significant? Could this snowball? Or is this just the kind of thing that we've seen in the past where, you know, you've got a controversy that lasts 24 hours, lipstick on a pig, for instance, comments that were made in 2008?
ACOSTA: Right. Well, you know, Democrats might be eager to get out there and jump on this type of controversy because of what happened with Hilary Rosen last week. As you know, her comments spread like wild fire and Republicans were all too eager to jump on that. Democrats were sort of back peddling away from it, when Hilary Rosen came out and said that Ann Romney had not work add day in her life. I don't know if -- I don't think I would put Ted Nugent in the same category as that Hilary Rosen controversy.
This is starting to get into maybe the silly season of politics of campaign 2012. He is not taken, I would say, you know, seriously on a national level. However, what he does say -- and you can see in that video behind me, he had a crowd around him at that NRA meeting, what he does say does matter to a lot of people inside the movement to, you know, protect the second amendment. People inside the NRA.
MALVEAUX: Right.
ACOSTA: People who are supportive of the NRA, they -- some of them do pay attention to what Ted Nugent has to say.
MALVEAUX: OK. All right, Jim, thanks again. I guess, President Obama used to say that the silly season is upon us.
ACOSTA: That's right. MALVEAUX: Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: It is, yes.
MALVEAUX: It's an issue that affects all of us, the price we're paying to fill up the tanks at now record levels. Republicans, they're blaming President Obama for the rising prices. But today, the president pointed a finger at Wall Street. He outlined new steps to limit speculation in the oil markets. Well, Ali Velshi is joining us with some of the details of this.
So Ali, first of all, I mean, this is a big policy announcement.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
MALVEAUX: Not really sure if it's going to affect how much we are actually paying for gas. What did the president -- what does he initially want to accomplish?
VELSHI: Well, a couple of things he wants to do. The first thing he wants to do is increase enforcement by an agency called the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. That is the equivalent of the Securities and Exchange Commission for oil, for commodities. He wants to increase the number of people there who are there who can enforce. He wants to increase the amount of technology they have. And he wants to increase many times the fine that you would pay if you were fined -- if you were found to be manipulating the oil market. All of that is good.
He also wants to increase margins. And the way I explain this is if you want to buy stock of a company -- you want to buy 100 shares of a company, you have to put all the money down, you have to give it to your broker. When you want to trade in oil, you only put a very small amount -- a very small percentage of the money down and the thinking is that if you are, you know, a wild speculator and you've got no skin in the game, you're more likely to speculate and buy more oil futures or contracts.
MALVEAUX: Right.
VELSHI: This would limit that. There is some sense that that might limit speculation. But Suzanne, it's a whole lot like the housing market. There were a lot of things --
MALVEAUX: Sure.
VELSHI: -- wrong that needed to be regulated and fixed. The aim wasn't to actually fix the price of houses, it was just to fix the way it's going. So, I don't know that this will have an effect on gas prices.
MALVEAUX: And how much of this, in light of that, Ali, do we think is politics, how much is economics? It helps, right, for the president to talk about these things?
VELSHI: Yes. MALVEAUX: But it's not really --
VELSHI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: -- to make that much difference --
VELSHI: No.
MALVEAUX: -- it's how much we -- you know, cost to fill the tank.
VELSHI: He made -- he made some references in his speech, which I didn't love, that, you know, connecting it to the price of oil and dependence on oil. And it's -- in fact, it's got nothing to do with that. It's the fact that our regulations are not keeping up with some of the people who, you know, manipulate the system and this is going to help to try and deal with that. But it's unclear that it will have any effect, ultimately, on the price of oil and then, subsequently, on the price of gasoline. The connection between those people who have nothing to do with oil, meaning don't drill for it, they don't produce it, they don't buy it for their business, and those who invest just because it's an investment is tenuous. We don't know how much of the price of oil is based on rampant manipulative speculation. And this, what the president is talking about, targets that rampant manipulative speculation. So, yes, it's political in that it makes it sound like he's doing something that'll affect the price of oil or gasoline. It's unclear that it will. That doesn't mean it's not good, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Right.
VELSHI: It just may not have any effect on the price of gas.
MALVEAUX: Right. OK, Ali, thank you. Good to see you.
VELSHI: My pleasure.
MALVEAUX: So you've been tweeting, sending me comments on Facebook, today, about how high price of gas is impacting you. Here are some of the responses. I want to read them quickly here. @RandolphHarris tweets, Yes, I plan my trips and try to do things all on the same day. I do not travel as much. DeannaFry says, don't go to the gym anymore which is six miles from my house. I walk in my neighborhood or do my Zumba vids. That's not a bad idea. MNeff2 tweets, I'm more likely to take the subways. Sure it takes longer, but the price of one ride is cheaper than one gallon of gas. @darryn_briggs says, Suzanne, if ANY car is driven past half tank, it's bad time in my household. Thank you, Lord, for my telecommute gig!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: All right. Remember when the promise of space travel was really exciting, and the images, like the skuttle launches were -- shuttle launches, rather, an iconic part of American history. Maybe as a kid, you even dreamt of going into space or taking a trip to the moon. Well today, that era is coming to an end at least for now. The Discovery space shuttle just made its final trip to the Smithsonian museum. A former astronaut, Mae Gemison, she is joining us now on the phone from Texas. And first of all, great to talk to you. You and I were together on the last shuttle launch to watch that together. It was really quite an amazing experience. You were on Endeavour, and you know what it's like to be inside of one of those space shuttles. Give us a little flavor.
MAE JEMISON, FORMER ASTRONAUT (via telephone): Well, first of all, when you're on the launch pad, it's just sort of like, I'm here, it's time to go, we're ready to do this. And there is an incredible amount of energy that is generated from the people inside. And the ride is surprisingly easy. The shuttle is just a really remarkable space vehicle because of how gentle it was when it ascended. You had about three times your weight against your chest, but that was really very remarkable. And finally, when you get on orbit, of course the sights are incredible.
MALVEAUX: And Mae, what are your feelings? A lot of people say it's very emotional, particularly for astronauts, like yourself, to see this program close.
JEMISON: Well, it's -- you know, it's one of those bittersweet feelings, because this was, again, a remarkable vehicle, someone that you were comfortable with, and it was part of an era where we, as a nation, as a -- you know, as a people became very comfortable with going into space every day. But at the same time, the sweet part of it is we're moving on. So you know, when we look at and we think about the space shuttle, it's sort of how -- where do we go next? We still have people in space, and we're still sending people in space.
But what's happened now is it's growing, it's larger. In fact, I always like to say, you know, when one window closes another door opens, and what I'm doing right now is being part of that. We look around us, we look at commercial space flight being part of it. I, right now, have the pleasure and the privilege of leading a team on a project called 100 Year Starship that was started by DARPA. And we're looking at how, within the next 100 years, we can make sure that humans have the capability to travel outside of our solar system. So, there's lots of things going on right now.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
JEMISON: It's just a matter that we have to sort of reconcile ourselves to, you know, losing an old friend, but an old friend who helped us along the way remarkably.
MALVEAUX: And Mae, what do you -- what do you think of the priorities? Where should the space program be headed? Should we look at a mission to go back to the moon or should we try to invest in going to Mars? What's the most important? JEMISON: I think the most important thing is that we maintain a commitment to pushing the technology. Pushing the technology could be accomplished by going on a moon base, it's not something we can't do. It gives us a permanent presence. And at the same time that we go on to Mars, then that's expanding human presence, which I think it's really important. It's about the depth of the challenge. It's about -- I think in Kennedy's speech he said, it's not -- we do this not because it's easy but because it's hard. Why do you take on a hard task or difficult challenge? It's because you learn so much, you gain so much from doing it. Look around us.
MALVEAUX: Right.
JEMISON: From global positioning satellites, we see everything.
MALVEAUX: Mae Jamison, I always learn a lot from you. Thank you so much for joining us. Good to see you again.
JEMISON: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Here is a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering over the next hour. First, you got just a couple hours to turn your taxes in. That's right. The tax returns, could you take advantage of all of the deductions? We're going to take a look at some of them.
And also, it's the sign of the times why new homes have not had telephone land line access in the future.
And remember this woman, red-headed spy, Anna Chapman. Secret service, prostitution scandal brings to light security vulnerabilities when it comes to using sex for information. Hear more about what agents call operation honey trap.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right, ready or not, taxes due today. About 99 million returns already filed with the IRS so far. So if you don't have an extension, you still have a couple of hours left. Alison Kosik's at the New York Stock Exchange.
Oh, Alison, I understand there's some things that you can get some tax deductions that people might not know about. I just asked if you could -- like Girl Scout cookies or something, if you buy those. Is that -- is that possible?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, no Girl Scout cookies. And you should listen to this because you're yet to file. You've still got a few hours, Suzanne. So, you know, and this is -- hopefully you didn't miss them, so -- because this is really good for you to hear.
MALVEAUX: OK.
KOSIK: These deductions. So here are a few lesser known deductions that you can take on your tax form. Weight loss programs. Did you know you can take a deduction on this? Now this isn't a vanity thing. It's for people whose obesity is a serious threat to their health. Now you have to demonstrate that. This requires as doctor's note. You can't deduct gym memberships or most diet food, but legitimate weight loss programs may be eligible for deduction.
Also, job searchers. If you're on the job hunt right now, you can deduct some of your expenses. The catch here, of course, it can't be a first-time job seeker. And you have to be looking for a job in your current occupation.
Also, higher education. You can take up to $4,000 in tax credits. Plus, you can deduct student loan interest. And, in some cases, tuition and fees can be deducted, but that's a little limited, though, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: I try to deduct everything, but you can't deduct everything. And the gym membership, I guess you just -- it's not going to get away with it. That's just not going to fly.
KOSIK: No, especially for eating the cookie while at the gym, no.
MALVEAUX: Tell me a little bit about the average refund that folks are going to get this year.
KOSIK: The average refund is anywhere from $2,700, but that pretty much is the going rate these days. And what are people doing with it? There's a Capital One survey that show that 33 percent said they plan to spend at least part of their refund. One in four say they plan to save at least part of their refund. And 17 percent say they're going to use the refund to try to pay down some debt, and a whopping 5 percent, they're going to go ahead and invest the money. You know what, approach your nice refund, if you're lucky enough to get one, yes it's a good idea to, you know, see it like it's a bonus. Use it wisely.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: OK, I'll use it wisely. I still got to file my taxes. All right, thank you.
KOSIK: You still do.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Alison. A couple more hours.
All right, land line phone service may soon become a thing of the past. That is because so many of us are moving to wireless. States now responding to the trend, they are passing or considering laws to end the requirement that telephone companies provide everyone the option of a land line. Phone companies say the move is going to increase competition and allow them to invest in newer technology. But some consumer groups, they worry it's going to hurt affordable service especially in rural areas.
Latino voters may be about to flex their political muscle in Arizona. But will they turn the state from red to blue? We're going to take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Four Republicans are facing off today in Arizona in the race to fill former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords's seat. Now the winner is going to go up against Democratic and green party candidates in June. When it comes to the general election in November, Latino voters in Arizona could be a deciding factor in whether the state stays red or turns blue. Full story from Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, ABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to politics, Arizona is as bedrock as Republicanism gets. But this year could be different.
MARQUEZ (on camera): If Latinos get out and vote in Arizona, could they make the critical difference?
BRUCE MERRILL, ARIZONA POLITICAL ANALYST: They could. But they have never voted so far in Arizona. They have not been a factor.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Some leaders of the rapidly growing Latino population here say they will vote, motivate by the fierce debate over immigration.
DEE DEE GARCIA BLASE, NATIONAL TEQUILA PARTY, INDEPENDENT VOTER: I was a Republican for 20 years. I am now a registered independent voter.
MARQUEZ: Dee Dee Garcia Blase severed with the GOP last year.
MARQUEZ (on camera): Are any of the Republican candidates an option right now?
BLASE: Not getting a good feeling.
MARQUEZ: Is Obama an option?
BLASE: I will find out by October. I need the see Obama take a stronger lead on the Dream Act.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The Dream Act. It provides a path to legality for the undocumented who serve in the military or complete a college degree. Twenty-four-year-old Erika Andiola may look and sound like a citizen. She's not.
MARQUEZ (on camera): And you're not here legally.
ERIKA ANDIOLA, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: No. I have been here since I was 11 years old and we came to the country in -- with no status.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): With a degree in psychology from Arizona State University, paid for privately, she is exactly the sort of person the Dream Act would benefit. So strong in her beliefs, she's willing to risk deportation.
ANDIOLA: Many people portray us as illegals, as criminals, as people who don't deserve, you know, to be in this country. But this is who we are. We're normal people who are here (INAUDIBLE).
MARQUEZ: Though she can't vote, she is working to ensure those that can, do. At the CNN sponsored Republican Arizona debate, Andiola was there making her voice heard, urging others to get involved and vote.
Andiola hoped more than 100 would turn up. She got less than 50.
MARQUEZ (on camera): So are Latinos going to come out and vote in big numbers?
DOLORES HUERTA, LATINO LABOR LEADER: Latinos are going to come out and they're going to vote, as they did in 2008, and we're going to make a difference.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): But the political headwinds, very strong. The Mormon church has a large and strong base here. Advantage Romney. And the economy remains weak with 50 percent of homes under water and gas prices rising. Latinos will have to get out the vote with the discipline of an army if they hope to paint Arizona blue.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Phoenix.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Secret Service agents allegedly involved in a prostitution scandal have had their security clearances pulled. Well, later we're going to hear how an expert explains how this kind of thinking caused real danger to the president's security.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: As the investigation begins in the scandal that rocked the Secret Service, 11 members have now had their security clearances yanked. And the investigation now includes several military personnel. They're accused of bringing prostitutes to their hotel in Colombia. And it's not just rookies allegedly involved, also veterans of almost 20 years. Brian Todd, he has been working on a story about the so- called honey trap operations that try to hook vulnerable U.S. agents with beautiful women.
So, Brian, is this really real? Tell us about this.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is real, Suzanne. Intelligence experts have told us that this has been going on for decades, for century really. It's the oldest and maybe the most valuable and reliable way to get intelligence about your adversaries. It's the so called "honey trap" or "honey pot" -- that's the term that they use for using a female or a male to get next to an intelligence agent, to get the most sensitive information from them.
There is concern in this case that this could have happened to these Secret Service agents. We have to stress that this is still under investigation. There's no evidence that they've been blackmailed or compromised in any way yet, but this is still under investigation. And Representative Peter King of the Homeland Security Committee, other intelligence experts, are very concerned that it's a possibility. A possibility that these agents could have been compromised. CNN spoke to a former CIA agent, Robert Baer, about this recently. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA AGENT: You know, the Secret Service stays in a hotel. They keep, for instance, the call signs. They keep their encrypted radios. They keep their routes that the president is going to travel. If I was an assassin, that's precisely where I would want to be. Assassination these days all depends on intelligence. You've got to predict movements and these guys would have it there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, we're told that these agents involved in this particular incident, this alleged incident, were not members of the president's protective detail, that they were assigned other duties.
But experts tell us that doesn't mean they don't have sensitive information about the president, about his movements, about where he's going to be going, about just some events he might be attending, other things like that.
So the so-called honey trap, the use of prostitutes or other people to get close to these people, is something that is a real possibility, and will no doubt be investigated -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Very interesting story. Thank you, Brian.
Brian's going to have a lot more tonight in "THE SITUATION ROOM." He is working on that story for us as well as "THE SITUATION ROOM." And it is a good one.
I want to bring in Ronald Kessler. He's written a book on the Secret Service and is the investigative reporter who broke the story in "The Washington Post."
First of all, you look at what has happened here. If you believe the story that you have 11 people involved and 11 prostitutes, that many people, does this call into question the leadership of the Secret Service?
RONALD KESSLER, INVESTIGATIVE REPORT, THE WASHINGTON POST & AUTHOR: Of course. And it's not just that Sullivan happens to be the director and this terrible thing happened. And the Salahis intrusion, another terrible thing happened. It's that the leadership of Mark Sullivan, the director, has condoned corner cutting, condoned lackness. I document that in my book. With dozens of examples of corner cutting, such as letting people into events without magnetometer screenings, letting passengers onto an airplane without magnetometer screening, that alone should be enough to have him removed.
Yet, you have apologists from the Hill saying, oh, he's such a good guy. You have President Obama sort of glossing over it on Sunday by saying, if these charges are -- allegations in the press are found out to be true, I'll be angry.
Well, it's not allegations in the press. It's the Secret Service that is saying, and told me when I broke the story, that, of course, misconduct was involved.
By the way, on the subject of honey pots, Clayton Lonetree compromised secrets at the American embassy in Moscow. That was because of a honey pot operation, where a very lovely Russian woman, who is referred to intelligence in terms as a swallow, entrapped him. That's why he began spying for the Soviet Union.
MALVEAUX: You say you believe that the head of the Secret Service director should resign or be called to step down. Do you know of anybody who is calling for him to do that?
KESSLER: No. I think it's pretty incredible. If President Bush were president, you can be sure people would be calling for all kinds of resignations. And actually, this director was appointed by President Bush. But you know, if you add up all of these horrible scandals, it's unthinkable that he has not been fired.
MALVEAUX: Let's talk about the culture in the Secret Service. Covering the White House, I dealt with them many times over the course of 10 years. And there were times when clearly there were dangerous situations. And they were right there for the journalists as well as White House staff. There were other times, too, where there were -- security was lax overseas. And there was a breach of security, a stowaway, for instance, that got on one of the White House press planes on one of the trips.
What is the culture in general of the Secret Service? Is this an isolated incident?
KESSLER: It's isolated in the sense that, you know, this business about partying and wild goings on is very overblown. That is not the problem. On a regular basis, these agents are very brave and dedicated as a rule. They will take a bullet for the president. And really, the Secret Service director, Mark Sullivan, has let them down by operating this agency in such a slipshod way.
You hear these people on the Hill, who know nothing about the Secret Service, talking about these parties. The fact is, they are so overworked most of the time, so forced to go into overtime that they barely have time for a life, let alone a party.
MALVEAUX: All right. Ron Kessler, thank you for putting it in perspective. Appreciate it.
KESSLER: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: What happens when you make an anchor angry? Comedian Kathy Griffin finds out the hard way. You know, knowing her, she is laughing about it. We'll have a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Kathy Griffin back in trouble, banned from the "Today" show.
Nischelle Turner is live from L.A. with the details.
You know, she does get in trouble from time to time.
(LAUGHTER)
It's not news. What actually happened this time?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's true, Suzanne. It's not a day without Kathy being banned from somewhere, right?
(LAUGHTER)
But in this case, she says she doesn't know what she did. She said she was out promoting her new talk show and she's telling "USA Today" that she has been banned by the "Today" show.
She says that news reader, Natalie Morales, is behind this. Griffin says she doesn't understand what exactly happened but Morales apparently thought the comedienne was rude to her at a Golden Globes event.
According to the story, this isn't the first time she says she has been banned from NBC's morning show. Almost like a badge of honor for her. She says, at various times, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer banned her. But now she's on good terms with both of them.
Of course, this all could be a publicity stunt, because her new show, "Kathy" debuts Thursday on Bravo at 10:00 p.m. Bravo and NBC are both owned by Comcast.
And Kathy jokes in the article that this is an example of corporate synergy.
(LAUGHTER)
She is joining a very crowded field of TV talk shows on the air right now. So actually, you know, almost any publicity is good publicity.
MALVEAUX: She always gets a lot of publicity, either way.
(LAUGHTER)
Let's talk a little about there are some new talk shows. Lots of Celebs joining on this. What do we know?
TURNER: Kathy's one of a long list, Suzanne. There's a lot of new talk shows this fall. Katie Couric, Steve Harvey, Jeff Probst, they all have new shows coming out. Ricki Lake is returning to the talk show circuit. And reality star, Bethenny Frankel, is getting in the game. All of these guys are joining an already crowded landscape of daytime talk. So it's going to be interesting to see who can get and maintain that audience. But a very different kind of show, a new talk show -- WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, he just kicked off his new talk show, "The World Tomorrow." This is on a state-funded Russian television network. He is working with an English-language satellite news channel on the show. His first guest was the leader of Hezbollah. I doubt if his bookers will be fighting with Kathy Griffin's.
(LAUGHTER)
But you know how it goes.
(LAUGHTER)
Assange is hosting the show from a country estate in Britain while he's under house arrest and fighting extradition to Sweden. It's a different ball game here.
He plans to interview the show's guests via satellite feed or in person, so we'll have to see how his -- but like a lot of people he's getting in the game, too. He wants to have a talk show as well.
MALVEAUX: Nischelle --
TURNER: Sign me up. I want one, too.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: I was going to say, you should have a talk show. You are hilarious. You're funny. I'm going to start the movement.
TURNER: You're part of a mutual admiration society.
(LAUGHTER)
I dig you, Suzanne. So thank you for having me every day.
MALVEAUX: We're going to get this going.
Nischelle, thanks.
For the latest entertainment news, watch "Showbiz Tonight," 11:00 p.m. eastern on HLN.
And would you like fries with your salt? Yes, that's what we're talking about. There's a lot of sodium in fast food but you may be surprised to find out how much compared to the same food in other countries.
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MALVEAUX: She says she has been a newspaper reporter since she was 15. Now at 24, she just won a Pulitzer Prize. Look at this. This is Sarah Ganim, getting the news just yesterday. She and member of "Patriot News" staff in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, they won the local reporting award for their coverage of the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Sarah is also a CNN contributor and is joining us from Harrisburg.
Sarah, we're happy for you. We're very proud of you. Kind of feel like we're part of this here. You were one of the youngest Pulitzer winners ever.
SARAH GANIM, REPORTER, PATRIOT NEWS & PULITZER PRIZE WINNER: Yes, actually, I was really excited to hear that the two that were younger than me, at 22 and 23, were both also women. So that's exciting.
MALVEAUX: There you go. A great club. Were you surprised?
GANIM: Yes. Actually, I was. All day long, it was a pretty tense day.
There were some really great other entries in our category, one in particular that I have to mention is a paper in Maine, a weekly, that broke this story about low-income housing. They have three people on their entire staff, a reporter, a photographer and an editor. That was incredible.
MALVEAUX: Very gracious to mention your competitors there.
You have been amazing on reporting on the Sandusky scandal. It has put this story on the national radar here. And you talk about it, at some point. Do you have mixed emotions about it because it is such a difficult and a painful story for that community?
GANIM: Absolutely. Yesterday was bittersweet for that reason. But you know, as I was talking to people and people were asking me my most memorable moments and all of those questions. I was thinking about it, and there's a couple of things that stand out. At some point, in that first week when the charges were filed, one of the psychologists for one of the alleged victims told me that he felt it was all worth it, even though the media swarm around his house -- there were people breaking into his mom's car, leaving their cards inside their vehicle, knocking on their door at all hours of the night. But he felt it was worth it because it opened up a conversation nationally. And people who had been keeping sex abuse a secret for a very long time were coming forward and talking about it for the first time. That was one of the very first moments that I really felt like, you know, this is a story that needed to be told.
MALVEAUX: Sarah, why is it -- because you are really one of the very few people -- I mean this was your story. You had this story. But it didn't really catch fire for a while. And you had been reporting on this.
Tell us about that moment where it broke and you realized that this was something that a lot of people were going to start paying attention to.
GANIM: Well, obviously, when the charges were filed, it kind of ballooned into this huge event. And I think also that took off again, a second wind, when Joe Paterno was fired. He was such a figure in the state. I was telling some other reporters not long ago that, even to us at the "Patriot News," who have maybe known the most about this story, other than the investigators, that was the unthinkable. We never considered that would happen up until the moment that it actually happened. And so, that's when that really exploded into a huge story.
And I think it's a big credit that to local reporters that we had sources in that community and we kind of knew where to go to be able to keep a step ahead and not just react to the news that was unfolding so fast.
MALVEAUX: Sarah, you're an excellent reporter. We saw you right away. We snagged you real quick to be a CNN contributor. You have done an excellent job. We're going to be turning to you for the latest on that news.
Thank you so much, Sarah, and congratulations.
GANIM: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: To medical news. A new parenting study found that if mom is depressed, she is more likely to wake her baby up in the middle of the night even if the baby is fine. Experts say, if it happens occasionally, it's not a problem. But if it happens often, it can lead to developmental issues. It can be a cycle because the more sleep mom loses, the more likely she is to feel depressed.
Also a study on obesity points to home life. Researchers found that when young girls live 18 stressful home where violence, depression or other disruptions are common, they are more likely to become obese by age 5 compared to children in more stable homes. The study goes on to say that when preschool girls witness a couple of bad events at once, they have a higher risk of becoming obese. The study did not find the same patterns in boys. Researchers suspect that's because boys may cope by being more physically active.
Don't need a study to tell you there is a lot of salt in fast food. Did you know that American fast food tends to have much more sodium than the exact same fast food sold in other countries? That's according to a new study published this week. It looked at nutritional information for 2,000 items sold by the world's six largest fast-food chains. That's Burger Ding, Domino's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Subway. Companies worry that reducing salt is going to make their products less competitive.
A 6-year-old handcuffed, hauled off to the police station. Pretty shocking. But teachers say they could not control her. Police say they did the right thing. Hear what this little girl's family says, up next.
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MALVEAUX: A 6-year-old girl gets handcuffed and hauled of to the police station. It happened in a city about 60 miles southeast of Atlanta. Police tell us they were called to Creekside Elementary School last Friday and told that Salecia Johnson had assaulted a teacher and damaged property. The police chief said the child was so combative they had to restrain her with handcuffs for her own safety and for the safety of the officer involved. He also said police tried to get in touch with both of her parents but could not.
Police say the little girl was never placed in a holding facility but was in the squad room.
Still, her mom and aunt say it should have never happened in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONSTANCE RUFF, SALECIA'S MOTHER: She has mood swings. I guess it was just one of her bad days that day.
CANDACE RUFF, SALECIA'S AUNT: She may have misbehaved, but I don't think she misbehaved to the point where she could have been handcuffed and taken out to the police department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The police chief says his officers did the right thing. He says, quote, "People should understand, when we transport detainees, they are handcuffed for safety reasons, for the safety of the detainee and officer. When a person is put in handcuff, it's for safety. It's not a punishment."
We reached out to the school for comment but the principal has not returned our phone calls.
You guys had a lot to say about this case.
@princekinggreen tweeted, "What? Shut up. Suzanne, please, tell me this is some sort of a joke. Police are handcuffing 6-year-olds."
Deryldoucette tweets, "I think police and handcuffs is an effective deterrent against future problems. Kids scared now, stop and think later."
KiramMohanty says, "This could leave a traumatic experience in the child's brain which will eventually lead to more difficult personality."
Truthwatcher says, "I've seen out of control 6-year-olds. Although it sounds extreme, the behavior may have warranted the action."
We have more comments sent from Facebook.
Tanya Peterson Moore writes, "I work with mental health and I can tell you, it's not the first time law enforcement has been called to a school to help out with an aggressive child. And I have seen 5 and 6- year-olds get very aggressive sometimes. You've got to do what's need to protect the safety of the child and others."
And finally, Donna Affronti Comparone writes, "A 6-year-old arrested for assault? Are you people nuts? If you people cannot handle a 6-year-old child, you have no business being an educator. I don't care that the child had a tantrum. Deal with it."
Thank you for your comments.
It's a bird? A plane? Venus? A pilot goes into a dive because he thinks a planet is an oncoming plane. We'll explain, up next.
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MALVEAUX: All right, this story is almost unbelievable. A pilot woke up from a nap so disoriented that he thought Venus, the planet, was an oncoming plane. To make things worse, he sent the jumbo jet into a violent dive.
Lisa Sylvester joins us from Washington.
Lisa, you're following this story. Explain to us how this even happened.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, this Air Canada flight was in route from Toronto to Zurich, Switzerland, and it was about halfway across the Atlantic when all of this happened. The first officer had requested a controlled rest. That's a short nap during the flight. It is something that's allowed but it's only supposed to be for a maximum of about 40 minutes long. This pilot slept about 75 minutes so he was in a deeper sleep and disoriented. The captain mentioned there was a U.S. military plane in the vicinity, so the pilot is a little out of it. He looks out, sees the planet Venues and he thinks it's the other plane. And it's headed straight towards him. He rams the control stick forward, the plane rapidly descends. And passengers in the back, they are sleeping at the time and, suddenly, though, they see the plane starts bouncing around. Passengers are thrown out of their seats
And here's how one described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUISA PICKERING, AIR CANADA PASSENGER: I was literally violently thrown out of my seat and hit the ceiling. I was in a window seat and so I hit the top of the ceiling and fell back to the ground. After that, it was kind of chaos.
I talked to some of the passengers afterwards. We felt we might have hit something. It was that violent of a push, I guess. It felt is like we hit a mountain or another object.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: We have some YouTube video that we can show you. You can see that some of the plane's ceiling panels were knocked down. The flight was able to continue on and landed safety. 10 passengers and two flight attendants had minor injuries.
This incident, Suzanne, happened back in January of 2011. The airline initially blamed turbulence, but it was only after the release of the report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada this week that we found out what really happened.
And this incident is raising all kinds of issues of pilot fatigue as well as whether or not there should have been three cockpits.
MALVEAUX: Lisa, Air Canada what are they saying about this?
SYLVESTER: Air Canada says they've taken action. They're study the report that came out to see if additional steps should be taken.
We have a statement there, quote, "We sincerely regret what some of our customers were injured and we have taken measures to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of event and improve safety overall."
You're right, Suzanne, it's a bizarre thing, but it happened. The pilot is still on the job. But they are taking a look to see if any changes need to be made -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: All right. Lisa Sylvester, good to see you.
Thank you so much.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Brooke Baldwin.
Hey, Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Suzanne. Thank you.
