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Hearing After A Lifetime Of Silence; Three Toddlers Abandoned In Shed; Space History Moment: "Dragon" Captured; U.S. Cuts $33M Aid To Pakistan; Sixth Day Of Deliberations
Aired May 25, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, Suzanne Malveaux, very nice to see you.
I'm sitting in for Brooke Baldwin today. We have a lot on the agenda. So happening right now, the Feds questioning a passenger after we're told he tried to rush the cockpit on an American Airlines flight. It happened as that plane was taxiing to the gate in Miami, fresh off the touchdown from Jamaica. And just in, we are hearing now how passengers reacted on board. Take a listen.
RONALD WEBB, PASSENGER: (Inaudible) these days. (Inaudible) so we were a bit worried if there was something in his bag or whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he just ran to the front?
WEBB: Just ran to the front. Pretty quickly.
MALIK CANN, HELPED SUBDUE PASSENGER: I actually extended my hand, kind of like asking to shake his hand and from that point, I was able to maneuver him and flip it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
CANN: And as you -- you get in this kind of position and you're locked and one arm is up, the more it goes up, the more pain, the more pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: All right, let's go live now to Lizzie O'Leary, who's standing by in Washington.
So this sounded a little frightening for the folks on board. What do we know?
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know now that the FBI has arrested one man, a young man, 24. He's a Canadian citizen. His name is Ryan Snyder. And they said he appeared to be disoriented, according to passengers. There appears to be no nexus to terrorism. The FBI says he wasn't on any of the government watch lists.
It sounds like, according to the passengers you heard there and others, that he essentially rushed towards the front of the plane as this plane was taxiing. They had already landed from Jamaica and they were heading toward a gate at Miami International Airport. So he's in custody. He's expected to be charged with interfering with a flight crew.
That's a federal charge. It's the same one that we saw leveled towards that JetBlue pilot a month or so back. So this is a similar charge. We don't know quite yet what will happen to him, whether or not he will be formally charged. That's sort of a next step here. He's going to appear in court in Florida on Tuesday, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: All right. Better that it wasn't something more serious. Lizzie O'Leary, thanks very much. Have yourself a good weekend.
A lie ruined his life, killed his football dreams, put him in a cell for five years, but now Brian Banks can start all over again with a clear name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) motion to dismiss this case pursuant to section (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
(APPLAUSE)
BANFIELD (voice-over): This is a reaction to a judge throwing out his 2002 conviction for rape and kidnapping. He was a high school football star with a full ride to the University of Southern California. But when he was 16, a 15-year-old classmate claimed that he raped her. He decided to plead no contest in court so he could avoid a possible life sentence.
He spent five years in prison and spent the last five out on parole as a registered sex offender. And then one day he got a Facebook message from the accuser and she eventually admitted to lying about the whole thing. And that cleared the way for a full exoneration.
BRIAN BANKS, ACQUITTED OF RAPE: I love everyone that wishes my freedom, and I got that today. I feel like anything is possible. And it's proven today with me by me getting my freedom back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Incredible emotion. Brian Banks will be our guest a little later on in the program today. But first, I want to talk about the mechanics of all of this and the woman who had a lie that cost him everything.
I want to welcome civil rights attorney Avery Friedman.
You know, I hate to say, Avery, but we do these stories every so often and it just makes your heart bleed that someone is put away so wrongfully. But it happens and people do decide to take a deal because the alternative can be even worse.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: That's exactly right, but you know what, Ashleigh, this is a wonderful ending to a story and it shows that if you persevere, justice can prevail. And once the truth came out in this case, it blew up like a tick on Dracula.
The fact is that there are civil implications, criminal implications, a multitude of legal issues that are involved, not the least of which is Wanette Gibson, who was the accuser, who admitted that she lied.
Well, if she lied to police, are they going to charge her? And then the civil liability implications. She netted $1.5 million of the school district after she claimed that it was the district's fault for not providing sufficient security.
And so will Banks then go after that amount of money left of the $1.5 million that Gibson has? I mean, the case absolutely drips in a multitude of legal issues.
BANFIELD: There are just so many layers. Let me just start with the woman you mentioned, Wanette Gibson. There's no report at this point that she's been arrested or charged. But we heard of these stories before and they do get charged and they do go to prison and not for short periods of time either. What is the potential charge she could face because of this horrible action she took?
FRIEDMAN: Well, they're both misdemeanors and felonies, not the least of which is for misrepresentation to law enforcement and interference with obstruction of justice. But both felonies and misdemeanors.
I tell you something, if I'm a prosecutor in southern California, I want to throw the book at this young woman because, you want to know something? While the story of Brian Banks is a wonderful one in terms of the ending, he will never be the same. He is altered for life. That scholarship to USC is gone. He's now roughly 27 years old.
So the opportunities -- in fact, I think the young man wanted to play in the NFL. So the opportunities are gone. And it strikes me, that if we're going to do justice, we need to make the accuser responsible and then consider what the Banks family is going to do about what happened here.
BANFIELD: I can't take my eyes off him in that picture in court as he was finally given that ultimate justice. But I do sometimes wonder, Avery, what the ultimate justice is. He was on the "Today" show. He was so affable and lovely and classy and he wouldn't go there, saying I want to get her, I want police to charge her. He instead said I'm looking forward to the rest of my life. That doesn't stop me from asking the question, doesn't he have a civil case against her?
FRIEDMAN: He absolutely has a civil case against her. And, you know, I'm honestly hoping here, Ashleigh, that of the $1.5 million that this accuser got in going after the school district that some of that money is left because something tells me it's going to be very difficult to collect a large judgment against the accuser.
BANFIELD: Yes, and ultimately he could garnish wages and all the rest and change her life, but may never be able to ever really get that O.J. kind of money, right?
FRIEDMAN: Well, that's exactly right. And you know what, no matter how much he gets, if he gets anything, Ashleigh --
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: It doesn't change --
FRIEDMAN: -- this young man is altered. This man is altered and he will never be the same. So criminal prosecution, the accuser, civil action for this wonderful young man, let's see what happens.
BANFIELD: Well, and here is the story, Wanette Gibson is her name on national television. Brian Banks is also going to be a guest.
Avery, thanks so much. Avery Friedman, nice to see you, happy holiday to you.
FRIEDMAN: Same to you.
BANFIELD: Make sure you stick around as well. Like I mentioned in the next hour, the man himself, Brian Banks, will join me to talk a little bit about what it is to get your life back and how you do seek ultimate justice, or if just getting out and having your name cleared is justice enough.
Any moment now, the man who police say confessed to killing a 6- year-old boy over three decades ago is expected to face a judge. But without much physical evidence, how on Earth do you prosecute a case like this?
Plus a series of attacks on women's clinics has a lot of people on alert right across the country. We'll tell you what happened and how.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: To New York now and the arrest of a man in a decades- old missing child case. At any moment, this man could be arraigned on murder charges in connection with the disappearance of a little boy named Etan Patz. The man's name is Pedro Hernandez and this is his picture as it appeared on "INSIDE EDITION." New York Police Department said he confessed to killing that little boy.
Etan Patz became a national obsession after vanishing on his way to school 33 years ago today. CNN's Susan Candiotti is following this story.
And Susan, I know that you've probably had a chance to look at these headlines from the New York two big tabloid papers. I've got the "Post" and "The Daily News." And you can see, "Daily News" says that "Etan Case" -- or rather, "Post" says "Etan Case Solved." And "The Daily News" says "Etan Choked, Bagged and Dumped in the Trash."
While all of that makes for a great headline, I'm not so sure that this case is solved. There seem to be a lot of questions still lingering.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we still don't know exactly what he will be charged with. Now Ray Kelly, the police commissioner, said at a news conference on Thursday night that he suspects that prosecutors will charge him with second degree murder.
Of course, as you know, first degree involves premeditation. But we really won't know more about that until we get to see this arraignment, we hope sometime today.
BANFIELD: And what do we know about this suspect? Pedro Hernandez? Where is he right now.
CANDIOTTI: At first, he was in jail. But this morning he was removed from jail to Bellevue Hospital, very well known public hospital here in New York City. It also has a secure area where suspects are sometimes taken.
In this case, police tell me he was moved there because Hernandez is on medications. They won't say what kind, psychiatric, any other kind of medication, citing privacy issues, but apparently he will be arraigned from his bedside. So we will get to watch this arraignment. It will be transmitted to a courtroom where the judge will be, but we won't be able to see him in person, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Well, that just brings up so many more questions. I mean, Bellevue has a pretty huge psychiatric unit. And it makes me wonder if there was any truth at all to one of the detectives, who yesterday said we're looking at this case with a healthy dose of skepticism. I mean, who comes in after 33 years and just offers a full confession to a crime like this?
CANDIOTTI: There are so many questions surrounding this case, and that's one of them. The other -- one of the others is that they are basing this, as far as we know, at least according to police, on the statements that they say he made in which he allegedly confessed to police in a 31/2-hour long interview that was videotaped. Wouldn't it be interesting to see that?
So we'll have to wait and see what other evidence they eventually gather as time goes on. If they move forward with this case.
BANFIELD: Yes, and if that thing goes to trial, there is a good chance we might see that videotape. So Susan, we'll come back to you when or if that arraignment gets underway. But a bizarre situation from the bedside, like you mentioned. Susan Candiotti, live for us, downtown Manhattan.
Scandal at the Vatican. CNN has confirmed that someone is accused of leaking secrets. And there are reports the person is the pope's butler. Plus take a good look at the guy in that car. Look painful? Get this. He's a doctor. And he's inside a police car. That is not good for your case, is it? No, not at all.
Also, we are watching two storms, a hurricane and a tropical storm and both of them are headed north. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Got more news unfolding right now. We like to call it "Rapid Fire," so roll it. And here we go. If you're one of the millions hitting the road this Memorial weekend, here's what you're going to face at the pump. The national average for a gallon of regular is $3.67. If that sounds bad, I've got news for you. It's actually down. It's down from its peak in April. So 26 cents better than it was.
Also making news, a scandal at the Vatican. A Vatican spokesperson telling CNN that a man is under arrest and it is believed that he leaked confidential information to the media. And get this -- the Italian media are reporting that it's the pope's butler. The pope's butler -- we're told that he was caught red-handed with some illegal private documents.
Oh, my head. Not your typical parliamentary debate, is it? Things getting really one of hand in the Ukraine. All of this over a bill to expand the use of Russian, the language. The country's deeply divided into Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers.
One lawmaker was actually sent to the hospital after this melee. But if you think this is bad, there was a fight just two years ago that sent six lawmakers to the emergency room. So maybe not so bad here.
Also making news, do you remember that cargo ship that ran aground off the coast of New Zealand last October? Look at the pictures, might jog your memory. The captain and the second officer of that ship, The Riana (ph), have now been sentenced to seven months in jail.
That ship hit a reef and it leaked 350 tons of fuel into the beaches and the islands nearby, contaminating all sorts of areas and killing thousands of sea birds. So the two have been found guilty of operating the ship in a dangerous manner and altering the documents in an attempt to cover up what they did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the officers steal my money! Steal my money!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, stop banging your head!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes. Stop banging your head. No kidding. That's a doctor. I'm not kidding. And he's certainly not his own best patient. He's suspended now from the hospital where he worked. He actually looks like he's wearing his scrubs.
Florida police released this dashcam video. They had pulled him over for a DUI after he almost hit a patrol car. The money that he was yelling about, and continues to yell about, $54,000 in cash. Not only that, but there was a gun also found in his car. He was charged not only with DUI but battery on an officer after he spit blood from his head injury in the officer's face.
Hundreds of bikers in the nation's capital. It is the annual 25th annual Rolling Thunder event. They ride through the streets of Washington, many of them veterans, and they do this to show their support of our military and to honor those who have died while protecting this country. That's good to see, and we appreciate their services as well.
If your Memorial Day plans include maybe some beach time, you might want to listen up. It may not be the best weather. In fact, it could be some rough, wet weather because there is a disturbance off the coast of Florida that could become a tropical storm.
First, though, yes, it was kind of a cool effect. You just reamed me out, didn't you? Take a look at this. It's a hurricane. I love these sat pictures. They're just remarkable. It's a hurricane. It's off the coast of Mexico, the west coast of Mexico right now.
Want to bring in Chad Myers who knows so much more. We're going to rein you in because you're the reigning god of all things, good and bad weather. So give me the lowdown on these two systems, you know, which one's more serious, if they're petering out, if they're petering up, what are they doing?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, oh, Bud is in the Pacific and Burl could be in the Atlantic. It's not a storm yet; doesn't have a name. Start with Bud. It's a tropical storm probably by the time it makes landfall here around Manzanilla. It's a hurricane right now. It's an 80-mile-per-hour hurricane, but losing a lot of speed. Losing all of its color.
The threat will be all of the rain and flooding from Puerta Vallarta southward, not all the way to Acapulco, and it will not get to Cabo, it will not get to Cancun. So other than really Manzanilla, you're going to be in good shape if you're headed anywhere there across parts of western Mexico.
Now back for the area here, Puerta Vallarta, as it turns to the left, by Sunday morning it's completely gone. The problem is by Sunday morning, this could be right over parts of Jacksonville, South Florida, Charleston and right into the beaches of South Florida and Western Florida Panhandle.
That's because this storm is -- even though it looks like it's moving to the north, will turn around and head back to the south. We're watching it, though. Could possibly bring some rain to Charlotte, big Coca-Cola 600 there. Looks like a hot day, though, for the Indy 500, high by the afternoon, 96 at the Indy 500.
BANFIELD: I was waiting for you to tell me the name and the pronunciation of that name because I've heard you all day chastising us anchor people for calling it Beryl, Hurricane Beryl.
MYERS: It is not a barrel of fun, it's not a barrel of monkeys. It is Burl. Like Burl and Ives (sic). There you go.
BANFIELD: I like that.
MYERS: You did it right, though. You said it right.
BANFIELD: I'm showing my age with the Milton Berle reference, right?
MYERS: That's right.
BANFIELD: Thank you, Chad Myers, talk to you soon.
MYERS: See you.
BANFIELD: A young girl who lost her hearing as an infant completely breaks down in tears when she finally hears herself breathing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK, you can cry. It's OK.
BANFIELD (voice-over): That is Sammie Hicks. She says it was absolutely overwhelming and she and her family will join me next to talk about that moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: What would it be like to suddenly gain a sense that you've been missing your whole life? Ten-year-old Sammie Hicks was born with a genetic mutation in her ears and her hearing faded away when she was just a toddler. And then she spent her life living in a silent movie.
But recently, her insurance agreed to cover a cochlear implant, kind of like a bionic ear. And Sammie kept a video diary and captured the very moment that she could hear. And when her mom was there, she said she just had to post this on YouTube. Get your Kleenex. You are not going to believe what you're about to see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
SAMMIE HICKS: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's weird.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're hearing yourself better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK, you can cry. It's OK. It's weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Unbelievable moment. And we are so glad that on your screen, joining me live, Sammie Hicks with her family.
Jan, Brian, Jacob, Sammie, it's so good to see you all. Can you all hear me OK?
BRIAN HICKS: We hear you.
BANFIELD: And there you are, Sammie, you're nodding yes as well. Sammie, you can hear my voice pretty clearly?
S. HICKS: Yes.
BANFIELD: I have to ask you, when we all watched that video, I mean, it brings tears to my eyes. A lot of people I work with have been overwhelmed by your video diary, especially that first moment. Can you explain to me what that was like, the first moment you could hear yourself breathe?
S. HICKS: It was scary because I didn't really know what they were -- it was. And -- yes.
BANFIELD: Just scary? I mean, I can -- did someone have to tell you, Sammie, that that was the sound of your own breath that made you so startled?
S. HICKS: Yes.
BANFIELD: Oh, Jan and Brian, this must have just been unbelievable for you. Can you tell me what you went through at that moment?
JAN HICKS: Well, it was very emotional because we knew how much she was missing but she didn't know what she was missing. And watching her breathe heavier and heavier -- and you could see the look on her face, the emotion she had was amazing. It was great.
BANFIELD: She just came to terms with realizing, this is the sound of me. And then I saw you, I think it was you, Brian, in that video, when you went over, because Sammie started to cry. I mean, she started to realize how incredible this sense was that she had just gotten back. Tell me about your reaction and what you did when you went over to her.
B. HICKS: Well, it was surreal because she was laughing and then she started crying. And when she said that she had sounded weird, I had to go over there, she started crying. And the only thing I could think of saying to her was that she doesn't sound weird. I mean, she sounds like Sammie. And that kind of made her laugh a little bit and kind of broke up the moment. But, yes, it just fills your heart.
BANFIELD: So Sammie, tell me about those tears. What were you thinking and what made you cry?
S. HICKS: Because I couldn't believe how much I was missing and it was overwhelming.
BANFIELD: Have you been noticing things now that are becoming clearer to you? Are you finding out things that, for the last 10 years of your life, that you didn't know were out there?
S. HICKS: Yes.
BANFIELD: Can you think of anything? I know that's kind of a hard question when you're live on TV, but what sort of things have been the most interesting to you, Sammie, and the most surprising to you with your new cochlear implants?
S. HICKS: Well, the birds and the gas flames on the fireplace -- not the fireplace, the stove.
BANFIELD: Really? I never would have thought of that. That's really remarkable. So, Jen and Brian, what have you noticed about Sammi and sort of her new environment. How has she changed?
S. HICKS: Well, she definitely speaks clearer and her deaf-ed teacher told me today it's so interesting watching her test her voice out and her different laughs.
She's just so excited to hear different things, just coming from her and around her. She used to not be able to watch TV in her room without her closed captioning.
And one day we're in her room and she's telling me what was on the TV down stairs, which was really remarkable to me.
BANFIELD: Wow. It's almost like she's hyper sensitive to this now, right?
S. HICKS: Well, we actually have to go in the other room if we want to talk about her now because she can hear what we're saying.
BANFIELD: I never thought about that.
S. HICKS: It's an adjustment for us.
BANFIELD: I should probably do the full disclosure here because people watching the interview have probably noticed I have not asked any questions of Jacob. Jacob's 7 years old. He also has a hearing impairment as well, correct?
S. HICKS: Yes, he's 9.
BANFIELD: I beg your pardon. I don't know why he caught he was 7. As I look closer at the picture, you definitely look 9. Tell me about the possibilities for Jacob to get the same kind of surgery and implant that his big sister has.
S. HICKS: Well, actually Dr. Bauer just did his cochlear implant surgery on May 11, so we're just waiting for his turn-on date. So he's already had the procedure and he'll be turned on, on June 7.
We're very excited for that and Sammi has been a great support for him throughout the entire process. They've been able to do it together. It's really great.
BANFIELD: So how have Jacob and Sammi been communicating as they both had hearing impairments before Sammi got her cochlear implants? How did the two of them speak?
S. HICKS: Well, they both are pretty good with lip reading and they have some pretty high powered hearing aids. So they can hear voices when they're close to each other and facing them. I will say that there's some funny disagreements over who said what when nobody really said that. There's a lot of miscommunication.
BANFIELD: I can only imagine. Well, listen, I would love to the chance to have you back and do this who thing all over again when you turn on the new sense for little Jacob and he gets to hear his breathing and he gets to hear his big sister and his mom and dad in earnest.
S. HICKS: He would love that.
BANFIELD: Thank you for sharing this story with us. I just feel all the better having met you, even in this weird digital way. But it's great to see you all and good luck to you.
S. HICKS: Thank you so much.
BANFIELD: Sammi, Jacob, Jen and Brian, the Hicks family joining us on this holiday weekend.
Coming up, certainly more news for you and a story that just will leave you scratching your head. Three young children abandoned in a shed, causing outrage among the neighbors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept watching thinking come on back, you simple person. You come on back and look for your babies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And now police want to know if anyone out there recognizes these three beautiful faces and if you can care for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: A shocking discovery in an abandoned shed in Portland, Oregon, three children, toddlers and a baby discovered in an old wooden shed. The oldest about 3 maybe 4 years old, no one is really sure. The youngest somewhere around 18 months, identities unknown. Parents nowhere to be found, but the shed is in a area that's known to be frequented by homeless people. Just listen to this reaction from a woman who lived right across the street from where these little children were found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY BAXTER, LIVES ACROSS STREET FROM SHED: It was heart breaking to see those little kids come out. Evidently, the mother had dropped them off because the people back there knew the mother had dropped them off, but she hadn't been back.
What do I think? You don't know. You don't know want to know because I kept watching thinking come on back, you simple person. You come on back and look for your babies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Robert King of the Portland police. He's joining us on the telephone. Sir, do you have any leads whatsoever on who these children belong to or how they ended up in that shed?
ROBERT KING, PORTLAND, OREGON, PORTLAND POLICE (via telephone): Well, we do have some information that also was gathered there yesterday when they took the call. We do have a tip line set up and information has come in to that.
And we do have one of our detectives who's assigned to our child abuse team who is on the process of following up on all those leads. I don't think we've located mom or dad or a family member at this time, but we're continuing to work to do just that.
BANFIELD: It sounds as though this is a fairly residential area. But I'm curious if there are cameras, any surveillance cameras anywhere nearby that might help you in this endeavour?
KING: No. We have no information about any cameras. Officers did talk with, you know, the other homeless people that were there at the residence.
And we do have some information about mom or dad and we're in the process of following up on that. But really at this point, we're just hoping they come forward or hoping we can find them.
Because obviously our investigators want to talk about, you know, leaving three little children alone in a shed with people that are not family members and that are also homeless. Obviously, that raises concerns for us and for everybody who hears about it.
BANFIELD: To say the very least, I just hung on that nugget that you dropped that you do have some information from the people, the homeless people that you interviewed. Is anything you can share with us?
KING: Nothing more. You know, this really is at this point, a criminal investigation. We're really grateful that all three of these little children are safely in the care of our Department of Human Services.
And they've been medically checked from that standpoint, they're fine. Our number one goal is to find mom or dad or another family member. We obviously have some questions for them about what happened and how this could have happened. The really good news is that the children are safe.
BANFIELD: When I go out for milk, my two boys 5 and 6 are upset. What was the condition of them mentally? How were they? Were they crying? Were they alone? Were they scared? How were they?
KING: You know, surprisingly, not really distraught or particularly upset. I think, you know, officers were, you know, just utterly shocked to find little kids in this setting.
And really, they were all dressed and they had some food obviously there. They have been receiving care from a parent or from other concerned people that, you know, still I think it's just hard for our folks to find little kid especially this age, you know, 8 to 15 months.
BANFIELD: Was the baby being looked after by the older ones and when I say older ones, I mean, 3 or 4 years old.
KING: You know, they're really now, you know, capable of really caring for another child. I know that there are other people that were there that were homeless that were providing some level of care.
But obviously, all of us believe that, you know, the primary responsibility for that the role, especially for children of this age belong with mom and dad or other family members who can take on that responsibility and ensure the kids are safe and well cared for.
BANFIELD: It's just heartbreaking. I wish you all the best in your efforts to solve this. You know, I wish you the best in finding a suitable home. Certainly I'm not so sure it's with the people if you find them though. Officer King, thanks --
KING: We're going to go to good result and our investigators are working hard right now to produce good news for, you know, the kids and bring a resolution to this hopefully that improves the situation.
BANFIELD: Three beautiful faces, thank you, Officer King.
KING: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Appreciate it.
We have some sad news to bring you. This is just in to CNN. It is a number, 3,000, that's the number of people who have now lost their lives since the start of the war in Afghanistan and the war on terror, 3,000.
It's been a marker we've been creeping towards steadily for 10 years, 3,000 members of coalition forces of "Operation Enduring Freedom." This news comes on Memorial Day weekend so please keep their families in your mind if you spend time with yours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: This weekend, we celebrate Memorial Day, honoring those dedicated men and women whose service ended with the ultimate sacrifice.
But for those who do return, coming home can certainly be very difficult. Today's "CNN HERO" is a former Marine who has made it his mission to help them find a new purpose by giving them a chance to continue to serve. Meet Jake Wood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE WOOD, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: In the military, everyone is taught how to lead. They thought how to follow and solve problems. We really pride ourselves on being ready and willing to go anywhere. I started in the Marine Corps deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
When I first saw the earthquake that hit Haiti, a lot of images felt like I had seen before driving through the streets of (inaudible) or Afghanistan, I realized I could actually help out.
So I went on Facebook and said I'm going to Haiti, who's in and 72 hours after that, we were on our way to Port-Au-Prince. We got to work setting up triage clinics. We realized that veterans are really useful in these type 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 can help the veteran community as well. We bring these veterans together to be a part a team once again. They are almost recharged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get out, you have a feeling of what are you doing that's important in the world? Team Rubicon has just provided a great opportunity to just help people in need.
WOOD: Most of the work that we do internationally is emergency medical triage clinics. We've gone to Chile, Sudan, and 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 as part of the healing process.
There's really no limit to what veterans can do. We have the ability to help and want to serve. I think it's a win-win situation. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: It is the galactic union that all eyes have been watching, nerd alert. We are not talking about Princess Leia and Hans Solo although it is the 35th anniversary of the release of "Star Wars" if you're counting.
Instead today we're talking about Dragon, that's the name of the white capsule made by Spacex. Almost five hours ago, a robotic arm from the International Space Station was able to reach out and catch Dragon by its tail literally.
This is a huge step for the commercial mission to the International Space Station because it's proof that private industry can enter space.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capture is confirmed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we've got us a Dragon by the tail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once again, Spacex has done it. The two spacecrafts were passing about 250 miles above northwest Australia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Very cool. A couple hours later, Dragon was able to actually make the full hook up with the ISS. Food and clothing, computer science equipment, and I'm actually told some underwear is going to be unloaded to the folks on the space station.
If this mission is successful, the U.S. is no longer going to have to rely on Russia to get to and from the International Space Station. So there's that. We have some animation to show you as well. What's supposed to happen after two weeks? Dragon set to return to earth. Take a peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: This is a fantastic thing. There's going to be even better things in the future. We're super, super excited for what's happened and what will happen. So you know, I would like to thank the whole SpaceX team. You guys were awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes, he's the head of it all, but he also started Paypal, which is obviously why he could invest $100 million in this little science experiment.
SpaceX is under contract to do at least 12 cargo missions with the hope of eventually transporting people and not just stuff up to the International Space Station.
We didn't already know these tensions are certainly running high between our country and Pakistan. This after Pakistan punishes a doctor who helped the CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden.
The United States is firing back too by saying, how about we cut back on the money? So does this mean the doctor is going to go free? Find out what the deal is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: U.S. officials are furious over the jailing of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden and they're demanding that he'd be freed.
To show how serious they are, here's the demand. Senate has agreed to cut $33 million worth of military aid to Pakistan. So this man (inaudible) is released and that's a symbolic number too, $33 million for the 33 years of his sentence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: All of us are outraged at the imprisonment and sentence of some 33 years, virtually a death sentence to the doctor in Pakistan who was instrumental, not on purpose, but was on instrumental and completely innocent of any wrongdoing. He was instrumental in the removal of Osama Bin Laden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Want to bring in our foreign affairs reporter, Elise Labott who's standing by live. So things aren't good between our country and Pakistan already, but is this message being heard 7,000 miles away?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, a little bit, Ashleigh. As you said, the relationship is just worse and continues to get worse. Yesterday, after the Senate took that action, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an impromptu statement.
Not even asked by any journalists, talking about the severity of the sentence, saying that the U.S. believes that he never should have been arrested, never been convicted.
And what U.S. officials are telling me, they don't need to be taking calls right now, the actions the Senate took, the statement Secretary Clinton took really speak to itself in terms of how the U.S. feels.
And if the message to the Pakistanis right now is if the Senate did this, if we're talking like this, imagine what we're going to do down the line.
So every official right now that's talking to the Pakistanis is pointing to what the Senate did, pointing to what Secretary Clinton is saying, saying we really need to resolve this issue.
BANFIELD: Elise, just quickly, why didn't we help him get out of Pakistan?
LABOTT: Well, my understanding is that U.S. officials repeatedly asked him, advised him to get out of the country and he said he didn't want to go. He didn't really think this would happen.
But after the attack happened, after the raid happened, the Pakistanis rounded a lot of people up. He was found out and obviously regretting that decision right now.
BANFIELD: Elise Labott live for us in Washington today. Thank you for that. Appreciate it.
So with jurors taking this long to decide John Edwards' fate, is there anything you can read into that? Like hung jury perhaps?
Just a few minutes, I'm going to speak with the man who was just exonerated and cleared of rape after years behind bars. What does he want to say to the woman who accused him falsely?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Jurors in the John Edwards trial just came back from lunch and it is the sixth day, if you're counting, of deciding whether John Edwards is guilty of misusing campaign funds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you holding up, Senator?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm OK, thanks for asking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Pretty good mood, but that was three days ago. Do you think he's any happier today, has anything changed? With these many days of deliberation, are we potentially looking at a hung jury?
Remember, federal prosecutors charged John Edwards with allegedly taking more than $900,000 in illegal campaign contributions, falsifying documents and conspiracy to receive and conceal the money.
All of it, prosecutors alleged, to conceal the former mistress. The mistress and their love child who's now 4 years old. I still can't believe I read these lines.
It still doesn't seem real to me. Let's me bring in CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin who also has the same reaction I do. We can't believe we're saying these things about a presidential candidate.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's a very weird case.
BANFIELD: So I always like to think about tea leaves. I don't like to read into them too much, but when we get to six days in a four-week trial, I start to wonder about the hung jury.
TOOBIN: Certainly when you get to the beginning of a holiday weekend, you think about it because this is obviously a very natural time far jury to wrap it up.
Nobody wants this hanging over them over the long weekend. So if they have not reached a verdict today and they're only scheduled to deliberate for another half-hour to so they're very close to the end of their day. They could extend it, but chances are they will just leave at 3:30 Eastern.
BANFIELD: They are not sequestered, though.
TOOBIN: They are not sequestered. And they could ask the judge, give us another hour and we think we could make more progress. But it would suggest the jury is having some problem if they don't reach a verdict today.
BANFIELD: So one of the things that we always like to talk about, if they come back and they say you know what, we just can't come to any meeting of the minds, there's that whole idea of the dynamite charge.
TOOBIN: The dynamite charge, sometimes called an Allen charge after a Supreme Court case. Basically what the Allen charge or the dynamite charge is, a judge says look, you need to listen to each other. There's nothing wrong with changing your opinion, you don't have to change your opinion.
But it's basically encouraging the jurors to reach a result. They're not at that stage yet and it's worth pointing out that all the notes from the jury so far have been requests for evidence. There is really no sign yet that they are having problems. You know, sometimes you'll get a note, one juror refuses to deliberate.
We're having problems. There's been nothing like that. So there really doesn't appear to be a hung jury yet, but this is getting to be a pretty long deliberation.
BANFIELD: One of the favorite questions that comes from the jury, can you give us the legal definition of reasonable doubt?
TOOBIN: Which comes up all the time, they ask for that all the time because it's a very hard concept to define. It usually winds up being sort of circular. Well, it's the doubt that's reasonable.
BANFIELD: Well, one juror look at the others saying, you're unreasonable.
TOOBIN: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: There has to be a definition for how unreasonable you're being. TOOBIN: That's right. And most jurors reach -- most juries do not hang.
They come to a result. I have every expectation that will be the case here, but if we go to the end of today with no verdict, that will certainly suggest they're having a hard time with this case.
BANFIELD: And all those years I worked at Court TV, and talked to you at ad nauseam about these things, I remember Fridays we used to call in the biz verdict day.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And also you never have verdicts in the morning.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: They want the free lunch, about. Everybody wants a free lunch.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: That sounds crazy, people, but it's...
TOOBIN: You never see jury verdicts in the morning, almost never.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: Well, hopefully, I will see you, what, within the next half-hour. Don't leave the building.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: I'm not leaving the building. I'm under orders.
BANFIELD: Jeffrey Toobin on stand by.
From me.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: And everybody else, a higher power, trust me.
Jeff, thanks. Good to see you.
