Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Egypt Presidential Election Today; Don't Text and Drive; 13 Former FAMU Band Members Charged with Hazing; Romney, Obama in Dead Heat; 53 Percent of Voters Don't Know What Bain Capital Is; Secret Service Chief Testifies Under Oath

Aired May 23, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. It's 11:00 o'clock on the East Coast, 8:00 o'clock on the West. They are always visible, but never in the spotlight. That's how they like it. But at this hour, live in D.C., the Secret Service is uncomfortably front and center as its chief testifies under oath on Capitol Hill. He is getting grilled about the prostitution scandal that's tarnished his team.

Our Kate Bolduan on the Hill as well. Kate, who is asking what right now?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are just getting through opening remarks so far, Kyra, but I will tell you that there are tough questions coming already in opening remarks from the chairman of the committee, Senator Joe Lieberman, as well as the top Republican on the committee, Susan Collins.

Senator Lieberman really laid out what they want to get out of the hearing. Not only do they want to hear from the director of the U.S. Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, what happened in Columbia -- this is the first time we'll hear publicly from the director of the Secret Service himself -- but also what the Secret Service investigation has found.

And then the lingering question, many lingering questions, of, is there a pattern here or a culture that has been -- many questions have been raised within the Secret Service that the Secret Service should have seen this coming, as Senator Lieberman has said. Listen first here to the chairman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: It is hard for many people, including me, I will admit, to believe that on one night in April 2012, in Columbia, 12 Secret Service agents there to protect the president suddenly and spontaneously did something they or other agents had never done before, which is going out in groups of two, three, or four to four different nightclubs or strip clubs, drink to excess, and then bring foreign national women back to their hotel rooms.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: Now, I will say, Kyra, that both Senator Lieberman and Senator Collins took a lot of time during their opening remarks not only to raise questions they have about whether there is a cultural problem in the Secret Service, but also to compliment and commend the director of the Secret Service for being forthcoming and open with the committee throughout the investigation.

The director himself I believe just wrapped up his own opening remarks and, during those remarks, he said that he was deeply disappointed and wanted to apologize, that the distraction that this misconduct and this incident has created, has caused.

And also emphasized -- and to many, again and again, emphasized that while the conduct of these nine, 12 people, as well as in other agencies, has been quite a distraction and he obviously does not condone it, he says that it does not represent the high ethical standard of the agency and the many, many more people that were working for the Secret Service in Cartagena at the time, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kate Bolduan, we'll follow it.

And, all totaled, the Columbia escort scandal involved roughly 20 prostitutes and has cost nine Secret Service members their jobs. Twelve U.S. military service members are also being investigated.

Egyptians are doing something today they have never done in their lives, voting in a free and contested presidential election. It's the next, long awaited chapter in the saga whose turning point was the toppling a strong man, Hosni Mubarak, more than a year ago. Voting takes place over two days, with run-offs next month if none of the dozen or so candidates gets a majority.

Egypt's interim military rulers are promising to hand over power to whomever the voters choose. We'll have a live report from Cairo moments from now.

And a lot of jitters on Wall Street at this moment. Stocks fell at the opening bell, and you know exactly what that means to your 401(k) and your wallet. Take a look at the big board.

Dow Industrials down 164 points. And while many of you might think it's the Facebook fiasco that's driving this, think again. Alison Kosik is joining us from New York. So, Alison, let's talk about what's going on.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we're watching stocks fall big time. The Dow down 164 points, this after some new worries about Greece leaving the eurozone, this as Greece tries to tackle debt issues and tries to put together a government.

There are reports that Greece's former prime minister says Greece at this point is thinking about preparing to leave the eurozone. So the big concern here, as Wall Street sees it, is how will this affect the global economy.

So what do we have? We've got financials getting hit hard, anywhere from 1 percent to 3 percent. JPMorgan Chase, shares of Morgan Stanley are down.

Also, tech stocks are getting hit pretty hard after disappointing earnings from Dell. Dell shares down a whopping 17 percent.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, so now let's talk about Facebook. I don't know -- I guess you could say some folks maybe thought this might happen. This investigation now going into Morgan Stanley and the price of this stock, the fact that this has just tanked. What do you know at this point?

KOSIK: So this goes along with all of those questions about big banks, big investment banks, possibly behaving badly. What regulators, Kyra, want to know is if Morgan Stanley, the chief underwriter for Facebook, only told some clients that it was lowering its earnings projections for Facebook instead of telling everybody, instead of telling all of its clients.

What happened was a week before Facebook went public, Facebook said, in an SEC filing, that it may be file struggling to make money off of its mobile devices. So what Morgan Stanley did was issue a weaker outlook, but the question is, should that information have been shared with everyone, meaning both big and small investors?

Because if that happens, it becomes more fair, right? It levels the playing field because the guidance coming from Morgan Stanley winds up helping everybody be more educated about the decisions they make when they are investing.

Now it's not clear if the information was shared with everyone. If the information only went to those big investors, Kyra, that means they got a leg up. Morgan Stanley, though, says it did not break any rules. The company says it followed the same procedures for Facebook that it follows for all IPOs. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: OK, we're going to follow it. Alison, thank you so much. A lot of people talking about this story, obviously.

One more look at the big board. The Dow Industrials down 157 points. We will monitor the numbers for you throughout this hour.

Well, some 25,000 workers at Hewlett-Packard are expected to get the ax today. And that's the word from "Fortune" magazine. The purge would amount to about 7 percent of HP's global workforce.

CEO Meg Whitman minced no words in saying that the tech company needs to trim expenses to offset declining revenue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just a quick note for those of you heading out the door. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone or, if you're heading to work, you can also watch CNN live from your desk top. All you have to do is go to CNN.com/TV. All right, back now to Egypt where voters are savoring a first for the Arab world. They are choosing a president from a field of viable candidates. These are the frontrunners aiming to succeed the only president many Egyptians ever knew.

Hosni Mubarak, as you'll recall, was toppled in a watershed moment of the Arab Spring almost 16 months ago.

Hala Gorani of CNN International is joining me now from Cairo. Hala, do Egyptians feel the fact that they are making history?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do. There was a lot of excitement at a polling station I visited this morning, Kyra, and people told me, although they still have concerns because they are not sure that the process will be free and fair and transparent, they tell me they feel a sense of duty, that today for the first time in their lives and in the history of this nation they have an opportunity to hopefully cast a ballot in what they hope will be a transparent election.

Now, what are the concerns of ordinary Egyptians? Well, they tell me, look, I want security, I want a job, but they are also worried that the slate of candidates they have to choose from is not what they would have wanted.

They have former regime members, including Amr Moussa, an internationally known figure who was the head of the Arab League, or they have two Islamists, one Muslim Brotherhood candidate and one more modern Islamist.

So they say although it's imperfect, I feel that it's my duty to take part in this today. And you mentioned it. It is historic. It's the first time that an election is held in this country, Egypt, a major American ally in the region, where nobody really knows who's going to win.

PHILLIPS: And there's also been a lot of concern about corruption. Will this indeed be a fair election? Have you found any signs of corruption thus far?

GORANI: No. We were at a polling station where everything, in fact, was going very smoothly. Now, if you know Egypt, you know it's a very populist country. There are 80 million Egyptians. Cairo is a giant metropolis. Traffic is crazy. Lines are disorderly.

But when you go to a polling station today, surprisingly, everything was operating pretty well, pretty smoothly. People were standing in line. There were no major issues. Sometimes voters had to wait four to five hours in order to cast their ballot. So today, as far as we're able to observe, it was an orderly election and things seemed to run rather smoothly.

The question is going to be, will there be complaints. There are NGOs observing the process. And if those complaints become a big issue going forward, then whoever wins will lack legitimacy. But so far, everything seems to be going pretty well, Kyra. PHILLIPS: So just one more question, my guess, though, even within all of that, folks are pretty skeptical that military rulers, even though they say they will, will hand over power once a winner is announced.

GORANI: That's one of the big concerns. I mentioned the economy and security and that is one of the big concerns. Some of the voters this morning told me, look, the military, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as it's called here, SCAF, they have promised many things in the past and they have not been true to their word.

As you know, Kyra, and as our viewers know, there has been violence in the streets. There have been clashes between protesters and the military that have resulted in death and in bloodshed on the streets of Cairo and other places in Egypt.

So, yes, that is a major concern. The military promised that it would leave power on July 1. That will be a big test in this country. What happens after that if they don't is anyone's guess.

PHILLIPS: Hala Gorani, we'll be talking a lot throughout the whole process. Thanks so much, Hala.

And more proof that the whole world is watching these pivotal elections, Jimmy Carter accompanied a team of observers today at a polling place in the capital. Results of this first round of voting aren't expected for at least three days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been about three weeks since the Justice Department took an interest in sexual assault allegation at the University of Montana and the surrounding city of Missoula.

The feds want to make sure that the school, campus police, as well as Missoula police and prosecutors, are investigating rape claims completely and charging appropriately.

At issue are 80 sex crime reports by Missoula women over the past three years, including 11 at the university in just 18 months. Here's what the university president actually told CNN when the federal probe was announced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROYCE ENGSTROM, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA: The goal of this university is, one, to prevent sexual assaults from happening in the first place, two, to care for victims of sexual assault, and, three, to get rid of perpetrators of sexual assault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And here's the latest. A series of e-mails just obtained by the Missoula newspaper and "The Wall Street Journal" suggests that openness and full disclosure were not the top priority.

"Wall Street Journal" reporter Stu Woo joins me from New York with more on that. He is one of the reporters that broke this story.

As I was reading through, Stu, what you wrote, what you got, talk about damage control, trying to contain this scandal. If you were to pick one or two e-mails, what stood out to you the most and led you to write more about the fact that this was such a -- these allegations of cover-up are very evident?

STU WOO, SPORTS REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": The one that stuck out the most, Kyra, was one from the president's right-hand man. His name is Jim Foley. He's a vice president at the university.

And he said in one e-mail, isn't one of the alleged rape victims, is she violating the code of conduct in any way by publicly talking about this rape? And that's one that stuck out the most.

And there's another in which he's talking about -- they are using the word "gang rape" to describe what happened to some of these women. And he says, why aren't we using the term "date rape" instead?

PHILLIPS: And when you started to read these e-mails, what was your -- what did you think about this? And you had obviously realized you were onto something that a lot of people had assumed for quite some time.

WOO: Right. There's been issues with the football players. You know, I went to campus last month and a lot of the people around campus are saying, there's a sense of swagger about this football team that they are kind of untouchable and some people get the feeling that the university is trying to protect them.

And the feeling I get is that the university is desperate to shape the image of these sexual assault allegations. Like many universities, they have been trying to recruit more out-of-state students who pay a higher tuition, so that could be an issue if this blows up on the national radar, which obviously it already has.

PHILLIPS: Stu, even though the feds got involved just about a month ago and that's when we first became familiar with the story and we wanted to follow it, but actually it looks like there have been reports about gang rape by the football players that go all the way back to 2010.

WOO: That's right. All of this really started rolling in December of 2011 when two women accused three football players of rape. And then after that happened, another woman emerged saying, hey, even a year ago there was a gang rape involving five guys. Four of them were on the football team.

After that, one of the running backs was arrested for a rape that happened -- for an alleged rape that happened in September of 2010.

And then a little after that, the team's star quarterback was accused of rape as well.

PHILLIPS: So the local prosecutor isn't too thrilled by the federal scrutiny here either. Let's take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED VAN VALKENBURG, MISSOULA COUNTY ATTORNEY: There was no basis for it whatsoever. It's unfair to us, to the Missoula police department, to the community of Missoula to imply that there's that kind of a problem here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: How do you respond to that, Stu, after what you uncovered?

WOO: Well, to be completely fair, only one of the football players, Bo Donaldson, has been charged with a crime.

Now, I talked to one of the alleged victims, and she says, well, you know, after the alleged assault that happened to me, I went straight to the hospital and then I went straight to the police and gave them a report.

And then after that, the police department and the county attorney decided there wasn't enough evidence to file charges. So it's unclear exactly what's happening. There's clearly an issue here, but to be fair, there's only one football player charged so far. He is awaiting trial this far.

PHILLIPS: And his name again, Stu?

WOO: Bo Donaldson. A running back on the football team. He was.

PHILLIPS: Bo Donaldson, the running back, what more do you know about him? What have you been able to find out about him?

WOO: I pulled the court document for that. In September of 2010, a woman alleged that Bo Donaldson entered her room and, while she was unconscious, had sex with her.

And a year after that, police secretly recorded a conversation between Bo Donaldson and the victim in which he admitted to taking advantage of her.

Now, his lawyer alleges that's all he admitted to. He didn't admit to raping her or anything. We'll find out more in the fall when the trial starts.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. And do we know, has he mentioned any other football players, that he's not a lone ranger in this game? Has he pointed a finger at anybody else?

WOO: He has not. In that particular case, it was only one man and one woman. The other ones involved, you know, as many as four players in one rape.

PHILLIPS: Stu Woo, sports reporter for "The Wall Street Journal." Great job. We want to stay on this story, as well, so keep us updated, Stu.

WOO: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Former Montana congressman who serves on the university's board of regents says in his view, quote, "an outside look at events can only be helpful."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In this week's "Human Factor," we'll introduce you to a young man who came to the United States in search of the American dream, but a month before graduating college, an apartment fire took his roommate and changed his path in life.

He credits his parents and therapists for helping him push through the pain and keep that dream alive. Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In 2004, his family couldn't have been more proud because he was coming to America to Purdue University to complete his degree in computer engineering.

Just a month from graduation, however, his life changed forever. His neighbor two floors below intentionally set a fire with his wife and child still inside.

MANOJ RANA, BURN VICTIM: By the time my roommate and I woke up, the whole apartment was on fire.

GUPTA: He and his roommate tried to escape, but they couldn't.

RANA: My roommate collapsed in front of me and I started running down the stairs.

GUPTA: He only made it a few steps before he collapsed. A fireman found him still alive, but on the way to the hospital he could hear paramedics talking about how badly he had been burned.

RANA: At that moment, I was thinking about my family, what I had come here for, to get a good education, and now this guy is saying that I don't have a chance to survive, and I passed out.

And then I woke up in University of Chicago burn unit after four months of induced coma.

GUPTA: He had burns over 95 percent of his body. So far, he's had 54 operations.

But he didn't give up. And he credits three people for his survival.

RANA: My father, my mother, and my occupational therapist, Shannon Hendricks. GUPTA: He says his father saved every hard-earned penny so he could get an education.

RANA: My mother kept on telling me have some faith and keep your eyes on the goal.

GUPTA: And then there's Shannon, whom he calls his guardian angel. He says she's gone way beyond her duties as an occupational therapist to help in any way she could.

RANA: On top of my therapy, she would take me to church every Sunday. I think that was the only thing that kept me from going crazy because I -- as a 22-year-old, I was living in a nursing home. And it was really, really depressing.

GUPTA: His biggest accomplishment so far, getting his MBA. He recently graduated with the highest honors.

RANA: I'm still happy that I can live an independent life, and now, you know, I have gotten my MBA and hopefully I'll get a job soon and have a good life.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: For more on this and other "Human Factor" stories, just watch "Sanjay Gupta MD" every Saturday and Sunday.

An 83-year-old war vet received a huge surprise when he went for a pep rally at a Connecticut high school. All of a sudden, he heard his name being called to receive a high school diploma.

Here's the deal. Joseph Ali dropped out of school to fight in the Korean war. And now because of a law that passed just last year recognizing those who dropped out to serve, he's getting the diploma he never received.

And here's the best part. Not only did the students give him a standing ovation, but he came to the mic and he told everybody he now no longer has any regrets in his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Egypt's first free presidential election comes nearly 16 months after the Arab Spring uprising forced Hosni Mubarak from office. In the words of one pretty excited 70-year-old woman, "I'm voting for the first time in my life." 30,000 monitors are on the ground making sure it's fair.

And joining us via phone from Cairo, Ian Lee.

Ian, based on what you have seen so far and observed, any signs of corruption?

IAN LEE (voice-over), JOURNALIST: Kyra, so far, everything is going pretty well. We're out with observers today monitoring the election. We are with one group in particular that has over 30,000 people, a small Army, al over Cairo making sure that everything goes smoothly. And so far, there haven't been too many reports of too much activity that would raise any concerns. There have been some minor issues with campaigns or people who are supporting candidates around the polling stations telling them, hey, you need to vote for our guy. But by and large, things have been pretty clean today, pretty fair. A lot of people were concerned earlier that the military might try to interfere in the election to put forward someone that they desired. The military has denied that, saying they are going to try to have a fair election. And so far today, everything's been going pretty smoothly. Very smooth.

PHILLIPS: Who's expected to win?

LEE: Well, one thing that a lot of people are wondering, there's basically four candidates that are the front-runners right now. You have a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and you have your more liberal candidates, the former head of the Arab League, Moussa, and the former aviation minister. So you have relatively two Islamic candidates, two liberal candidates, who are the ones -- four in total that are ones that are expected. One of them could be the next president of Egypt.

PHILLIPS: And final question. And I asked Hala Gorani who is there as well, covering this for us, Ian. The military says, OK, whoever wins, we will hand over power. What is your sense that that will actually happen? There are a lot of people, according to Hala and others that, you know, folks on the ground are skeptical that that will take place.

LEE: Well, definitely, Hala is right. There is a lot of skepticism that the military will hand over power. They are very much adamant about handing over power. But I can tell you this much. Talking to people, different groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, different revolutionary groups, if the military doesn't hand over power a lot of people believe there could be another revolution in Egypt.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ian.

For more on the revolution, Anderson Cooper will be talking with CNN reporters in the field risking their lives to report on the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt, Libya, and Syria this Friday, 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Hundreds of pages of docs, audio recordings, all of this compelling evidence in the hazing death of drum major, Robert Champion, proof that prosecutors say will now be used against the 13 former FAMU band members charged in the college's hazing scandal.

George Howell has more now on the details of these documents.

After reviewing all the evidence, what do prosecutors believe happened the night that Champion died, George?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, first of all, we're talking about 11 different defendants in the case. You can imagine this is a pretty thick stack of affidavits that we have to look through, more than 2,000 documents. And it's giving us a clear idea of what prosecutors believe happened on the bus.

Witnesses described two different types of hazing, two hazing rituals. The first is described as the hot seat. The witnesses describe a process where the victim has a blanket over his or her head. Then fellow band members will hit and punch repeatedly. And that is what we learned from the witness statements with the hot seat.

The other is crossing bus C. And with crossing bus C, that's what witnesses say happened to Robert Champion. With crossing bus C, the victim starts at the front of the bus and moves to the back of the bus, all the while being hit repeatedly. And one of the witnesses in these affidavits says that he saw Robert Champion on the ground. He saw someone jumping on top of him. So a lot of information. We're still poring through it. A lot to look through.

PHILLIPS: And what is this that apparently in one of the depositions, one of the defendants here said that Champion had asked to go through this hazing ritual?

HOWELL: We came across that, coming from a defendant, Jonathan Boyce (ph). He was a fellow drum major who says that he wanted to protect Robert Champion, but he has some quotes that stood out. The first saying that it was a respect thing, this idea of crossing bus C. And he also alleges saying, quote, "Robert wanted to do it all season."

Now, Kyra, that goes against what Pam Champion has long said, that her son was against hazing. Also we have heard that from many of Robert's friends, that he was against hazing. So that is some new information that I'm sure we will hear from Pam Champion about later.

PHILLIPS: And you've been talking to so many family members. What's the response? Anybody saying anything about all of this new evidence?

HOWELL: Well, especially with this information from Jonathan Boyce (ph). The Champion family describes the information as shocking. We do expect to hear from them at noon eastern time. A news conference, where they will talk about all of this information coming out today.

PHILLIPS: All right. George Howell, we'll follow it. Thank you so much.

HOWELL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And two out of the 13 of those charged pleaded no contest for exchange for misdemeanor charges. They'll spend 30 days in a work camp followed by one year of probation. The remaining 11 of those accused face felony hazing and are set to be arraigned June 14.

A new round of nuclear talks with Iran is taking place in Baghdad today. The key objective, prevent a new Middle East war. Key question, will this round be anything more than just talk? It's a follow-up to last month's meeting between Iran and the U.S., France, Russia, China, and Britain. Western powers fear that Iran may be trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran insists the program is only for peaceful purposes.

The NFL has a new rule. Team owners have voted to make thigh and knee pads mandatory starting next year. They say all other levels of football have the rule already, and this does not include hip pads. Still, the union is not too pleased with the development.

Friends and family will bid Donna Summer goodbye at a private funeral in Nashville, Tennessee. The queen of disco died last week at the age of 63. She lost her battle with lung cancer. About 1,000 people are expected to be at the service.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: You know, just says after she lost her life, the song there, "I Feel Love," has been selected to join the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress. Why don't we listen to it as we go to break.

(SINGING)

PHILLIPS: If you're leaving the house right now, a quick reminder you can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your desk top. Just go to CNN.com/tv.

By now, most of us know that it's illegal to text and drive. But now a New Jersey couple is taking it a step further. Arguing that it's not just the person driving who should be held responsible, but the person who sends a driver a text as well. David and Linda Cooper were out on their motorcycle in 2009 when a car slammed into them. Both of them lost their left legs. Well, it turned out that the driver, Kyle Best, was allegedly replying to a text that he got from his girlfriend. And the Coopers' lawyer says that makes her equally responsible for that accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY FOR DAVID & LINDA COOPER: In this particular case, as unique as this case would be, there were facts, there were time elements, that bespeak the fact that she knew his schedule very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Deb Feyerick is following the story for us.

Deb, this could really change the way we drive. And handle our devices. What are the chances of this lawsuit and will it go anywhere?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's really what's so interesting. And that's essentially what a judge is going to decide over the course of the next couple of days. He's going to decide on Friday whether in fact this should go to a jury. But the Coopers are suing both the driver and the girl he was texting at the time of the accident. And the lawyer argues that even though the girl was not physically in the car, she was there electronically so that every time that cell phone chimed and the text came through, it was as if she was putting her hands over the driver's eyes. And so that is really their argument. Now the girl did testify in a deposition that perhaps maybe she knew that her friend was driving. But the lawyer says this suit should not go forward because the person sending the message has no control over the person receiving and responding to that message. So this is really what's at the heart of all of this. And there's no case law dealing with the issue of texting. So it's really going to be interesting to watch -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: So, then, how is it possible to prove in a case like this, right, or any case, that the person knew when the other person would actually read a text?

FEYERICK: Well, you know, that's what's so interesting. And it's all about patterns. Let's say, you know, you and I are texting and I'm just checking in with you. Your little cell phone chimes and you leave it because you're driving. But in this particular case, they were texting just before the 19-year-old reached his job swimming at the Y. There were no texts during the time he was working. As soon as he finished his job, the texts started again. So arguably, when the girl was texting him, she knew he would be on his way home, and that's the pattern that makes this really so effective. And he dialed 911 after this crash within nine seconds, I think, of his last text. So really it was just -- this was a head-on collision that just happened in the blink of an eye -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: What kind of penalty can they expect?

FEYERICK: Well, you know, it's a civil case. And the Coopers are suing for an unspecified amount of damages. Instead of suing one person, they are trying to sue two people. But consider this. The husband and wife each lost their left leg. Their lives were changed forever. They live with the pain of surgeries, recuperation, physical therapy. The driver -- and you saw the truck there that was smashed -- he did plead guilty to careless driving, failure to stay in the lane, and improper use of the cell phone. He served probation and was ordered to talk to 14 high schools about the dangers of texting and driving. So the Coopers are saying, look, our life was changed and we deserve at least some compensation for that. So it's going to be very interesting.

PHILLIPS: All right. Deb, thanks so much. We'll follow it.

And New Jersey is among 19 states with laws banning drivers from texting, by the way, but those laws don't penalize people who knowingly call or text drivers. A decision on this case is expected on Friday.

All right. Now a question for all you political junkies out there. How many years did Mitt Romney serve as CEO of Bain Capital? Be the first person to tweet the right answer @kyraCNN and I'll give you a shout out right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just before the break, I asked how long Mitt Romney served as CEO of Bain Capital. The answer, 15 years from the time he helped found it in 1984 until he left in 1999 to become president and CEO of the salt lake Olympic organizing committee. Congratulations to Brad from Los Angeles for being first to tweet the right answer.

We are less than six months out from voting for our new president. The newest poll shows that Obama and Romney are in a dead heat. So what issues matter most to the candidates going forward and what could trip them up? It's "Fair Game."

Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman, and CNN contributor, Dana Loesch are here.

Robert, let's start with you. What issue will help Obama and Romney, and what issue could trip them up?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think the obvious answer you hear all the time is the word "jobs," and that's a fair point. But each campaign has to approach it from a different strategy. For President Obama, he's got to be able to give confidence to the American people that his preliminaries are working and helping increase that sense of optimism. Both national polls poles we saw recently show a growing pessimism. For Governor Romney he has to take a different approach to show that he can address the issue of jobs by connecting with middle class voters. What will trip them both up is if they diminish their message with a kind of disgraceful tactics we have witnessed already whether the Obama campaign referring to Mitt Romney as a vampire or governor Romney's campaign calling Obama a socialist.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think for President Obama definitely the biggest hurdle he has to overcome is jobs, is the economy. His record as president has been anything less than stellar. Mitt Romney, his problem is a problem that I see that reoccurs with almost every Republican candidate this fall. It is being able to really articulate conservatism well. It is selling on why limited government is the best and how Mitt Romney can best handle the economy. That has been from my perspective his biggest hurdle. They each have their own unique challenges. I think Barack Obama has the biggest hill to climb up.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the battles over Bain. A new NBC shows 53 percent aren't sure what Bain Capital is. Let me ask you both, why the commercials and ads and public bashing when 53 percent of voters basically don't know what it is?

ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely correct. Of course, part of the strategy is to address the character issue. Here is the challenge for Mitt Romney. If Governor Romney's argument is that his leadership of Bain gave him expertise in creating jobs then why when he was governor of Massachusetts was the state 47th in job development in the country. Likewise, if he has such a brilliant investment strategy how did he walk away from the most important investment, the investment in America's automotive industry which has been a tremendous success? And governor Romney said let it go bankrupt. That speaks to why his investors are wealthy people but doesn't show he has the leadership or skills to create jobs.

PHILLIPS: You are talking about why it is an issue. I'm asking both of you that 53 percent of voters don't know what Bain Capital is.

(CROSSTALK)

LOESCH: I can answer that. And I have two quick points. When it concerns the auto industry usually with an investment you get a return on it. As far as Mitt Romney being governor of Massachusetts he did have a state legislature to work with. When it comes to Bain Capital, I'm confused as to why the Obama campaign chose to go this route. We saw Newt Gingrich's attack on Bain Capital and how that blew up the right side of the sphere. Why the Obama campaign chose to do it and execute it in an even poorer fashion than Gingrich did I have to ask who is running the clown car. A lot of people don't get into the weeds of private equity. These are the resources that small businesses rely on when it concerns creating jobs, paying higher wages and growing those businesses. Republicans need to get that message out.

PHILLIPS: It sounds like someone on both sides needs to explain to voters why this is an issue and why they need to understand it. Why they need to know about Romney and his background.

ZIMMERMAN: He made it as a job creator. That's why Bain's important. When the Obama campaign starts equating the issue of capitalism is not an issue. The issue is whether the experience at Bain gave Governor Romney the experience to create jobs. We saw he failed in that mission as governor of Massachusetts. We also saw that he didn't understand the importance of investing in the automotive industry. If he used Dana's tactic --

(CROSSTALK)

ZIMMERMAN: -- of letting the automatic industry go bankrupt that is his strategy.

PHILLIPS: Dana, 15 seconds.

LOESCH: That wasn't an investment. You want to talk about socializing, that was nationalizing a huge amount of the private sector. With Bain Capital, venture capitalism and private equity absolutely goes hand in hand with creating jobs because the is the resources upon which small businesses depend on to pay workers and create those jobs.

PHILLIPS: I hope those 53 percent of voters were listening to you two because I think we got a little Bain 101.

(LAUGHTER) Why it plays a role here.

Dana, Robert, thanks guys so much.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was a no-show at a Republican speech last night in California. Apparently, Mrs. Reagan, who is 90, is recovering from broken ribs after she fell in March. I didn't even hear about it. She was scheduled to attend a speech by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan at her late husband's presidential library. An aid says she was advised by her doctor not to attend large functions too far from her home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Kevin Costner is getting ready to wow the screen in a new mini series. The actor took time to talk to CNN, talking about life in general and being bullied when he was younger and advice to his friend Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: I went to a lot of different schools. I remember there was tension sometimes when it wasn't so simple just negotiating your way from one class to another when the bell rang. Those tensions ran very high. I was involved in bussing. I have experienced that and understand it. Anyone that is experiencing that on a daily level, you can see why they can just sink into the great depths because, when you are trying to get by as a kid in a school you can't think. All you are thinking about is how to get to the next class without running into these guys or this situation. You can't concentrate on what you are supposed to be. I really hope that the teachers are responsible. You can see what is happening out there. You can bring that to a stop in my mind.

Certainly, if Bobbi wanted to call me, I think that she could. I didn't know that my remarks had an affect on her. But there is a lot of love around her and a lot of support. And I think the people realize that they have to step in in a very supportive way for her. We live in a world where a lot of eyes are on her and a lot of cameras are going to be on her and a lot of people questioning what she does and doesn't do. So she is operating in a difficult way, when you deal with that kind of loss.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Costner says Bobbi Kristina should decide for herself if she wants a Hollywood career. And if the fire burns in here, she should follow her dreams.

Thanks for watching, everyone. You can continue the conversation with me on Twitter, @KyraCNN, or Facebook.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Suzanne Malveaux.