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Parents' Plea for Daughter's Return; Charles Taylor Guilty of War Crimes; Courting The Young And Restless; Past Secret Service Misconduct; Men In Tights Debate Immigration; Plan To Save Postal Service Passes Senate; Pilates Keeps Boomer In Shape
Aired April 26, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta where it's 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
I want to get you up to speed for this Thursday, April 26th.
First on CNN, a government official today acknowledged past misconduct by past Secret Service agents. But he was also quick to defend the government's internal review process. The admission follows the scandal over agents hiring prostitutes in Colombia. There's also a new report of agents behaving badly in El Salvador.
Seattle TV station KIRO cites an unnamed contractor who worked with a Secret Service advance team last year. He said about a dozen acts partied with strippers at a club and most paid for sexual favors.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MALVEAUX: This is Hama in northwest Syria. Witnesses at least 70 people died, many of them children, when the Syrian army launched rockets into this residential neighborhood. It may be the single deadliest incident in more than a year of the fighting there.
Now, the Syrian government tells a different story, that terrorists accidentally set off a bomb when they were building.
Right now in North Carolina, attorneys for one-time presidential candidate John Edwards are grilling his former campaign aide, Andrew Young. Young is expected to be cross-examined all day, and Edwards is accused ever illegally using a million dollars in campaign cash to hide a sexual affair.
New details about Gorge Zimmerman's gun. Many have wondered why the neighborhood watch captain who shot Trayvon Martin was even carrying a weapon. Well, new report says that Zimmerman bought the gun because a neighbor's pit bull had been on the loose. "Reuters" reports an officer told Zimmerman to get a gun instead of using pepper spray on the dog.
Stunning admission today from media magnate Rupert Murdoch. Now, the News Corp chief is being questioned for a second day about his role in a phone hacking scandal that has rocked his media empire.
Today, he told a British judicial panel there was a cover-up at this British tabloid, that is "News of the World." Murdoch denied responsibility but he apologized, saying that he wasn't paying more attention to the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUPERT MURDOCH, NEWS CORP CEO: I have to admit that some newspapers are closer to my heart than others, but I also have to say that I failed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Hold onto your seats. This one, amazing, an airplane landing that you're going to will remember for a long time. Take a look at this. Serious cross winds in northern Spain. The landing a little bumpy there, you can see, but given the conditions, the pilot definitely earning his wings there. Wow.
A tearful plea from the parents of a missing Arizona girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY CELIS, ISABEL'S MOTHER: We are here today to plea for a safe return of our baby girl Isabel.
SERGIO CELIS, ISABEL'S MOTHER: We're looking for you Isa. We love you, and we miss you so much, and we will never give up. We will never give up looking for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: It is heartbreaking. Isabel Mercedes Celis disappeared from her room last weekend. Her parents say they woke up Saturday morning to find the 6-year-old wasn't in the house. Police have been looking for her. So far, they have not turned up anything. They're scaling back the search now. They're not treating it as a missing child.
I want to bring in Marc Klaas. His own child, Polly, was abducted and killed almost two decades ago. He's joining us via Skype from College Station, Texas.
First of all, it is good to see you. I'm glad you're here with us.
When you hear about this situation with Isabel, it must break your heart.
MARC KLAAS, CHILD ADVOCATE: Well, it does break my heart because so many times over the years I have seen this exact same situation play out on the news. You'll see a parent pleading for their daughter's safe return, not understanding that there are no real terms about this, that the term was that the child is the thing that was wanted in the first place.
MALVEAUX: Can you explain this, Marc, because we know that your own daughter was taken from the slumber party at your wife's home, and this looks like a case where perhaps their daughter was taken from the home. How does -- how does something like that happen when you have someone who is able to actually get into your own house?
KLAAS: Well, this is such a high-risk situation, and I think it's a huge public safety issue when we can't feel safe in the sanctity of our own homes, and that's why it's incumbent on the local authorities not to scale back this investigation, but to push forward and keep increasing on the task force until they get to the bottom of it. I don't for one minute believe this was a staged situation. I think somebody came in and took this little girl.
MALVEAUX: The fact that they have scaled back on this investigation -- on the search here, what does that say to you, Marc, about what they suspect? What does this mean?
KLAAS: I don't really know what it means. It almost sounds like they're trying to point fingers at the parents. But I have to remind people that even in Polly's case where they had witnesses, for the first two weeks the authorities were convinced Polly had run away and that her girlfriends were covering up for her. And I think maybe they try to overanalyze these things.
This looks like a situation where somebody broke into this bedroom and took this little girl, and I think that needs to be the high priority here, is investigating that possible scenario as, of course, they do look at the other possibilities.
MALVEAUX: Marc, having been through this situation yourself, what do you think Isabel's parents should do at this point?
You must understand what it is that they are going through.
KLAAS: Sure. I know that her mother said that they don't want to distract from her disappearance by appearing in front of cameras, but I think they need to do that. I think that they need to sit and talk to the police whenever they want. They need to be completely cooperative. They have to go and do absolutely every interview that is asked of them.
And I know that can be incredibly difficult. It was incredibly difficult for me. But nobody can paint as good a portrait of this little girl as the parents and as long as the public is fully invested in her safe return, it's going to be more and more difficult for law enforcement to pull back resources, which is exactly what law enforcement seems to want to do right now.
MALVEAUX: And, Marc, you have dedicated your life essentially to helping these kinds of situations, these families looking for missing kids and the Klaas Kids Foundation. What is the most important thing right now?
KLAAS: Well, the most important thing is not to give up hope. I mean, the parents have to stay invested in the fact that she's going to come home alive, and I think that that is inherently what's going to happen.
But people have to understand that something terrible has happened. That somebody really bad is out there committing crimes against little children and breaking into people's homes to do it. There's a frenzy about that and we can't allow that to continue.
We have to feel safe in our homes, and the only way that can occur is if we bring in the monster that committed the crime against -- whatever crime they committed against this young girl.
MALVEAUX: Marc Klaas, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time and your perspective -- and again your own personal story. Thank you, Marc.
KLAAS: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Here is a run down on some of the stories we are covering.
First, the diamond ring on your finger could have cost someone their life in West Africa. We're going to tell you why.
And then young people, they loved him in 2008.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good to see you. How are you doing? Good to see you. Absolutely. Glad to be here. How are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The 20-somethings, are they going to love him again in 2012? How the candidates are going after young voters.
And then as the Arizona immigration debate takes out in the Supreme Court, two wrestlers are taking the fight to the mat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Some people might say R.J. Brewer is a racist. He's anti-Latino.
R.J. BREWER, WRESTLER: Yes, I've heard that countless times. I've heard I'm a racist, I'm a bigot, I'm against the Mexican people. But I'm not, you know? I'm simply a proud American who wants our border secured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: How the immigration debate is being fought in a wrestling ring.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: If you're wearing a diamond, take a close look at it. Do you know that West Africans were used as slaves just so that you might be able to wear that diamond? The man accused of using so- called "blood diamonds" to finance a war was found guilty today.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor could face prison time for helping rebels during a civil war in Sierra Leone. More than 50,000 people were killed during this 10-year war.
Michael Holmes, he's joining us live here.
Michael, explain to us, if you will, because this is a very significant development -- the fact that this leader is being held accountable for these kinds of crimes.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Well, it's the first time that is a leader has actually gone to trial in this sort of case since the Nuremberg trials. So, it's a historic moment as well. The U.S. has a link with Liberia, of course. It was founded in 1822 by freed U.S. slaves.
The U.S. also was one of the first when the war was going on in Sierra Leone. It was Bill Clinton issued an executive order in 2001 to ban the export of diamonds from Sierra Leone. They were called blood diamonds. Remember the movie with --
MALVEAUX: Right, sure.
HOLMES: Yes. And so the U.N. followed that up with sanctions. Why? Because Charles Taylor was using the diamonds that were being mined illegally in Sierra Leone, selling them internationally to fund the rebel group that was at the forefront and the front line of the civil war that killed so many people.
This was a brutal butchering civil war. People had their arms cut off, hands cut off. The bad guys would go around, ask people, do you want long sleeves or short sleeves? Short sleeves meant they cut your arm off at the elbow. Short sleeves at the wrist.
MALVEAUX: Unbelievable.
HOLMES: It was a brutal, brutal civil war, yes.
MALVEAUX: And when Americans look at this and they realize that he's being held accountable. What can they take away from this? Because some people think this is very far removed from our lives today here.
HOLMES: Yes, well, this is one of the world's baddest of bad guys, who is now going to go to jail. He will go to jail. And, you know, people think -- hope for the rest of his life.
There's some satisfaction for the International Criminal Court that they're finally starting to get convictions on some of these horrendous people in the world. There's a long list of other that is are still on the wanted list, too, by the ICC, including some sitting leaders, the leader of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, he's wanted by the court as well.
MALVEAUX: I wonder if that's actually a signal to other leaders, these brutal dictators this, could be the outcome. This is your future as well.
HOLMES: And you're seeing more and more of that over the last few years, last couple years really. Moammar Gadhafi, too, and Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, his son, wanted by the International Criminal Court. Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast -- all these guys are on the list. And they are now a bit worried now.
The thing is you got to catch them. And one of the things is that there are nations who signed on to the Rome Convention which is the thing that governs the ICC.
MALVEAUX: Right.
HOLMES: And you've got to be a signatory to the Rome Convention to have these guys arrested. Otherwise, they just -- Omar al-Bashir is sitting pretty in Sudan still.
MALVEAUX: Right. Still asking, calling for his resignation.
HOLMES: Yes, that was a six-year trial. It took a long time.
MALVEAUX: Yes, Michael, thank you so much.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.
One of my producers fled Liberia during the brutal civil war we're talking about. She's going to join us live to tell us why Charles Taylor, this trial, really means -- what it means to the people of West Africa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're talking a lot today about blood diamonds and whether the diamond on your finger was used to finance the brutal war in the West African country of Sierra Leone. Now, the former president of the neighboring country, Liberia, was found guilty of war crimes linked to blood diamonds.
Our Brenda Bush is from Liberia. And Brenda is a producer on our team. Tell us a little bit about what you are hearing from people in your home country of Liberia. What is the reaction to this?
BRENDA BUSH, CNN PRODUCER: Suzanne, this morning when the verdict came down, my phone started ringing like crazy right away, and, you know, a lot of excitement. You know, guilty, guilty, guilty, that's what people were saying.
Then I started getting text messages. You should see the sun, it's shining so bright. There's a rainbow around the town. Oh my God.
You know, because Liberian people were feeling this was a sign from God. That he's on our side. This is what they were telling me.
So, I get to my daughter's Facebook, her blog, and there was a picture of the sun with this rainbow. This is actually on my daughter's blog. It was sent to her from an American in Liberia, Matt Jones.
So, Matt said we could use this picture. Thank you, Matt.
But the thing is Liberians love Charles Taylor, many still do. This is what people -- it seems crazy --
MALVEAUX: It does seem crazy.
BUSH: Yes, but he has so much support still. He's loved and hated in Liberia today because people think, you know, this man was -- he won an election. He was already a warlord when he become -- when he won the presidential election, and the slogan was he killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will still vote for you.
People are thinking how can you vote for somebody like this?
MALVEAUX: Why? Why is that the case?
BUSH: Well, some felt there wouldn't be peace if he didn't win the presidency. Others just love him. He has this mythical sort of reputation.
But we have some sound from people in Monrovia talking about the verdict. I want to roll some of that. Can we play it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I want him to come back? Yes. I would be happy. I don't have (INAUDIBLE) my duty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did not chop up people's arms in our war. Liberians are not wicked enough to chop up people's arms. So we expect that our war crimes court, the court of Liberia, will come to try people from Sierra Leone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Explain to that, Brenda, what we're hearing from folks there.
BUSH: Well, you know, he -- the person you just heard her talking about the hacking of the limbs, that's what many people remember about Charles Taylor and his rebels in Sierra Leone, where he's been convicted today of atrocities. He was known for -- the rebels were known, not himself, but the rebels were known to have asked people, women, children, all, you want short sleeve or long sleeve, meaning we cut off your arm here for long sleeve, up here for short sleeve and people had to say.
Children, babies, women, men, all of these people were, you know, so many Sierra Leoneans were subjects to this sort of atrocity.
MALVEAUX: I can see the emotion in your eyes as you describe it. And your daughter is back in Liberia now. How has it changed?
BUSH: You know, my daughter blogged today that -- she said "All hail, Liberia, hail," that was her blog. And she talked about when the war ended, my father immediately sent all of us back to Liberia. He wanted us to know this country.
One year after the war ended, we were back there in Liberia. I think there's so much hope now that I saw through my daughter's eyes.
But, Suzanne, I want to say one thing about this -- the hero of this who I feel nobody -- doesn't get recognition is George W. Bush. He was the one who ordered Charles Taylor out of Liberia. Nobody really talks about the fact that George W. Bush and America played such a big role in bringing peace to Liberia.
I don't say that because I'm Bush. We're not related. This man --
MALVEAUX: Brenda Bush.
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH: Yes. We have the same name but no -- he's not a distant cousin, but I think George W. Bush is probably sitting somewhere in Texas today smiling because, look, this day couldn't have happened had he not said, look, I have got some U.S. troops ready to move you out if you don't get out of the country.
So, you know? And now, of course, you know I have been back. My daughter is there.
MALVEAUX: It is amazing to see.
When you went back and you were back there just a couple weeks ago, what did you see? What can we take away from where you were and what you actually experienced as a part of that country, being there?
BUSH: I think what I saw this time is that Liberians are ready to move ahead. They're ready to -- they're embracing life again. They expect good things. They expect -- you know, they're putting the war behind and Liberians are looking forward to the future and very optimistic. So many Liberians are optimistic and many Liberian Americans -- the young people like my daughter moving back.
I met so many young people my age who have moved back to Liberia. They see hope, they see a future there, and they're there ready to help rebuild this country. So this is another step in that direction.
MALVEAUX: And, Brenda, tell me a little bit about the children because when you came back and you put together just a beautiful, very telling, very moving piece about what you actually saw there -- the faces of the children and how that compared to when you had to flee the country.
BUSH: Yes. In Liberia and in Sierra Leone, there were child soldiers, children were forced to fight in the wars. They were taught to kill. They were made to kill. They witnessed family members being killed.
We had child soldiers in that war. It was -- it was the most horrible part about our history, I think, is the fact that our children were forced to commit horrific acts, real atrocities.
And in Liberia, I turned a corner and saw children dancing, and that day I realized myself, my husband, we realized that Liberia had turned a corner. I turned a corner. I realized my country had turned a corner, and this was a very moving moment for me because I saw Liberian children had their childhoods back, and I don't think I'll ever forget that.
MALVEAUX: And I can just see the passion in your eyes, Brenda. I mean, you're on the verge of tears. It's just wonderful.
BUSH: Wonderful.
MALVEAUX: I'm so glad you're here and part of our team.
BUSH: Thank you for having me on to tell this story. Liberians want the good news out.
MALVEAUX: And it is good news.
BUSH: It is, it is.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Brenda.
We're going to check out the latest issue of "Rolling Stone." President Obama is on the cover. It's one way to get the young vote. So, find out how Mitt Romney is doing, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here is a rundown of some of the stories we're working on next.
"Rolling Stone" sits down with President Obama. It turns out he loves "The Daily Show."
And a new report claims that Secret Service agents are involved in a second sex scandal.
And later, meet baby boomers who are trying to stretch the years ahead of them with Pilates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to stay working and productive and have fun while I'm doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Why some older Americans are turning to the latest fitness fad.
President Obama starting it up. He's getting ready to officially kick off his re-election campaign next week with rallies in Ohio and Virginia. But in reality, the race between Obama and Romney is already under way.
A little Rolling Stones music to start up our political roundtable. Obama is on the cover of "Rolling Stone" and he tries to make his case for a second term. We're going to show you that in just a minute.
But, first, want to bring in our political panel, Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons and Republican strategist Ana Navarro.
So, great to see you both here.
This week you had him on Jimmy Fallon. You had the slow-jamming news. Now, he's on the cover of "Rolling Stone."
Do we they think, Jamal, that this is what it takes to get the young people fired up like we saw in 2008 to get them to polling, to get them to actually to vote this go round?
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think it take twos things. First of all, they're trying to just reignite the connection between the president and young people. That's what these articles and showing up on Jimmy Kimmel or all those things -- or Jimmy Fallon, that's how that works.
But then you've go t to talk to young people about the issues they care about. That's why he spent the week talking about student loan interest rates because it's not just a feel good, let's all hang out kind of a thing. It's a real life economic issue that so many young people whether they're in school or the ones just out of school or some of them who are kind of further beyond school like some of us are still paying their student loans and they need to have money.
MALVEAUX: Ana, what do you think? I mean, that's pretty smart. "Rolling Stone," cover of "Rolling Stone," you've got a lot of buzz that's being generated right now around President Obama.
ANN NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it's a smart move, but I don't think it's going to be enough. Obama really counted on the youth vote and the turnout in '08. It was a huge part of him having the magic formula to get to the White House. And so, if he doesn't get the same numbers, it's a real problem for him.
And the youth vote is hurting tremendously. The young people are unemployed. You know, one out of every two young people right now is unemployed or underemployed, three out of 10 are living back home with their parents.
And it's hard to, you know, for these kids who bought into hope and change to stay hopeful while they're in their pajamas in their parents' basement. So I think he's going to have a hard time with it.
MALVEAUX: Jamal, Ana paints a pretty bleak picture there. I remember covering, you know, 2008. Really, what was fascinating and you could tell when his campaign caught fire, was when he hit those young voters, the college kids. They started coming out in droves. You could fairly say that they dropped the ball when he went into the White House and all of that enthusiasm, even the e-mail and the texting and all of that, they didn't take advantage of that when they moved into the White House.
How does he get those folks back?
SIMMONS: Well, yes, I would say the campaign apparatus probably didn't take as much advantage of it as it should have or the DNC, or whatever organization it was. They didn't take as much advantage as they should have.
For young people though, to get back to Ana's point and yours, they're not just sitting in pajamas on their parents' couches. I mean, I think, we see this generation as one of the biggest generations of volunteers. They are very involved in their communities. They really care a lot about what's going on.
They maybe get a little disillusioned by politics right now but they're still involved and engaged. And they're still looking for work.
And the president has also done something for them, because he's been able to -- for all those folks who are having trouble getting back into the economy, they can stay on their parents' health care until they're 26 years old. That wouldn't have happened if John McCain was president. It does happen now.
So, I think the president does have some arrows to fire out of his quiver with young people.
MALVEAUX: Yes, and we have to give a little shout out to the young folks. I don't think they're all in their pajamas hanging out eating chips --
NAVARRO: But seriously speaking, it's been a very tough three years for young people. I mean, you have got only 54 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds right now have a job.
That's the highest unemployment rate since government has been keeping a record of unemployment rates. So, you know, it's a real problem, and I think Mitt Romney is going to have to focus on what his campaign message is with young people as well, which is it's still the economy, and we're not stupid.
He's got to hit that because Mitt Romney is never going to out hip or out sing or out dance Barack Obama, and he shouldn't try to. He's not going to be funnier than Barack Obama on "Saturday Night Live" or "Jimmy Fallon."
But at the end of the day we're not electing a comedian in chief, we're electing a commander in chief and somebody to lead us out of the economic doldrums.
SIMMONS: But you know, to get to Ana's point --
MALVEAUX: Go ahead, Jamal, real quick and then I have to get into this Mitt Romney --
SIMMONS: I just want to say the one thing -- you're right, Mitt Romney will never out hip Barack Obama, but what young people have a very good nose for is they can smell somebody who is not authentic. I think whoever Mitt Romney is, he needs to be that person from now until the end of the campaign or young people won't buy what he's selling.
NAVARRO: I agree with you.
MALVEAUX: And maybe there is something that Mitt Romney does have that he can use his secret weapon to appeal to younger voters, his five sons. They were on the campaign trail. He used them to charm a lot of folks and to humanize him a little bit.
I want to play a quick clip here. This is one of Romney's sons prank calling him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT ROMNEY, SON OF MITT ROMNEY: Got to mantle right now he's feeling stressed. It's the day before the Michigan primary. Everyone is saying it's a do or die for him, which I don't know that I totally agree with, but he's got to do well. So let's help him relax a little bit and give him a call from Governor Schwarzenegger.
Gov, it's the governor of California.
MITT ROMNEY: Governor, Mitt Romney, how are you?
MATT ROMNEY: Hi. How are you?
MITT ROMNEY: I'm just fine, Governor. How are you doing today?
MATT ROMNEY: Good. Good. Who is your daddy and what does he do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right, Ana, I mean, that's pretty funny there. Do you think you should put his sons out a little more in front to help him attract young voters?
NAVARRO: I think both these candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, have got great families, and I think they should use their wives and in Mitt Romney's case since he has five adult sons, those five sons should be out there as much as possible because they need to humanize Mitt Romney.
We need to learn more about Mitt Romney. I think Mitt Romney's probably not as comfortable talking about himself and his background and humanizing himself.
So that's why these five kids can come in. If you have raised five sons, they've got a sense of humor, they're young people. You can't be detached from what the young people are feeling today.
MALVEAUX: Jamal, even you chuckled when you saw that.
SIMMONS: Yes, it's funny and it's fun. And I grew up in a house -- I have four brothers, so --
MALVEAUX: God.
SIMMONS: I understand what a house of five boys is like. It's tough.
MALVEAUX: Poor Ann Romney. All right, Jamal, Ana, great to see you guys. Thanks.
More fallouts for the Secret Service. First prostitutes in hotel rooms in Colombia. A new report that has some agents visiting a strip club while in El Salvador before the president arrives. We more details up ahead.
Coming up, Sunday on CNN's "NEXT LIST," redefining radio for the 21st Century. The co-host of the wildly innovative show (inaudible). Here is a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't see a lot of people lining up to reinvent radio. There are very few things about my job that are intuitive to me. The one thing that really is intuitive. It's just working with sound. He invented a new way to think about this broadcast medium. The genius thing is totally trippy.
ROBERT KRULWICH, RADIO HOST, RADIOLAB: He's like the Gershwin of journalism or something. I don't know. Just a very amazing thing.
JAD ABUMRAD, RADIO HOST, RADIOLAB: I think the sound is something like when you're on the edge of a dream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if they want to call that genius, I think that they should.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Lingering question in the Secret Service, prostitution scandal, was it a one-time incident or something more? There is a new report today about agents behaving badly, an admission from a government official of past misconduct by some agents.
White House correspondent Dan Lothian, he is joining us. Hi, Dan. So first of all, you and I traveled with the Secret Service all the time covering the president.
These guys and women, they do a great jock most of the time. What do we know about this one official who says, you know what? Sometimes there's every once in a while someone screws up?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, in admitting there have been missteps in the past and that some employees have engaged in misconduct. This official telling me, quote, "that people make mistakes."
But also this official is noting that given the history of the Secret Service, it's 147 years old, that that's to be expected. I tried to get specifics as to what that misconduct may have been.
This official citing privacy issues would not disclose that information, but said their internal investigation division or the Office of Professional Responsibility dealt with those matters -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Dan, do we know -- what do we know about this other incident, the scandal in El Salvador?
LOTHIAN: That's right. You know, every day there's more news that continues dripping out on, you know, the Secret Service and other federal law enforcement agencies as well.
And this comes from Cairo TV, our affiliate in Seattle alleging that an unnamed official, a government contractor who worked with not only the Secret Service, but also some military officials ahead of the president's visit last year to El Salvador alleges that he was in a club with about a dozen of these agents/
That there was heavy drinking, that some of them did go to a VIP area for sexual favors. This report also implicating embassy employees, U.S. embassy employees, FBI, and also DEA agents.
Now I asked the Secret Service about that and Edwin Donovan said the following, quote, "The recent investigation in Cartagena has generated several news stories that is contain allegations by mostly unnamed sources. Any information brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up on in an appropriate manner" -- Suzanne
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan, thank you. Appreciate it. Appreciate the update. Thanks.
Coming up, the fight over immigration in Arizona spilling over into the world of wrestling. We're going to take you inside the ring for a battle that is just heating up.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Gregg Olsen is a certified financial planner and a partner (inaudible) and Lynette Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com.
Guys, thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it. Greg, first question for you comes from Tom in Ohio. Tom wrote in his pension plan has $200,000 in it, but he has $25,000 in credit card debt. He wants to know if he should use money from his pension to pay off his credit card.
GREG OLSEN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: No.
HARLOW: No.
OLSEN: Because the first thing that's going to happen is he's going to have to pay income tax on whatever he withdraws from his pension planned and he's also going to have to pay a 10 percent penalty depending on what income tax bracket he is in.
He could have to take up to $50,000 out of the pension plan to pay off the $25,000. A much better idea would to switch to the lowest interest rate credit card he could find even if it's an introductory rate. And after that introductory rate is over, 6 to 12 months, switch to the next lowest interest rate you could possibly find.
HARLOW: Good advice. Lynette, your question comes from Jill in New York. She wrote in that she and her husband got a copy of their credit report and it showed three collections. She wants to know how they can pay those off and get them expunged from the report.
LYNNETTE KHALFANI COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: She can certainly pay them off, but just paying them, unfortunately, doesn't mean it automatically gets removed from your credit report.
This is one of the downsides for people who want to pay off debts and do the right thing. The fact is under the law. Negative information like a collection can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.
So simply paying it off won't automatically remove it. You can negotiate. You can reach out to the company you owe and ask whether or not they would agree to delete the information from all three credit reports. There's no guarantee. They may just do it though, but it doesn't automatically happen.
HARLOW: Once it's there, it's there. All right, thank you, guys, very much. We appreciate it. If you have a question you want answered send us an e-mail anytime to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
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MALVEAUX: The Supreme Court justices surprisingly are speaking in favor of parts of Arizona's super tough immigration law. Now, Arizona's crackdown on suspected illegal immigrants was blocked by the federal government. The state is appealing. Now in oral arguments today, the justices hinted that they would support the part of the law that allows police to check the nationality of people they stop for other reasons. In Arizona, opponents of the law marched in Phoenix. Many people believe the law unfairly targets Hispanics. The Supreme Court ruling expected in a few weeks. Arizona's governor is optimistic. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I thought that the hearing went very, very, very well. I feel very confident as I walked out of there that we will get a favorable ruling in late June.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Arizona's immigration fight at center stage at the Supreme Court, right? Well, now, the story line is this hugely popular West Coast wrestling circuit. That is right. It is kind of like art imitating life. Thelma Gutierrez reports from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a warehouse deep in an industrial part of Los Angeles, we're going underground to fight night. This is not your average wrestling match. This is the world of lucha libre. It's a form of wrestling that started in Mexico back in the '30s. Here, masked fighters perform in front of sellout crowds.
On this night, the stakes are high. This fight is about the U.S. immigration debate and the controversy surrounding SB-1070, Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law that is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
As art imitates life, the court battle plays out in the ring. In the one corner, the popular blue demon. A 27-year veteran of lucha libre, and the son of legendary Simonio Asun (ph), a beloved fighter in Mexico.
BLUE DEMON JR., LUCHA LIBRE WRESTLER: I fight for my crowd, for my people. I believe in the free country.
GUTIERREZ: His opponent, RJ Brewer, takes on the character of Jan Brewer's son, the Arizona governor who signed SB-1070 into law two years ago.
RJ BREWER, LUCHA LIBRE WRESTLER: When they see somebody like me coming out and saying, hey, you don't belong here, show me that you do, you know, they take offense to it.
GUTIERREZ: The insults fly fast and furious, just as the wrestlers, sending the crowd into a frenzy. I met with both wrestlers before the match.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Have you guys struck a raw nerve?
BREWER: What I say is truth and what I say is what I feel. I think it hits home for a lot of these fans, because we're wrestling in front of 99.9 percent Latino fans.
GUTIERREZ: Is this something that you talk about all the time?
BLUE DEMON JR.: No, I talk in the ring. I talk in the ring in my style, in my Mexican style, in my wrestling, in my lucha libre. I don't need talk with him.
GUTIERREZ: Some people might say, RJ Brewer is a racist. He's anti-Latino.
BREWER: Yes, I've heard that countless times. I've heard I'm a racist, I'm a bigot, I'm against the Mexican people. But I'm not, you know. I'm simply a proud American who wants our borders secured.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Is it all shtick (ph)? Brewer and the Blue Demon assured me they fully believe in what they're fighting for. And gauging from the crowd, they have struck a nerve with their politics, which makes this tour hugely profitable. As opponents go, RJ says he's the perfect bad guy for the popular masked Blue Demon, undefeated again tonight.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: All right, do you enjoy getting your mail on the weekends? Well, you're going to actually continue to do so for the next two years. We're going to tell you how the Senate stepped in to save the struggling postal service.
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MALVEAUX: Thousands of postal workers around the country are breathing a little sigh of relief today after the Senate passed a plan to save the U.S. Postal Service, as well as their jobs. The battle not yet over, however. Alison Kosik joins us from New York.
Alison, my grandfather, he used to work for the post office. It's a good job. We know the House hasn't voted on this yet, but the Senate plan essentially is going to help people get back on their feet?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're talking about the post office. And, yes, this bill, Suzanne, it will help the post office. But critics say the problem with this bill is that it just doesn't go far enough because what the bill winds up doing is making it hard for the USPS to make the cuts that it needs in the first place to save itself.
So let me give you the big example here. The postal service says it wants to close almost 4,000 locations. And the Senate bill says, OK, go ahead and close them, but we're going to put restrictions on really whether or not you can close them. Meaning, the postal service first has to prove that these closures are justified with running through lots of studies and public comments.
But the thing is, the postal service already looked at these closures. They've been looking at them since last year. They found out that these places are bringing in less than $50 a day. And Republican Congressman Darrell Issa said, you know what, if we keep studying this thing, it's going to mean more and more delays. It's going to cost millions of dollars more. All right, so also what this bill does, it caps executive pay. It authorizes worker buyouts. But it doesn't allow the post office to actually cut that Saturday service that we all rely on. It doesn't allow that cut in service for a few years, saying that really would only be a last resort.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Do we know, Alison, how much time the post office has before it just runs out of money?
KOSIK: And that's a good question. But you look at what's going on here, it's already in such bad shape that it's borrowing money from the government. $12 billion so far. The Senate bill lets the postal service borrow even more money if it needs to. And, if you ask me, I think it needs to.
You look at the USPS, it's literally bleeding money here. It's lost $5 billion just last year. It hasn't turned a profit in six years. And now the USPS is kind of caught between a rock and a hard place though. You know, give it some credit here. It needs to make cuts. But the problem with the way the USPS gets its approval -- approval process goes, they have to go through Congress first. So the USPS can't run itself like a business wood because it's tied up in all those -- all that politics. So you can't really see it just like a business, any old business, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And, Alison, I know a lot of people, they look forward to getting their mail on Saturday. Weekend is really important for a lot of folks. And they're going to be able to get their mail for at least, what, on the weekends, another couple years, right? That --
KOSIK: Right. Another couple of years. It shows you just how much we rely on our mail, getting it on Saturday, that the Senate bill did put a stipulation in that that is only a last resort, that the Saturday service would go away.
MALVEAUX: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks. Appreciate it.
KOSIK: Sure.
MALVEAUX: Baby boomers turn to machines to keep them fit. That is pilates machines. You're going to hear one woman's story of how this exercise kept her medical bills down.
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MALVEAUX: They are the children of the post war boom. Baby boomers born from 1946 to the early '60s have had a huge impact on society, right? Well, all this week our series "Age Against The Machine" looks at this amazing generation. Today baby boomers are the first generation to really take exercise seriously. I want you to meet a 50-something who's turned to a form called pilates to keep her out of the doctor's office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flipping through a pile of bills, Marianne Haggerty says she's paying a lot for her health now that she's in here 50s.
ENDO (on camera): We're looking at a lot of medical bills here.
MARIANNE HAGGERTY, BABY BOOMER: Correct. Physical therapy. Surgery. A whole variety of different assessments. X-rays.
ENDO (voice-over): After surgeries to her knee and foot, she decided to work on preventative measures to get stronger.
HAGGERTY: I want to stay working and productive and have fun while I'm doing it.
ENDO: So three years ago she turned to pilates, a fitness fad which is low impact but strengthens muscles using resistance. And like Haggerty, many baby boomers are focusing on ways to stay healthy and agile to promote longevity.
HAGGERTY: I've saved at least a shoulder rotator cuff operation because of the specific pilates exercises that we do. I don't have the neck problems that I might have based on my job. I was able to prevent the other foot from becoming a claw toe foot.
TIMEA PRESLEY, PILATES INSTRUCTOR: Arms just a little bit in front of you.
ENDO: Her instructor says the pilates classes specifically for aging clients are the most popular because of the benefits clients see in their everyday life.
PRESLEY: Often mobility becomes an issue because if you don't use your body, it becomes a little stiffer, and that again leads to injuries and that is being prevented here.
ENDO: Health and fitness experts say these days there are a number of fitness classes, like cross fit, yoga, and boot camp that all work the body's base.
VANESSA HAILES, CERTIFIED FITNESS TRAINER: Working your core allows you to keep your spine in alignment, keeps you in better posture for the duration of your workout, and prevents injury.
ENDO: Haggerty says her mind and body has improved because she's proactively working to stay strong.
HAGGERTY: So I hope when people think about baby boomers, they think about health, vibrancy, productivity, being engaged. We're taking care of ourselves.
ENDO: Because, Haggerty says, as a baby boomer, she wants to stretch the years ahead of her to the fullest.
Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)