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Obama Meets with Japanese Prime Minister; U.S. Military Going Undercover with New Secret Branch; 20 Years Since L.A. Riots; Romney Speaks about Small Business

Aired April 30, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you Carol Costello, nice to see you. And hello everyone, I'm Ashleigh Banfield, filling in for Kyra. And it is 11:00 o'clock on the East Coast, means it's 8:00 A.M. on the west. We've got a very busy hour ahead, so let's get right to it.

Take a good, long look at your screen, because that's what it's going to look like for the next six months, pretty much.

President Obama on one side, Mitt Romney on the other, and it's campaign mode, folks, the president is speaking to the construction union workers union in Washington. His presumed Republican challenger is about to speak at the Portsmouth fish pier in New Hampshire. And you know what? Cameras are on both.

For Mitt Romney, this is one more chance to audition a potential running mate and my colleague, Jim Acosta, is watching from Washington. It looks like candidate number three will be under the Klieg lights today.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Let the auditioning begin, Ashleigh.

Kelly Ayotte - and let's make sure we pronounce her name correctly - Kelly Ayotte, the new freshman senator from the state of New Hampshire, will be appearing with Mitt Romney in Portsmouth in just a few minutes from now.

And this is very interesting because let's just face it. This is part of the veep-stakes. She's one of the potential running mates out there that the Romney campaign will be taking a good long hard look at.

As we know, that vetting process, that selection process, is just getting underway. And there's a lot to be said for Kelly Ayotte and why she's being considered right now.

Ashleigh, keep in mind she has a lot of tea party support up in New Hampshire. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin. She also has sort of a tough-on-crime background. She was the attorney general in her state.

She is also anti-abortion rights, so she has that pro-life box checked that a lot of Republicans will be looking at as they go about selecting a running mate and so there's a lot of upsides here. I actually had a chance to se her speak in front of one of those rubber chicken dinners here in Washington, D.C. She's pretty engaging in front of a podium, in front of a crowd.

So, you know, I think you're going to see Kelly Ayotte do pretty well out there this morning in Portsmouth, even though a lot of people across the country don't really know who she is at this point.

She's not the big superstar that Marco Rubio is or Paul Ryan is in conservative circles.

And this is a good chance for Kelly Ayotte to introduce herself to the American people which is, I think, a little bit a part of why she's out there today, as well.

Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: And I do remember four years ago. The country hadn't really heard of one Sarah Palin either before the veep-stakes and, boy, did that person become famous.

Keep an eye on things for us if you would, Jim Acosta. Thanks very much.

Skipping over to the president now, he's certainly shoring up support this hour from union builders and construction workers in Washington. He's speaking to almost 3,000 of them and that whole group, by the way, the 13 union alliance is about 2 million members strong, so you could say he's preaching to the choir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I don't know about you, but I'm chauvinistic. I want America to have the best stuff. I want us to be doing the building, not somebody else.

(APPLAUSE)

We should be having -- people should be visiting us from all over the world. They should be visiting us from all over the world and marveling at what we've done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: In just a few minutes the president will welcome the prime minister of Japan to the Oval Office and, this afternoon, the two will hold a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.

So, if you stick with us, you'll see it live, 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN so set your DVR if you've got to go out or stick by us if you don't.

Major milestone in New York City today. Used to call it "Ground Zero," but you can flush that name because now we can say it's One World Trade Center, again. It'll soon boast the city's tallest building. CNN's Poppy Harlow, live at the World Trade Center location. This is great. I've got to say a lot of people, especially a lot of folks who work in New York City, get goose bumps about this milestone today and it's all about size.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is, Ashleigh. It's a beautiful day. I would be remiss not to mention this beautiful spring day, marking a momentous occasion for all the people here in New York City, really for this country.

What's going to happen today -- we'll pan up so you can see really the majestic tower that it's become, 100 floors. That's what you're looking at.

At about 2:00 Eastern time today, the Port Authority will lay a steel beam on that top floor that will make this the tallest building in New York City, surpassing the Empire State Building.

This is significant because it shows where we've come. Seven- and-a-half years, it's taken since groundbreaking to get here. But they have been moving at a rapid clip of about one floor per week they've been building lately on what is now One World Trade Center, so, as you said, it is no longer "Ground Zero." It is One World Trade Center, Ashleigh.

They are not done yet, but they're getting there. It's a momentous day. I had a chance in August actually - if we can roll that video for you - to go on the location, go up to the 76th floor of this tower and see what was being done, how it was being built.

I went around with Mike Manella. He's the man who built the first -- something just fell there -- the first World Trade Center and who is rebuilding the second one. So really meaningful just to see what it is like and for the thousands of people to work to construct this a very big day here in New York.

BANFIELD: So, Poppy, give me a bit of a feel for the 1776 because that's where we're headed and that will take to it the newest heights, the tallest building in the Western hemisphere if you count that big old spire.

How long until we get there?

HARLOW: How long until we get there? They say 2013, maybe 2014. We're still I'd say about a year away from getting there, but, as I said, they are working at a pretty rapid clip.

One of the things also that's getting a lot of attention down here, Ashleigh, that I should bring up as they mark this day is security measures. Is there extra security?

I just got off the phone with the NYPD commissioner, Paul Browne, who told me we have a robust counterterrorism posture. We always have, but he emphasized there's no specific information of any sort of threat related to the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death which is tomorrow, that one-year anniversary. He said, unlike the days preceding the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 when they did have specific threats, specific credible information about possible threats of car bombs in New York City, he said, we do not have that today or leading into tomorrow, that one- year anniversary. I think that's very important.

I was up, walking around the site earlier today. You don't see many more police officers. It seems like a relatively normal day. Obviously, though, they are very aware and alert.

BANFIELD: All right, Poppy Harlow, nice to be able to say thank you from One World Trade Center not from "Ground Zero." One World Trade, Poppy joining us live this morning in New York City.

Some other big stories to take you to now that are developing. This one in Florida, the sentencing of millionaire, John Goodman, and it is being delayed, all because of allegations of misconduct by jurors in the case.

You might remember that Goodman was convicted last month of driving drunk, smashing his Bentley into another car, running it into a canal where the driver was later found dead.

You also might remember that Goodman is the man who adopted his girlfriend in order to do some creative financial planning.

He faces 30 years in prison. He was supposed to be sentenced today, but according to the "Sun Sentinel" and the local affiliates there, the judge will interview jurors during a special session.

There's a big question in question here -- whether any of them had any discussions about Goodman's wealth before those deliberations and that would be a huge no-no.

Ten years after she was kidnapped from her bedroom, Elizabeth Smart is speaking out in detail now about her abduction. She has said some things before. She's saying a lot now.

Elizabeth Smart recounting the physical abuse, the sexual and emotional abuse during this annual child protection awareness event that's being held in Maryland.

Smart, who recently got married, has turned the horror story of her kidnapping into a message of survival and hope for other victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH SMART, CHILD ABDUCTION SURVIVOR: It just seems like there are no more miracles, that every case that's investigated comes to a sad ending, but not all of them end sad.

I'm here. Mine was a happy ending and I know that there are many more children out there who have the same happy ending waiting to happen to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: Awesome, awesome young lady. She has created an education program with her foundation. It's called RAD. It stands for Resist Aggression Defensively and that program teaches kids how to protect themselves against kidnapping, but also against bullying.

The company that owns the Grand Ole Opry is suing the federal government. According to "The Tennessean," Gaylord Entertainment is alleging that it's luxury hotel was severely damaged during the Nashville flood two years ago and they say it's because of negligence by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service.

The company wants $250 million for damage to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry House.

Big Ben, the Tower of London and surface-to-air missiles, the London skyline could be changing pretty rapidly and pretty soon if some Brits get their way about it, but not if others do because they're kind of ticked off about it.

We'll take you live to London, coming up next.

And also you are looking live at a Mitt Romney event in New Hampshire. We'll continue monitoring this, another campaign event, and get used to them. When presumptive Republican nominee comes out, we'll bring you some of that live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Secretary of State Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are heading off to China today and it's not all fun and games. Talks on trade and U.S. debt, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and then very likely this man.

His name is Chen Guangcheng and he is a blind, self-taught lawyer and an activist who spent years in prison followed by a year and a half under house arrest in a village south of Beijing.

CNN's Stan Grant, along with actor, Christian Bale, tried to visit Chen late last year and this is how that turned out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're being stopped right here and, as you can see, they are pushing Christian here. We're just trying to leave peacefully. We're trying to leave peacefully.

CHRISTIAN BALE, ACTOR: Why can I not go?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Clearly not something that the Chinese authorities were interested in because Chen has been a social activist there. He's been very outspoken and clearly under house arrest at that point, too.

But a week or so ago, he somehow slipped away from his guards and he reportedly made his way to -- are you ready -- the U.S. embassy and that's on your screen right now.

It's almost certainly making him a talking point at this year's Sino-American strategic economic dialogue. The "New York Times" is reporting that a top lieutenant of Secretary Clinton is already in Beijing for talks specifically about this dissident, Chen.

We'll keep you posted, but clearly it makes things somewhat awkward.

London, preparing to welcome the world to the 2012 Summer Games and that means world class security, of course, but one idea for securing the skies not going over particularly well, at least for some folks in a London neighborhood and CNN's Atika Shubert joins me live with that.

I'll tell you something. I've done a lot of reporting on Olympics in my day, but I have never, Atika, had to report on high- velocity missiles at the same time as talking about Summer Games. Give me the whole story.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently, the Ministry of Defense has decided that in its entire security plan one of the thing it needs is these high-velocity missiles, able to shoot down, for example, a plane or a helicopter that may be coming to attack the Olympic stadium.

Of course, this is very unlikely, they say, but they have to be prepared for anything.

Now, where the Olympic stadium is located is in East London and this is a very built-up, residential area and one of the locations where they want to put these high-velocity missiles is right on top of a water tower which happens to belong to a very trendy, hip, gentrified part of East London where 700 people live.

So, over the weekend, they were given leaflets that said there will be a test of these missile systems in the next few days and you shouldn't be worried about it, but that's what al the military personnel will be doing in your apartment building over the next few days.

As you can imagine, people were pretty shocked and want to know more.

BANFIELD: Wait a minute. So nobody knocked on their door? There was no, like, town hall meeting about a missile defense battery going up next door on a water tower?

SHUBERT: Apparently not. Most people said the first they heard about it was when this leaflet was suddenly put into their mail boxes and that's really part of the problem.

It's not that a missile-defense system is so unusual. The Beijing Olympics had it, for example. But it's the fact that it's being put in a residential area and apparently the residents there weren't consulted. BANFIELD: I don't know if my memory is short, but I was trying to think back if I heard anything like this before and, as it turns out, a little research turned out there were surface-to-air missiles that were installed in Beijing when they held the Olympics and they were only about a kilometer south of their big showpiece stadium, so there's precedent for it.

SHUBERT: There is precedent, but, again, it's the fact that here in East London, it's a very built-up, residential area and it just so happens this one particular building they've chosen is a perfect example of that sort of gentrification of East London.

It's got a pool. It's got a supermarket. It's like a little miniature city inside an old warehouse. And so the fact that it's going to be, these missiles will be put right over these people's heads where they live, sleep, and eat, that's what's causing the problem.

BANFIELD: And then just quickly touch on the cost of security because every year this is a big story and it seems to only get more and more expensive every year. What are they looking at in London this year for the cost of security?

SHUBERT: I don't have the exact numbers, but you can be guaranteed that it will be very, very expensive. Just to give you and idea, not only are they thinking about these missile systems on top of the roofs, but they're thinking of deploying a war ship in the Thames that will be able to deploy attack helicopters, if needed. So you can bet that's very expensive.

BANFIELD: Well, so there's a tourist attraction right there, a living military museum. Atika Shubert, good to see you. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.

Coming up, the search for a missing Arizona girl is heading in a strange new direction. South. And, specifically, south of the border. What exactly is the FBI looking to Mexico for? We'll answer that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A surveillance video may offer clues in the disappearance of a 6-year-old girl in Arizona. The video was released over the weekend by police in Tucson.

It shows five people walking through a parking lot near the home of Isabel Celis at the time that she went missing, which by now has been nine days.

Police say that they've spoken to three of the people in the video who might be able to shed some light on Isabel's whereabouts.

Our Thelma Gutierrez is following this story. She joins us live.

So what's the significance of not only the video and the people that they were able to speak to, but perhaps the people they haven't spoken to in the video?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, right now Tucson police are leaving no stones unturned. This little girl has been missing for a long time and police say it's been a very frustrating case.

They have released a surveillance tape to the media, hoping that somebody would recognize the five people captured on that tape leaving a bar between 1:00 and 1:30 in the morning.

Now, that video is very grainy and it appears to have been taken from a high angle, possibly a building or parking lot light.

Now, Isabel Celis's father told investigators he put his daughter to bed around 11:00 p.m. and police have now spoken to three of the five people in that videotape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIEUTENANT FABIAN PACHECO, TUCSON POLICE SPOKESMAN: One individual self-identified. Detectives have spoken with him, took a statement.

I think a few other individuals were also identified and they've interviewed those.

Again, they were, from the moment we identified them or put out the video, we indicated that we wanted to talk to them and they were seen as witnesses and that's what they are. They are witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Now, Ashleigh, police are also saying that those five people in that tape, there's a sixth person who could be seen in the tape. They are hoping to talk to that person as well, though that person has not been identified yet.

BANFIELD: And so this very strange development that they are also now looking south of the border to Mexico. What's the story? Are they telling us the full story? Why on earth are they heading south?

GUTIERREZ: Well, Ashleigh, Tucson is about 45 minutes away from the Mexican border and agents there have been keeping an eye out for her.

Her picture has been circulated right on the border amongst those agents and also her pictures have been circulated in Nogales, Mexico.

Now, there have been reports that authorities have been searching bus stations and businesses in the area. They have not exactly elaborated on why they have expanded to Mexico.

But they have received tips of sightings of Isabel out there, but they turned out, unfortunately, to be false.

Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: And then in all of these cases, Thelma, and it's hard to even ask the question and it has to be asked, what about Isabel's parents. Have they been cleared? Are they at all under suspicion at this time?

GUTIERREZ: Investigators say Isabel's parents have been very cooperative. Yesterday, the parents attended a special mass where 300 people came out to show their support. The parents were there. The family was there. They all wore purple, their daughter's favorite color.

Police say that so much time has passed, Ashleigh, ten days, that they admit that this case is frustrating. They have not given up hope. They have not ruled out anyone and they have not named any suspects.

BANFIELD: Well, let's hope for a development in that case soon. Thelma Gutierrez, thanks very much.

Moving on, talk about being busted. On video, a hit-and-run driver caught in the act. Take a look at the camera shot. Yes. It tells the story.

So, how did this video end up actually finding the reckless man? You'll find out in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Take a good look at this hit-and-run caught on tape. Whoa. This happened in Berkeley, California, and you can see the driver just drifting into the bike lane, hitting two cyclists. That driver taking off. Didn't bother to stop. Nope. Just leaving them at the scene.

Luckily, though, they were not seriously hurt and police say that one of the cyclists had that mounted camera on the handlebars of the bike and then went and posted the video on YouTube.

Because of that, police were able to identify the car and the license plate and, because of that, according to our affiliate, KPIX, the driver has been arrested. So there.

Speaking of biking, as well, it could be illegal to ride a bicycle and text in California and that could happen soon. Lawmakers there are considering a bill that could prevent bike riders from being distracted, which means cyclists could be fined like drivers if they are caught texting on the road.

George Zimmerman's attorney is taking a very controversial case to the world of social media and spelling out details on a brand-new website, Facebook, and Twitter account. Mark O'Mara is conceding that this is a very unusual move in this case, but he also says he's doing it because this is a very unusual case.

He says the key mission of this website is to identify and eliminate fraudulent social media websites and social media profiles that claim to represent Zimmerman. As you may know, Zimmerman is charged with killing Trayvon Martin in Florida back in February.

Apple is getting a little heat for their tax rate. There's an investigation by the "New York Times" finding Apple is using corporate loopholes to drop their effective tax rate to just under 10 percent.

Some of those practices routing the tax rates through Ireland and into the Caribbean. In 2011, that amounted to paying about $3.3 billion in taxes. I know that sounds very high, but, again, that's 10 percent.

Apple's response is that they are responsible for half a million jobs in this country and that they comply with all laws and accounting rules.

To Southern California now, where this little guy is baffling marine life experts. In the middle of your screen, it's a dolphin. He's stranded.

And this weekend when he was guided towards the open waters, that dolphin instead chose to turn back. Why is he doing? What are they going to do to save this little guy? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is a busy morning for President Obama. We told you about his speech to labor leaders. And then he's back at the White House preparing to meet with the Japanese prime minister, Yoshahito (ph) -- you know what, I always mess that up. Yoshahito Hoda (ph) or Noda.

Dan, you can probably help me out with that. I think you spend a little bit more time on it.

(LAUGHTER)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Noda.

BANFIELD: Thank you.

Apart from pronouncers, I suppose the relationship is an issue. And obviously some of the issues with North Korea may be part of the plan. Run down what's on the agenda for those two today.

LOTHIAN: That's right. President Obama has done a pivot focused more on the Pacific-Asian region, an area where this administration believes there's great economic growth for the United States. So that's the backdrop for this meeting. But it also a chance to ease some of the tensions between the two countries. As you know, recently the United States agreed to relocate some 9,000 Marines from Okinawa, Japan. That had been a point of contention. But there are also talks not only about security issues but the economy and trade. They will sit down for this bi-lat meeting here at the White House. They will also have a lunch meeting and then have a short press conference. There won't be a state dinner here. However, the prime minister will be hosted at a dinner here in Washington by Secretary of State Clinton -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: So I have a question for you. A lot of people suggesting that the relationship between our country and Japan really started to deteriorate back in 2009. And yet, just a year ago, this country did a lot for Japan after the tsunami. Did that not do anything to mitigate what was this sort of, you know, relationship issue?

LOTHIAN: It certainly did. The United States did help in a big way through all the humanitarian effort. And, in fact, there continues to be help for Japan, as Japan overall continues to struggle with its economy there. But, yes, it has done some to ease some of the tension between the two countries.

But you pointed out earlier, one of the other issues is the role that Japan can play in diffusing some of the tensions with North Korea. They strongly condemned that failed rocket launch by North Korea. And the U.S. is continuing to put pressure on the neighbors around North Korea to see what can be done to sort of pull back or ratchet back the tensions that we've seen there recently.

BANFIELD: Yoshihiko Noda. Yoshihiko Noda.

LOTHIAN: That's correct.

BANFIELD: Got it right?

LOTHIAN: That's right.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: It's Lothian, right? Lodian? Lothian?

LOTHIAN: Lodian or Lothian. Right. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Nice to see you. Thank you.

So the world's most famous spy agency is getting a little competition it turns out. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR: The name's Bond, James Bond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Yes. Maybe not quite James Bond, but taking a cue from the Bond series, the U.S. military is going undercover, at least a secretive special branch is. It's called the Defense Clandestine Services. DCS? Not sure. But its job, supposed to be different than the CIA and the NSA.

The person that probably knows best amongst us would be Barbara Starr who joins us with the cloak-and-dagger details.

I don't know how many cloak-and-dagger details you have, but why do we need another agency like this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You've got to wonder, don't you, Ashleigh? The intelligence community already spends something like $55 billion a year. Why do we need more? What the military is saying is they want to set up this Defense Clandestine Service so they can do what they call human spying. Basically, military personnel will be able now overseas to set up businesses undercover and hire people to work for them. And what they are looking for, we're told, is the latest intelligence on things like terrorist threats, potential WMD, weapons of mass destruction attacks, all overseas, using these undercover businesses to gather what intelligence or information they can, and not using the satellites or drones, just talking to people out there on the street -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: So is this part of the Defense Department? And if that's the case, who has oversight?

STARR: Well, it is going to be part of the Defense Department, not part of the CIA, not part of any other government agency. It's going to be headed up largely by a man named General Mike Flynn. He's a close associate of General Stanley McChrystal. He was McChrystal's intelligence chief back when McChrystal commanded in Afghanistan. He's a guy who spent his career in and out of a number of very classified military commando units so he knows his business very well. And he is going to be one of the guys heading this up.

BANFIELD: So it complicates things a little bit, Barbara, because I'm wonder, if somebody gets caught overseas and it is a soldier/spy, how is he covered? Is he covered by the Geneva Conventions? Does he become somebody who is treated as a spy? Exactly what kind of a law would pertain to someone like this?

STARR: Well, you know, it depends on where this all goes on, doesn't it. Let's be clear. Two of the countries the U.S. wants to collect intelligence on the most are Iran and North Korea. I don't think we'll ever know if these military people serve undercover in those countries. That would be one of the most classified pieces of intelligence. If they get caught there, that will be a significant problem. Other countries, the U.S. has agreements that govern the presence of U.S. military personnel.

But you hit it, Ashleigh. It's going to be very sensitive business. These people will not be wearing uniforms. They won't be acknowledging their identities. And they will be spying. They will be collecting intelligence. It's going be very dicey how it all works out.

BANFIELD: I believe in the old days we called that dirty intel, boots on the ground.

It's fascinating stuff, very cloak and dagger. Keep on that and keep feeding us the details as you get them, Barbara.

STARR: You've got it.

BANFIELD: I love this stuff.

So I've got to get you on to some other stories we're following at this hour.

Let me take you to Peru where authorities are trying to solve a disturbing mystery that's unfolding along the shores there. Apparently 1,200 or so birds, including pelicans, have been found dead along a 100-mile stretch of the northern shore line. Local fishermen said the deaths began two weeks ago. But not much of an explanation. It comes after 877 dolphins washed up dead on that same stretch of the coast. That happened last month. Nobody really knows yet if the dolphin and the bird deaths are connected but what wildlife experts say more tests are being done try to figure out what is behind the Marine mystery.

Stateside here, Marine experts are baffled by something else. A little lonely dolphin who seems determined to stay in a narrow channel in Huntington Beach, California. It looks like he's doing fine right there. Animal rescuers are involved and they say the dolphin isn't trapped and it is healthy and it doesn't seem to be in danger but it doesn't want to go back to deeper waters. They tried. They did everything. Rescuers tried to coax him this weekend. That little guy kept choosing to return to the channel after seeing two other dolphins nearby. Perhaps unfriendly dolphins. Crews are expected to give it another go, trying to coax him out to open water again. We'll keep you posted on whether that little guy goes back to safer, deeper waters.

Los Angeles erupting in violence. If you can believe it, it was 20 years ago. Have the wounds healed? Is anything different? If it is different, how different? The police official who was calling the shots on the ground during the L.A. riots says, quote, "One step forward, two steps back." I'm going to ask him why, live, on the scene, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The streets of Los Angeles, 20 years ago --

(SHOUTING)

BANFIELD: The neighborhood turned into war zones. They were scenes from the L.A. riots and now they are historic markers. A brutal look at a city simmering over issues of race, poverty, inequality, all over the acquittal of four police officers accused with the beating of Rodney King. That was the trigger that unleashed it all. This was also a wake up call, the impetus for change.

Today, the streets of L.A., the LAPD and its communities are, in many ways, very much transformed but, at the same time, the riots have certainly left a scar and that scar shows.

A man who has seen it all from the front lines, Bernard Parks, who was the deputy chief of the LAPD during the L.A. riots. He's now a city councilman.

It's nice to see you.

As I understand it, you are standing literally right at the beginning of it all. That was the genesis of the whole situation. And I wanted to ask you, sir, if you think we've come a long way or if things are only just different now?

BERNARD PARKS, L.A. CITY COUNCILMAN & FORMER LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF: Well, Ashleigh, thank you for covering this. We are at Lawrence and Normandy, but it's one of many epicenters of the city for that night. We've made a great deal of progress in the sense of bringing and restoring some of our communities but we also are taking steps back today because we've lost things such as CRA. We lost empowerment zones. And we lost recently money from the block grant. And now we're going through a redistricting process that disenfranchises even more people. So all the progress of the last 20 years is being threatened today by very recent elements.

BANFIELD: I don't know whether to call you Chief Parks, because you became police chief after those infamous riots, and you're also now, as we suggested, a city councilman. I want to ask you if you've had any feelings or thoughts about the recent Trayvon Martin case and how that has become a new and different marker about race relations in this country. How do you weigh in on how things have unfolded in the Florida story compared to how they unfolded in the L.A. story?

PARKS: Well, I think you have a situation where there's some similarities in that there's outrage. Hopefully, there's not the outrage in the sense of Florida where there becomes a riot. But the difference is you certainly lost the life of a young man, Trayvon Martin. Here, you had a video of a beating in which, in many instances, validated, in many people's minds, a long history of abuse that they could never prove in the past. So I think there's some differences. but certainly the outrage is certainly there.

BANFIELD: But were you buoyed by the notion that what happened in the Trayvon Martin tragedy at least spawned marches, conversations, peaceful demonstrations, and that nothing like what happened in 1992 happened in Florida?

PARKS: Well, I think the issue is this. Is that, if you remember in Los Angeles, there were months that passed from the incident all the way to the trial. And it was the result of the trial that caused the outbreak and the riot. I think it's an issue that clearly there are people that are concerned and there's outrage. But, again, it's a long way from bringing to it a conclusion. And we hope it comes to a conclusion that basically is legal and proper but also has understanding by the community. So just because there's not been an outbreak today doesn't mean that it doesn't fester as this trial goes on.

BANFIELD: Boy, I sure hope that's not any foreshadowing of things to come. I hope the dialogue continues the way it has been which, I believe, has been very respectful up until now. Let me ask you a little bit about the players involved. If no one remembers, there were circumstances that happened with the litigation in the case against those four officers. They were all acquitted. There was a mistrial on one of the charges. But ultimately, two of the officers were convicted in civil rights violations, Officer Lawrence Powell and Officer Stacy Coon. They served their time. They are out. They're living a life in California. Have you ever communicated with those two officers as their former chief or as a former chief? Have you ever had a chance to talk with them since all of this?

PARKS: No, I have not. I didn't know them personally during the events and certainly have not talked with them in the subsequent trial or currently where they are living now. But clearly they have made a mark on this city.

But I think we have to remember that, as we go forward and as people talk about these incidents, that they reflect on the city of L.A. and also the Los Angeles Police Department, in reality, the police department supported along with the D.A. felony filings, it was the jury that allowed these officers to go free. And I think the public was so engaged and so outraged by it that they basically came out against the most visible part of city government which is the Los Angeles Police Department.

BANFIELD: And on the other side of that whole coin, Chief/Councilman Parks, have you ever had the chance or desire to speak with Rodney King since all of this?

PARKS: I've talked to Rodney King a couple of times. We were just on a 20-year retrospective done by the Korean community in which we spent a couple of hours in studio and talked about these issues. And certainly, he, as it relates in those stories, certainly was a victim of some very vicious attacks, and is trying to get his life together and has had some stumbles. It appears he's on the road of ensuring that he can stabilize his life at this time.

BANFIELD: It is good to talk to you and it's nice to see you in an environment that is calm and flourishing. And we wish the best on this anniversary.

Chief Parks, thanks so much for being with us. And Councilman Parks -- I'm not sure which one you prefer, but Councilman is more recent (ph). Thanks so much.

PARKS: Thank you very much, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Great to see Bernard Parks after this many years.

Live event and, you guessed it, if it looks like a campaign to you, you gotcha. Romney on the podium and Romney to the right. And the woman at the podium, a Senator that just might be in the pickings for the veep stakes. We'll take you live to New Hampshire for this event in just a moment.

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BANFIELD: Welcome back. Taking you to some live pictures. Mitt Romney at the podium, and just to the left of him, Senator Kelly Ayotte, who would be the third person he's appeared with who is being rumored to be a possible vice presidential pick.

Right now, he is launching into a criticism of President Obama about his treatment of small business owners. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- what their future might be. I was at one business not long ago, small business. This was a printing shop. And the OSHA folks came in and fined them because they had not trained their employees on how to use one of their former emergency exits. This was an exit, now closed, but it was -- it had two little brackets with the steel bar. And to use the exit, all you had to do with lift the bar. They hadn't been trained on just how to lift the bar. I mean, this is the some kind of silliness that sometimes goes on when regulators are running amok. Regulators have to see their job as not just stopping bad guys, but also encouraging the good guys, getting businesses to grow again.

There's tax policy. The president is proposing raising taxes on small businesses that are taxed as individuals from 35 percent to 40 percent at the top rate. That will kill jobs. And the vice president says he wants a new global tax on multinationals. Not sure what that is, but it doesn't sound very good.

(LAUGHTER)

And then there's their labor policies. They stack the National Labor Relations Board with union insiders, union stooges, who do the bidding of the union organizations and give to the union bosses what they want, which is agreements not for us to open up new markets to sell our goods in, agreement from the teachers union not to allow more choice in the D.C. -- in the District of Columbia Public Schools, agreements to say to Boeing they can't build a factory in a right-to- work state. These kinds of decisions scares the dickens out of people in small business because they think if they hire people and then they're forced in a union where their wages will be set by government arbitrators, they don't know what their costs will be.

And the list goes on. How about the energy policies? I spoke with these fishermen here. They burn about 100 gallons a day. Think what that would do, 100 gallons a day. You know how expensive fuel is for you right now? For them, that diesel fuel makes it is very, very difficult. Prices at the pump are high. It's high in part because of the president's policies. He's cut in half the number of licenses and permits that were used to drill on federal lands. So drilling on those lands will not be coming forward in the coming years.

This is an administration that I don't know what they've been thinking about. They certainly haven't been speaking to small business people, and folks like these behind me, who are trying to make their living in small business. If I become president of the United States, I'm going to be a pro-small business president and fight for the rights of small business people.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I somehow think the president has this view of the country that a big government and big companies and big banks can do a better job managing this economy than can individuals free to choose their own course in life and free to build their own enterprises. I love the entrepreneurial spirit of America. I see it wherever I go. People want to start their own business, build their own enterprise. Some are successful in doing so, some not. Those that are employ the rest of our society and help make us better off. We need a president who understands the power of free enterprise because he's lived it, and I have, and I will, and I'll make sure that's part of our future.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: Over these last several days, we have seen our president go across the country and bring up all sorts of extraneous items, everything he can do to distract from the issue people care about, which is a stronger economy, creating more enterprises, creating good jobs, and raising incomes, and making sure our kids coming out of college can find a job, that our kids coming out of high school can find a job, and we can be confident the future of our children is better than what we've enjoyed.

I wish the president would start talking about the economy and quit trying to divert with all the silliness, day in and day out, he and his team. Let's focus on what people care about. And the issue people care about is the one that's affecting us, which is their pocketbooks, their gasoline prices, the cost of higher education, the need for more jobs, the need for higher incomes. We're seeing a greater and greater gap for those who have the most and those who have the least. The president is focused on taking away from those that have the least. I want to help everybody, particularly those who are being left behind. I want to help the poor. I want to help the middle class get the kinds of jobs that raise their income. Let's focus on helping the people who need the help the most.

(APPLAUSE)

(END LIVE FEED)

BANFIELD: You might be wondering why you're seeing boats in the background. It's because Senator Ayotte and Mitt Romney are talking about a fishing program that has, in their words, cost people their jobs. And Senator Ayotte along with Senator Scott Brown have introduced a bill to change that. So a nice backdrop, but I think it's the issue of New Hampshire more. And Senator Ayotte, on the left-hand side of your screen, that is a critical image. Is she a potential veep in the veep sweepstakes?

Thanks for watching, everyone. It's been nice to be with you. I'm Ashleigh Banfield, filling in for Kyra Phillips. CNN NEWSROOM will continue right now with Suzanne Malveaux after the break.

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