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Man Who Confessed to Kidnapping on Suicide Watch; SpaceX Dragon Docks with International Space Station; American Airlines Flight Disrupted; Doctor Sues Over Malicious Comment on Social Media Site

Aired May 25, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much, Carol. You have a great weekend.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. So it's 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 out West.

Thirty-three years to the day after Etan Patz was lured to his death, a suspect has confessed, a court appearance is pending and a mystery that inspired a movement may finally be solved.

This man, 51-year-old Pedro Hernandez, told New York police he killed 6-year-old Etan and dumped his body in the trash. The photo comes from "Inside Edition." He is expected to be formally charged today with second-degree murder.

Susan Candiotti is outside the courthouse. Susan, bring us up to date.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the latest information we have on the suspect in this case, Pedro Hernandez, is that he is not being held in jail at this time.

Instead, he is at Bellevue Hospital in New York, which is a very highly regarded public hospital, which has an equally highly regarded psychiatric unit, as well.

We are told that he is being evaluated. He is not under a suicide watch, according to police officials, at this time.

So right now at the courthouse, we are waiting to find out when a hearing might be scheduled. This would be the first appearance for Mr. Hernandez, at which time we expect that prosecutors will be announcing exactly what he will be charged with.

Now, it was flagged yesterday by police that they expected the charge to be second-degree murder, but it will be the first opportunity we have to see him in court if in fact this appearance does come today as expected. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Susan, yesterday, you told us that someone was being questioned, that his story was being met with healthy skepticism.

Are police now confident that Pedro Hernandez is Etan Patz's killer, or at least the suspect? Is this the same person that they had some trepidation about initially?

CANDIOTTI: Well, we are still hearing from different law enforcement sources. We are hearing both that they believe that this is a solid case and certainly police are on the record saying that they believe the credibility of this man based on the detailed statements that they say he made to them over the course of three-and- a-half hours on videotape.

But we also have other law enforcement sources who are telling us that, while this investigation is still going on, there is naturally always skepticism involved here as they continue to look for any possible physical evidence to link this man to the case -- we already know that there isn't any, according to police here.

And also to try to determine what his motive might have been, Fredricka because from everything we're hearing, evidently Mr. Hernandez had no prior contact with Etan Patz prior to, well, what he said was his alleged contact with him on the day that he disappeared when he said that he lured him into a convenience store with a promise of giving him a soda, got him to the basement, and then allegedly strangled him. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti, thanks so much for that update out of New York.

All right. No coincidence today is National Missing Children's Day. It was given that designation in 1983 by President Reagan.

To Long Beach, California, now where a nightmare that started with a false accusation is over. In a court hearing yesterday, that lasted less than a minute, a judge dismissed the rape conviction for which Brian Banks had spent five years in prison.

Banks was a high school senior with high hopes of playing college football when a younger classmate claimed he had raped her in the summer of 2002. He took a plea instead of risking the rest of his life behind bars and never expected to hear from his accuser again.

Well, last year, however, he did. She contacted him on Facebook, accepted his invitation to meet, and admitted that she had put him away on a lie. Banks recorded the whole conversation. Here is what he told "The Today Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN BANKS, CLEARED OF RAPE CONVICTION: I've been dealing with this now for 10 years and I've had my moments where I was very angry and very vengeful.

But I know it was best for me to try and move forward in a positive manner and for the betterment of me.

It hurts no one but myself to hold onto that negative energy. It will only keep me in a stagnant position and I always want to better myself as a person regardless of the situation that I'm in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: After the accusation, the young woman and her mother sued the Long Beach schools and then won $1.5 million.

According to Banks, she refused to go public with her recantation because she didn't want to give back the money.

Jurors for the John Edwards corruption trial back to work. It's the six days of deliberation, and no scrap of evidence is too small for this jury.

Yesterday, they asked to examine all of the exhibits. They are trying to determine if Edwards used illegal campaign contributions to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter. We will bring you the lat3est once a jury has decided on a verdict.

And the man who trained the horse on the verge of winning the first Triple Crown since 1978 is facing suspension over the alleged doping of another horse two years ago.

Doug O'Neill won't have to serve his 45-day suspension until after the Belmont Stakes, but it only adds to the pressure on the horse known as "I'll Have Another," the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

O'Neill was not personally blamed for giving a horse chemicals that raised carbon dioxide levels in its blood, but as the horse's trainer, he was still held responsible.

And a private company is making history this morning becoming the first-ever to send a capsule to the International Space Station. Live images right now. The SpaceX Dragon is docking with the station, the International Space Station, with the help of a robotic arm that reached out and then snagged the capsule and is slowly pulling it in there.

Let's bring in CNN aviation and regulation correspondent, Lizzie O'Leary. So what more can you tell us about this mission and whether folks are considering this so far mission accomplished or a success?

LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, Fredricka, it's seen as a success. There was a lot of cheering both in the SpaceX Center in California and in Houston, where NASA folks were overseeing this mission.

And you called it right. Basically, that arm there that you see sticking out from the International Space Station, it's the Canadarm2 and it grappled the Dragon capsule and it is very slowly pulling it in towards the space station.

I want to play you a little sound from the moment after that happened, complete with a pretty clever line from astronaut Don Pettit, who was in fact in charge of grabbing the Dragon. Here, you listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capture is confirmed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations on a wonderful capture. You have made a lot of folks happy down here over in Hawthorne and right here in Houston. Great job, guys.

DON PETTIT, ASTRONAUT: Houston station, it looks like we've got us a Dragon by the tail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'LEARY: So maybe just like Neil Armstrong, he had his clever line ready, but what's inside the capsule is also important. It's about a half ton of stuff, basically, for the International Space Station. There's some food, some supplies, laptop computers, some batteries, all sorts of things that will gradually be brought inside the space station.

They're doing a process called birthing and that will take the next couple of hours. We expect them to open the hatch door tomorrow, Fredricka, before they actually start bringing the stuff inside.

WHITFIELD: All right, cool stuff. Lizzie, thanks so much.

And, of course, as Lizzie mentioned, SpaceX is a private company and sells its launch service and, if you have some cargo you want to send to space, the price tag this year is a little steep, $54 million per launch, paid in full.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: 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. Just go to CNN.com/TV.

The voting is over in Egypt's first free presidential election and now the waiting as ballots are counted amid intense anxiety over the outcome.

Early results indicate a possible runoff between the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate and the last prime minister to serve in the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

For many Egyptians, that's not much of a choice and then there's the festering concern over the role of the military. Will it accept the results regardless of who wins?

Hala Gorani and Ben Wedeman are joining us now from Cairo. So, Ben, you first, why the concern over the Muslim Brotherhood?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, the worry among many Egyptians, Fredricka, is that the Muslim Brotherhood already dominates parliament, they dominated briefly the constitutional assembly and, if they have the presidency as well, they may as well just monopolize the entire government. Many Egyptians feel that the Brotherhood in parliament went in the promise of working on getting the economy going, getting employment going again, health, education, all of the sort of things that made them popular.

But once in parliament, they focused on things like lowering the legal age for marriage and allowing female genital mutilation to be something of a personal choice.

So the worry is that their agenda is increasingly religious and really much less to the things, the issues, that concern Egyptians most which are things like the economy and security.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Ben, what about the military? Would it accept, you know, respect, honor either candidate that were to win?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly the military might have concerns if the Muslim Brotherhood were to win the presidency, but by and large, all indications are that they will hand over power to civilian government as they promised by the end of June.

They really actually don't like all the attention and the responsibility of running this country, of nearly 90 million people. My sources say they are eager to hand over control of Egypt to whomever, the Muslim Brotherhood or Ahmed Shafiq, that former prime minister of Hosni Mubarak.

WHITFIELD: And, Hala, this open, free, democratic election, this was at the root of what the Arab Spring was all about, so, after two days of voting, is there a resonating feeling that this is exactly the kind of outcome they were hoping for, this is the kind of election they were hoping for?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly not what the revolutionaries were hoping for. You know, if this result holds and these are preliminary, nonofficial results -- it's very important to underline that -- then that means that the center has lost in this country.

You had a more moderate Islamist candidate, Abdul Moneim Abol Fotouh. If he does not make it to the second round, and if Amr Moussa, the former secretary general of the Arab League, does not make it into the second round -- and it's increasingly looking like he won't -- then you'll have a very polarized landscape in this country, a more conservative Muslim Brotherhood candidate versus a man who is so closely attached to the former regime that, as Ben was mentioning, he was the last prime minister of Hosni Mubarak.

So if you're a revolutionary in this country, if you were out there in Tahrir Square for those 18 days last year, this is quite possibly the worst outcome you could have imagined.

The question is going to be, whoever is elected, what power will this president have? This country still doesn't have a constitution that defines his role, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Hala Gorani and Ben Wedeman, both joining us from Cairo. Thanks for that update. Appreciate that.

Meantime, the cleanup on a pristine but deserted Alaskan island begins today. Part of an estimated five-million ton debris field from last year's Japanese tsunami now littering Montague Island.

Observers fear it could bring a lot of things that might be deadly to fish and wildlife. It's already creating an ugly environmental mess. Alaska is asking the federal government for millions of dollars to help pay for this kind of cleanup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some rather encouraging news on the condition of the flesh-eating bacteria victim, Aimee Copeland. We have been following her story the past couple of weeks now. Aimee is now able to sit up in a chair for hours at a time, and doctors say she may be out of the intensive care unit in three to four weeks.

The Georgia college student was infected by flesh-eating bacteria after a zip-line accident. Both her hands, a left hand, and a foot had to be amputated.

Elizabeth Cohen is with us here now to tell us more about her condition. You know, is she kind of out of the woods yet or no?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I spoke with her dad yesterday and he was very clear that she is not out of the woods.

However, let's talk about this sitting up, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you're as sick as she is, in critical condition, sitting up is a milestone.

WHITFIELD: And has had so many amputations.

COHEN: Yes. And has had so many amputations. Sitting up is a milestone.

So not only is he a great dad, he is an amazing writer. So I'll read from what he wrote on his Facebook page. He wrote, "When the doctors put Aimee up in that chair, their expectations was to give her an hour. Five hours later, Aimee decided it was ready to lie down. Had she been running an Olympic marathon, I think Aimee would have experienced a record-breaking gold medal moment."

And then when I talked to Andy Copeland, he said, "Elizabeth, I'm going to correct myself. It wasn't five hours. It was five-and-a- half hours." So really a proud dad that she is so strong.

WHITFIELD: And apparently she seems to be handling this well mentally from what she knows of her condition. COHEN: Yes, she does. She does know that. Before her hands were amputated, they brought her hands -- her parents brought her hands to her face so that she could see the purplish color and understand, and she mouthed the words, "Let's do it." She understood what need to happen.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about the other vulnerabilities of her body and this bacteria, her internal organs. What kind of condition are they in, given so much has been amputated from her body?

COHEN: The reason why she needs three to four more weeks, or that's sort of the forecast right now, is because her internal organs have really suffered. She's on dialysis all the time, on continuous dialysis. They take her off for short periods of time to see if she can handle it, but they do end up putting her back on.

And her lungs are not fully functioning. She's on external oxygen, not 100 percent oxygen. It's more like 30 percent, but she is receiving external oxygen.

So right now, it's the internal organs they are concerned about.

WHITFIELD: So there are no vulnerabilities of her organs as it pertains to the bacteria? That is not a concern? They feel like they have contained it?

COHEN: I'm so glad that you brought that up because her father said that people are misunderstanding this. The bacteria is gone. They feel like that bacteria is out of her body.

But the bacteria did huge damage while it was in there. And so people with this disease go into shock, often, and their internal organs don't get the oxygen they need which is why they suffer so much.

So that's important to understand. The bacteria is not the threat at this point. It's the damage that the bacteria left in its wake.

WHITFIELD: But as far as they know, this is not contagious. All of those family members who have been around her or been exposed to her during this time, they were not vulnerable?

COHEN: I have not heard that as a concern.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right. We are learning so much about this and sadly, it is rare, but there are occurrences in which this does happen and we are just praying for her. Our fingers are crossed.

COHEN: And for al the other people. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who get necrotizing fasciitis, the scientific name for flesh-eating bacteria every year in this country.

And people -- you don't want to be panicked about it, but you do want to know that it's out there and I think one of the great things that she's done, that her case has done, is that if you have a bruise or a cut or something on your body and it hurts like crazy and it's swelling and it's growing, pay attention.

WHITFIELD: You have to address it right away. All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth Cohen. Appreciate that.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, "The Atlanta Journal Constitution" is reporting that a laboratory has tested the water in the river where Aimee contracted that infection and the lab says that the flesh- decaying bacteria is present in normal levels in the Little Tallapoosa River.

And the other day, Aimee had an unexpected visitor to cheer her up. Nashville recording artist Corey Durkin drove to the hospital and then played this song he wrote especially for her. Here is his "Southern Belle."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COREY DURKIN, MUSICIAN (singing): I hope you know, I hope you hear, he's got big plans ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two wildfires in New Mexico merge, becoming one huge inferno. The fire is raging across the Gila National Forest and at least a dozen homes have been destroyed.

But New Mexico isn't the only state fighting back the flames. There are also wildfires spreading across parts of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah and, according to the weather team, much of the Southwest is experiencing extremely dry weather, along with 50 to 60 mile per hour winds.

When disaster strikes, one former Marine rallies together an army of veterans to help. Meet "CNN Hero," Jake Wood.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JAKE WOOD, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: In the military, everyone is taught how to lead, how to follow, to solve problems. We really pride ourselves on being ready and willing to go anywhere.

I served in the Marine Corps, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

When I first saw the earthquake that hit Haiti, a lot of the images felt like I had seen them before, driving through the streets of Fallujah or Afghanistan.

I realized I could actually help out. I went on Facebook and said, I'm going to Haiti. Who's in?

Seventy-two hours after that, we were on our way to Port-Au- Prince.

Let's get our gauzes. Let's get our chlorhex.

We got to work setting up a triage clinic.

I'm going to go through and I'm going to number the beds.

We realized veterans are useful in these types of situations.

I'm Jake Wood and I want to help veterans transition to civilian life and help others in need.

Team Rubicon really started as a disaster-relief organization and then we realized that we could help the veteran community as well. We bring these veterans together to be a part of a team once again. They are almost recharged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get out, you kind of have that feeling of what are you really doing that's important in the world. Team Rubicon has just provided a great opportunity to help people in need.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your foot back as far as you can.

WOOD: Most of the work that we do internationally is emergency medical triage clinics. We've gone to Chile, Sudan, Pakistan. Here at home, we've been in Tuscaloosa, Joplin, doing debris-clearing operations, search-and-rescue.

We have about 1,400 volunteers and about 80 percent of them are military veterans, helping other people is part of the healing process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't thank you all enough.

WOOD: There is really no limit to what veterans can do. We have the ability to help, and we want to serve. I think it's a win-win situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking story we're following now out of Miami. John Zarrella is joining us now. This involving an American Airlines flight?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. It's American Airlines Flight 320 that was coming in from Montego Bay, Jamaica, and what we are hearing from Miami International Airport officials there, the spokesperson telling us that there was an unruly passenger onboard.

But apparently this began to transpire after that plane actually landed and this person was then restrained and police were called and this person was taken off of the flight.

We have no idea why this person became unruly, what the passengers did to restrain this individual, if there was any problem with police getting this person off of the American Airlines flight and I believe you can see that airplane there at the gate at Miami International Airport.

Again, right now, these are just the very first initial details coming in, Fredricka, and that is literally all we have right now.

Again, it's an unruly passenger onboard a flight out of Montego Bay into Miami and, apparently, the incident didn't take place at least from what we're hearing now at first blush until the plane was actually on the ground.

WHITFIELD: And so your understanding is, John, that passengers helped to restrain this unruly passenger?

ZARRELLA: It appears to be the case that passengers also aided in restraining this individual and the person has been taken into custody. That's our understanding, by the police.

WHITFIELD: Are all the other passengers on the plane or has everyone deplaned?

ZARRELLA: We do not know. We do not know whether they were allowed to exit the plane or if they are still being held on the plane as well.

WHITFIELD: Got it. All right. Thanks so much for that information. Keep us posted on that breaking news out of Miami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We are keeping a close watch on a situation in Miami. Live pictures right now of that American Airlines flight 320 that just landed into Miami, roughly about an hour ago from Montego Bay. And when it did arrive, reportedly there was an incident involving an unruly passenger onboard that flight. And other passengers reportedly actually subdued that passenger. That person has since been taken off the flight and is being questioned. It's unclear about any details as to what that incident was. What that passenger -- unruly passenger did or may have said. And also still unclear whether there are still passengers that are being held on that flight before everyone deplanes. But, again, that flight from Montego Bay to Miami, we understand landing safely there in Miami. Still at the jet way there. But an unruly passenger who was subdued by other passengers was taken off the flight and is being questioned. We'll keep you posted on that flight 320.

All right. Ballgames, Indy 500, a whole lot going on this Memorial Day weekend. Fun in the sun, at the beach, et cetera. Of course, you want the weather to cooperate.

Let's check in with our Chad Meyers. Of course, everybody wants sunny skies everywhere. Will they get it?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not going to happen.

(LAUGHTER)

You've got Formula One. You've got Monaco there. You also have the Coke 600, the Indy 500. Race fans nirvana weekend. And you really don't want it to rain. Although Formula One, sometimes do you, because they still race in the rain and it's more fun. They still race in the rain.

Rain showers across the northeast. Rain slowing down the airports. LaGuardia and Newark, almost an hour delay. This is the get away day here. Moderate to severe weather, just not a big day for severe weather across parts of the plains. Moving you ahead to tomorrow, there's something brewing out here. Could be a storm called Beryl.

WHITFIELD: Already?

MYERS: Not barrel, like a barrel of monkeys. It's Beryl, b-e-r- y-l.

(CROSSTALK)

(WEATHER FORECAST)

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's early. I'll stick with half glass full.

(LAUGHTER)

Let's stay positive.

MYERS: All right. Very good.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Be sure and join us again Monday, 11:00 a.m., right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll bring you the annual Memorial Day observance with the presidential wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Back to an update on that breaking news involving American Airlines flight 320 from Montego Bay to Miami, still on the jet way there.

John Zarrella's bringing us -- bring us up to date.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Well, the latest information we're getting from American Airlines is that apparently, as we had reported earlier, unruly passenger after the plane landed, while it was taxiing to the gate, got up in his seat. When he was instructed to sit back down by the flight attendants, and he refused to do so. He began moving towards the front of the aircraft, at which point he was subdued, we believe, with the assistance of other passengers onboard the flight. And he was then, of course, turned over to the local authorities.

We still don't know, Fredricka, if the passengers are still on the flight or have been allowed to disembark. We're still waiting to get some clarification on that. But, again, taken into custody. The incident happening, this unruly passenger apparently disoriented, getting up in his seat, moving towards the front of the plane, disobeying flight attendant instructions and was subdued at that point.

WHITFIELD: John, appreciate that. Keep us posted.

Everybody has an opinion these days, right? And people are really taking advantage of that through the Internet, social network sites, and blogs. But a blistering online review of a plastic surgeon in Florida could cost a disgruntled patient a lot more than two cents. The doctor is suing, claiming he's the victim of a malicious campaign of unlawfully defaming and spreading lies. He wants the post taken down, and wants $49,000 in damages.

We're not going to get into the legal maneuvers right now, but was this inevitable, given that people turn to the Internet for advice, information, or feedback?

Joining me right now is the first lady of online consumer reviews, Angie Hicks.

Good to see you.

You probably know her. You know her site, Angie's List.

You started your service in 1995. Great to see you. And now cover more than 200 cities with a million-plus members. Clearly people love to get on the computer and vent. But you kind of always knew this kind of conflict would arise, didn't you?

ANGIE HICKS, CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ANGIE'S LIST: Well, I think what people have to keep in mind is when consumers are thinking about using the Internet to post reviews, they just need to be honest about their experience. And at Angie's List, in fact what we find is that a lot of times consumers have a lot of great things to say, and it's a great way for consumers then to network and share information with each other. The situation we're talking about today, with this other site, you know, this was really, you know, this is so, so rare. I've been in this business for 17 years. And you just don't see things like this that often.

WHITFIELD: What's the rare part? You mean it's rare that someone would want to take legal action or so rare that peopled vent and say something negative? It would seem that is actually very common, that people feel like they are licensed to say anything they want.

HICKS: Well, sure. Consumers -- the important thing is that they are being honest and sharing their opinion. If it's a bad experience, you know, that is certainly good feedback to give. It's just very rare that you see legal action taken in a situation like this. But I think one of the things that has differentiated Angie's List over the years is that we really take a fair stance. We don't allow anonymous reviews. We give companies the opportunity to respond to reviews. And because of that platform of fairness, it really reduces the impact of something like this.

WHITFIELD: So you have that kind of procedure or those standards in place so that you don't have like a legal case that's just unfolded. However -- you know, do there need to be or are there other protections in place to make sure you're not roped into any potential legal cases?

HICKS: The way we look at it, we're here to protect with the consumers' right to share their opinion. And if ever we find that a service company is, you know, really getting out of line and trying to intimidate a consumer, we step in and protect the consumer. And even though that is extremely rare that that happens, that we would have to do that, we're here to do that. I mean, what I find is always, you know, some good conversation with the providers is important, reminding them that every now and again, you're going to get a complaint. And it's really important to take that information with a grain of salt, take the opportunity to respond to the review in a thoughtful way and unemotional way, and that's going to go a long way in letting people really see what your practice or your service is all about.

WHITFIELD: What are the pitfalls of having this kind of business?

HICKS: Well, the pitfalls of this kind of business?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes, being able to be a place where it does essentially become a dumping ground for people to say, hopefully positive, and certainly sometimes negative, things as they review other businesses.

HICKS: Well, I mean, I think we spend -- one of the things, I think it's an opportunity for consumers to share their honest opinion. And Angie's List, we get a lot of positive feedback because consumers usually start with us to get the name. So we're not typically a rant site and that kind of element. But the pitfalls are just continuing to manage the platform and create a fair platform for consumers and service companies alike. And that -- because then it can be a valuable tool for both sides.

WHITFIELD: How do you also create an environment where some of these businesses can kind of turn some of those bad customer experiences or, you know, to their advantage? Like I guess in the case of this doctor, who is not necessarily -- he's going to take the legal route. Or has he also taken advantage of something you offer on Angie's List where he can kind of respond? Or others might be able to respond?

HICKS: Yes. I talk to companies all the time because no one likes to get negative feedback but it's inevitable. We are human. So I always encourage companies to follow their reviews, understand what the feedback is that they are getting. And if it's something they can fix, fix it. And absolutely thoughtfully respond to the reviews. But don't respond when you first read the review, because oftentimes that leads to an emotional response. Give a thoughtful response after you think about it because honestly, consumers can learn a lot more about a company, about how they handle a bad situation, than if they just have all glowing reviews.

WHITFIELD: How do you se this case as potentially impacting your site or what is it that you do?

HICKS: You know, I just -- you know, I don't see -- I have been in the business for 17 years. This is not a common occurrence. So from that perspective, I don't think it's going to change the fact that consumers are out there giving, you know, honest feedback on their providers because I think it's an important way for consumers to network. But I also think just for the Internet in general, we need to think about providing more accountability. The fact that there are anonymous reviews, I'm against that because I think you need to have a fair platform for both sides.

WHITFIELD: All right. Angie Hicks, thank you so much for joining us from Indianapolis. Big weekend for your city, I imagine.

HICKS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Are you going to be on the track?

HICKS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Taking in the --

(CROSSTALK)

HICKS: I was out last week. I'm not going to the race this weekend, but I was out at the track and at practice last week. It's a lot of fun.

WHITFIELD: That's a lot of fun.

Thanks so much, Angie. Appreciate that.

In case you're wondering, online review sites themselves are generally protected from lawsuits by the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: They are America's two famous pastimes, baseball and politics. So better way to check the score on the presidential campaign than a ball park.

Here's Ed Lavandera.

(ON POLITICS)

WHITFIELD: Thanks for taking us to Texas, Ed.

A key moment in Wisconsin politics, one that could have national implications, happening tonight. It's the first debate between the candidates running in the governor recall election. Scott Walker, the Republican, is trying to keep his seat. Milwaukee mayor, Tom Barrett, who Walker defeated in the 2010 governor's race, is giving the Democrats a second chance. The recall movement started after Walker signed a controversial law minimizing the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions.

So how much is a vial of Ronald Reagan's blood worth? We may never know. A British auction company did say that bidding got as high as $30,000 this week, but now the online auction has been called off, and the owner is donating the blood to the Reagan Presidential Foundation in California. The vial reportedly contains dry blood taken from Reagan while he was being treated after a 1981 assassination attempt outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. The Reagan Foundation had threatened to sue to prevent the sale of that blood sample.

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WHITFIELD: He gave up his daily morning talk show last year, but Regis Philbin will be back on the air next week here on CNN. On Tuesday, he will be guest host on "Piers Morgan Tonight." He conducts a rare and exclusive interview with his close friend, David Letterman, the host of the CBS "Late Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGIS PHILBIN, FORMER TALK SHOW HOST: You see, over the years, talk show hosts have not gotten involved in politics because they fear --

(CROSSTALK)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: It's all different now. That's right.

PHILBIN: -- that if one portion of your audience is a Republican or Democrat and they don't like what you're saying, they're going to tune you out.

LETTERMAN: That's right.

PHILBIN: Do it bother you? LETTERMAN: Well, you -- I know what your point is and I have been guilty of appearing to be playing partisan politics. However, I'd just like to say that, for the record, I am a registered Independent.

You go where the material takes you. Poor Bill Clinton. No president that I am aware of got hammered harder than President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky situation. We beat up on him. We still use him as a reference. And then we were desperate. We thought, well, this was so easy. And then we got George Bush, and within a matter of days, we realized our prayers had been answered. He's just as good in terms of material.

(LAUGHTER)

So it may appear to people that we have a slant one way or the other, but -- if a guy, you know, drops his dog, or a guy straps his dog to the roof of his car, or if a guy gets a shoe thrown at him, well, this is where the material is going to be.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Covering a lot of territory there. You can see the full Regis Philbin interview of David Letterman Tuesday night as we begin the "Piers Morgan Tonight" guest host week right here on CNN.

Thanks so much for watching. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead with my colleague, Suzanne Malveaux.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Have a great weekend, Fred.

WHITFIELD: You, too.