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Lawyers Prep Hasan Court Martial; Florida A&M Searches For New President; Scathing Report Blasts Penn State; Joe Biden At NAACP In Place Of President; FBI Releases Reports on Zimmerman; Rep. Jackson Has Mood Disorder; Army Ends Nascar Sponsorship; Singer uses Cheat Sheet For National Anthem; FBI to Reopen Past Cases; Foreclosures Jump Dramatically in U.S.; Was Romney's NAACP Speech Differ from One Delivered to Latinos; Selling Coffee and Coffins; Bomb Threat Closes Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Aired July 12, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Obama, a no-show for the NAACP but sends his second in command.
And Congressman Jesse Jackson Junior gives a paper statement on his health, but it leaves more questions than answers.
And new documents in the case of the man charged with killing Trayvon Martin could shed some light on whether or not race played a role. I want to get right to it.
U.S. military judge held a hearing at Fort Hood, Texas today, a few weeks before the court-martial begins for Major Nadal Hassan. Hassan, he is the army psychiatrist who went on a shooting rampage in -- back in 2009. He is accused of killing 13 people, all but one of them fellow soldiers. He also wounded 29 others. Now, attorneys today discussed the makeup of his military jury which has not yet been convened. Hassan's murder trial is set to begin August 20th.
Florida A&M University now looking for a new president. The school's board of directors is going to hold a meeting today on -- rather Monday. President James Ammons announced his resignation yesterday. He stepped down more than seven months after a student was beaten to death. Robert champion, he was a drum major. He died during an apparent hazing incident on the bus last year. Fourteen suspects have been charged in the case.
In about two hours, Penn State will respond to a scathing internal report on the school's handling of the sexual abuse allegations against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The panel led by former FBI director and federal judge, Louie Freeh, accuses the school's former leadership of showing a total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's victims. Freeh says much of the blame lies at the feet of, quote, "The most powerful men at Penn State." Former president Graham Spanier, also former vice president Gary Schultz, the school's late head coach Joe Paterno, and its former athletic director Tim Curley. Freeh says that the four ignored more red flags than you can count, didn't take into account any action to protect those kids from Sandusky for 14 years. Here's what he said specifically about Paterno's role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS FREEH, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: The evidence shows that Mr. Paterno was made aware of the 1998 investigation of Sandusky, followed it closely, but failed to take any action, even though Sandusky had been a key member of his coaching staff for about 30 years and had an office just steps away from Mr. Paterno.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: In a statement issued today, the Paterno family acknowledged that the former head coach made mistakes and regretted them, but they insisted Paterno did not know that Sandusky was a child predator.
Joining us live from Philadelphia, CNN contributor and Patriots news reporter Sara Ganim. And Sara, you've been covering this story exclusively from the very beginning. This is a panel that reviewed more than, what, 3.5 million documents, they held 430 interviews before coming up with this report. How does this break down in terms of who was most responsible?
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, judge Louie Freeh said it comes down to these four people, Joe Paterno, the president Graham Spanier and those two Penn State officials who have already been charged with lying in the criminal investigation, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. When he was asked about other employees, or more wide cover- up, he denied that any other employees are responsible for actively concealing the allegations against Jerry Sandusky.
He did lay some blame on the board of trustees for a lack of oversight. He said they were simply too lax and let a couple of people get away with too much power and not enough responsibility to report. But as far as other people that they lay blame for actively concealing Jerry Sandusky's allegations -- the allegations against Jerry Sandusky or even knowing about allegations against Jerry Sandusky, the Freeh internal report team narrowed it down to these four people, said they all knew about at least two incidents and did nothing to report them to authorities.
MALVEAUX: And Sara, I understand that this report specifically talks about -- what many talk about this, this shower incident with Sandusky and one of these boys, one of these victims here and what should have been done after that shower incident was actually viewed. Can you explain what the report says?
GANIM: The report says, basically, is very straightforward. They should have reported it to authorities, to Pennsylvania's department of child welfare, to police. In 1998, there was a police investigation and this is where the Paterno family is kind of pushing back a little bit. There was a six-week police investigation that ended with a district attorney not filing charges, and Joe Paterno's son, Scott, says, look, my father's hands were tied then at that point he couldn't fire this coach, he couldn't discipline him in any way, because the criminal investigation ended with him being cleared. MALVEAUX: And Sarah --
GANIM: In 2001, that's a little different.
MALVEAUX: Last month, Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period, and this report accuses several senior officials of what they say -- they call empowering Sandusky to actually attract more victims. What did they mean by that?
GANIM: Well, I don't know exactly what they mean, but he didn't really elaborate. What he said was that by their inaction and actively concealing the allegations, they allowed more victims to be abused. Now, we know that there were several allegations in the 2000s, from 2000 to 2001, 2002, there were incidents in 2005 through 2008 and 2009, there are several victims who took the stand at Jerry Sandusky's trial and testified that they were abused during that decade and that's all after these four Penn State officials supposedly knew about allegations of Jerry Sandusky.
MALVEAUX: And Sarah, it sounds like so many people were held accountable and responsible for this, that it goes from the highest level here of the University, but also it talks about the lower-level staff members, specifically the janitors who actually knew in some ways that this was going on as well?
GANIM: Right. And Louie Freeh talked about a culture of fear and a culture of silence, and that the attitudes of these top Penn State officials of Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, their attitude of secrecy and silence permeated down all the way as low as employees that were part-time, that worked at night, that were cleaning bathrooms, and they understood that if they were to come forward and make allegations like this against a coach, against Jerry Sandusky, part of a revered program, a revered coach, that they would -- they believed they would be fired. And so, he talked a lot about that culture of silence.
MALVEAUX: All right. Sarah Ganim, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
It was vice president Joe Biden, not President Obama, taking center stage at the NAACP convention today. The president said he could not be there because of a scheduling conflict, but he did send a videotaped message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stand on your shoulders. And at the NAACP you have always believed in the American promise, that idea that no matter who you are or what you look like or where you come from, America is the place where you can make it if you try.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Biden praised his boss for taking a big political risk, getting health care law through Congress. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He passed the affordable care act, a goal strived for by presidents starting with Teddy Roosevelt. It required him early on to use up almost all of his political capital. He prevailed where no president has done before. He was right. He was right. He cut -- it cut $100 billion -- $100 billion from the federal debt over the next 10 years, providing access of affordable health care to 30 million Americans, eight million black Americans who would never have had insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Dan Lothian, he's at the White House. So Dan, take us back a little bit here, because I know there was some discussion over how this was handled, whether or not there was a scheduling conflict or whether or not the president had pre-taped this message beforehand to the organization and had always planned to send the vice president? What do we know?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, as you pointed out, the White House still maintains that this was a scheduling conflict, although when you look at the president's schedule today, it's quite light. He's doing a sit down interview along with the first lady with CBS News and he had his daily briefing here at the White House. Beyond that, though, in his public schedule, we did not see anything else. Although, I should point out that there are times when the president does have big meetings, important phone calls and other things, that are not on the public schedule and we do not find out about.
But nonetheless, the White House said that the president had done this tape recently but was not in reaction to the blowback that has happened over the last 24 hours or more on the president not attending the NAACP convention in Houston. In fact, White House spokesman Jay Carney, when asked about that today, said, quote, "Absolutely not." That there was no connection between the decision to do this tape and all the criticism of the president not appearing there in person -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Is there a sense from the White House and from the campaign that this is going to blow over fairly soon, that this is not going to be an issue moving into the weeks and the months ahead of the election and when you take a look at the NAACP, he's still going to have that solid support?
LOTHIAN: You know, I think so. And I don't know that you can find anyone out there that believes there's going to be any lasting impact from the president not showing up. I mean, just look at the past history in 2008, the president got 95 percent of the African- American vote, according to the exit polls. And in the most recent polling, he enjoys about 87 percent support among African-Americans over Mitt Romney. That's among African-American registered voters. And so, no one believes that this is going to change anything. And the White House points out that, look, the president can't make every one of these events. He is attending the upcoming Urban League convention and there are times when he cannot show up in person, he will show up by tape.
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Lothian, thank you. Good to see you in person.
LOTHIAN: OK.
MALVEAUX: Here's what we're working on for this hour.
(voice-over): Mitt Romney speaks to the NAACP and receives more jeers than cheers. Quite a change from his speech to a powerful Latino group a few weeks ago. Was there more to the message? We'll dissect the differences.
The U.S. Army puts the brakes on a long-running tradition, why Nascar's ending its ride, despite some 75 million fans.
And you don't expect this to happen when you go fishing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (INAUDIBLE)!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The surprising big catch that caused quite a scare.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Welcome back. It's a question many have been asking about this case. Did race play a role the night George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin? Well, new FBI reports released just a few hours ago might help actually answer that question.
I want to bring in our Legal Analyst and "IN SESSION" contributor Sunny Hostin who's been following this closely. Sunny, good to see you, of course. The question that a lot of people asking here, what role, if any, did race play in this case?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, if you look at the FBI investigation, and we now know that they really spoke to about 30 people, it isn't clear that race did play a part in it. The FBI certainly interviewed a lot of George Zimmerman's co-workers, a lot of his friends, and many of them say, if not all of them say, that they did not believe him to be biased, they did not believe him to be prejudiced.
What is also interesting, though, is that we now also have information from George Zimmerman's MySpace page. And in his profile, in the "about me" highlights page, he discusses people that are Mexican and he says, Suzanne, "I don't miss driving around Virginia scared to hit Mexicans walking on the side of the street." He also, in reference to Mexicans, says, "working 96 hours to get a decent paycheck, getting knives pulled on you by every Mexican you run into." And so you have that type of information, George Zimmerman's own words on his MySpace page. However, you also have the information from all of these witnesses, co-workers and friends, and they all say that he is not someone that's biased and someone that is prejudiced. So it will be interesting how that plays out in court.
I think what's also important to note is that the Sanford investigator, Chris Serino, who was the chief investigator, the lead investigator here, indicated when speaking to the FBI that he did not believe that George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin because of his race, but rather because of his attire, because of what he was wearing. The hoodie that we all talked about so much when this case broke. He says that that hoodie was worn by many people affiliated with gangs and that he believed, Officer Serino, that that is why George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin.
MALVEAUX: Sunny, do you think this report, some of these questions, do you think it answers what many people are wondering about this case? Does it put it to rest? Or does it really just bring up more questions about this? I mean, will this satisfy the critics?
HOSTIN: I don't think it will satisfy the critics. I mean certainly we don't have any definitive response from the civil rights division, the Justice Department, that sent the FBI to investigate whether or not there was a racial angle to this case. So all we have is this limited information. This is the second round of discovery that was released by Angela Corey's office. But still, many, many more questions out there, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Sunny, good to see you. Thank you, as always.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: Details are emerging about what is wrong with Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. His office says he is receiving, quote, "intensive medical treatment for a mood disorder." The 47-year-old lawmaker, he has not been on Capitol Hill since late May. And last month his office announced he was taking a leave of absence due to a medical condition.
Want to bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to talk a little bit about it.
It's a little confusing here. When we saw this statement, a lot of us didn't really quite know what to make of it. They said a mood disorder. Can you define that at all or help us understand?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A mood disorder is not very specific. It sort of covers a whole bunch of different disorders. And let's go over what the two big ones are. The two big mood disorders are depression. I mean we hear a lot about depression. Probably all of us know someone who's suffered from depression. And also bipolar disorder, which some people call manic depression. So those are the two big diagnoses that come under mood disorder.
MALVEAUX: Is this the kind of thing that he could be treated and he could simply go back to work? COHEN: You know, the psychiatrists we talked to said, sure, people who have these disorders work all the time. But at the same time, it is something that they deal with, usually for the rest of their lives. It's not something where you go in, you get treatment and you're fine. They said that often you will have to go back for treatment. Maybe just outpatient the next time. But it's not something that gets cured with one hospitalization.
MALVEAUX: So we know he's probably under a lot of stress. There's a house ethics investigation that is looking into him as well. Could that actually contribute to something like a mood disorder?
COHEN: Yes. The doctors we talked to said that a stressor like that can definitely send someone into a mood disorder. I mean that's a pretty big deal, right? I mean you're a person of stature and now your peers are judging you and investigating you. That that's not a small thing. So something like that could send you into a depression or into some kind of a bipolar situation. Let's say a divorce could do the same thing. So, stress plays a huge role.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, we hope he's OK. And, obviously, we're going to try to get more information to see just what kind of condition and what kind of shape he's in.
Elizabeth, thank you. Appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: The Army has a lot of techniques when it comes to recruiting new soldiers, including using Nascar. But soon the relationship's going to end. We're going to tell you why.
And the old toys lying around your house could have a second life as life-saving medical devices. That makes "The Next List."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE GOMEZ-MARQUEZ: My name is Jose Gomez-Marquez and I use toys to make affordable medical devices.
When you're using toys, it demystifies the process of medical technology. Often we look at these medical devices and we think that they're a black box.
And you need an expert to even take a screwdriver at it.
You may not have the courage to hack (ph) a thousand dollar device, but you definitely have the courage to hack (ph) something that's $5. And if you add a little ingenuity, it becomes something as powerful at that $1,000 medical device.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: When the Navy's newest aircraft carriers hit the high seas, they're going to come out with something that ships have always had, but -- urinals. But this is not going to be on those ships. The Navy says the decision was made in part to give the service flexibility in accommodating female sailors. But it wasn't the only reason for the move. Urinals clog more than toilets and cost more to maintain. Now, the carriers outfitted with the new design, they are named for former President Gerald Ford and will debut in 2015.
For years, the U.S. military has spent millions of dollars on advertising at sporting events hoping to attract young people, get them to sign up, right? Well, as Barbara Starr reports, when it comes to Nascar, the Army is now doing an about-face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, ABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nascar has some 75 million fans. The Army says they're just too old. So after 10 years of sponsoring a Nascar Sprint Cup team, the Army is ending it all, stopping its $8.5 million sponsorship of Ryan Newman's number 39 car. Nowadays, the Army insists only 5 percent of Nascar fans are men aged 18 to 34, the target audience for Army recruiters.
MARK DAVIS, U.S. ARMY MARKETING: It was a good investment, not a great investment, and so we made a change.
STARR: The military has long used sporting events to advertise and encourage young people to sign up for military service. When I visited the Daytona 500 preps in 2010, I spoke to Newman about his main sponsor.
STARR (on camera): What is it about representing the U.S. Army? What's different here?
RYAN NEWMAN, NASCAR DRIVER: I'm representing people. And it's an honor to represent people that are not just people, they're people that are fighting for our freedom or have fought for our freedom or will fight for our freedom.
STARR (voice-over): Now Nascar fans at a Florida hangout have a mixed reaction to the Army's decision.
JASON FILBY, NASCAR SUPPORTER: Having the Army, or any military branch, sponsor a car is only going to help instill pride in our country.
CAROL SANTOS, SPONSORSHIP OPPONENT: Men and women on the front line, I would rather see it go to them and their families, rather than to a sports car driver.
STARR: Some in Congress think it's high time to get out of sports sponsorships in the face of the federal deficit.
REP. BETTY MCCOLLUM (D), MINNESOTA: I started looking at ways in which we could trim the military budget and found out that the sports sponsorship is not an effective recruitment tool. In fact, we've spent millions and millions, tens of millions of dollars and recruited no one. STARR (on camera): Even the Army says it can't really be sure how many people joined up from seeing sponsorship at sporting events. Now the Army is still going to be on the track, but at hot rod events. That's where they think most of the young people are these days.
As for the National Guard, well, it's sticking with Nascar and its sponsorship of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: At least eight people were shot in Chicago just in one evening. One of them, a 13-year-old boy on his own front porch.
And don't forget, you can watch CNN LIVE on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Oh say can you see my cheat sheet? Country singer Luke Bryan was probably hoping nobody would notice. He checked for words scribbled on his hand when he sang the National Anthem Tuesday night at baseball's all-star game. Jeanne Moos, she was checking him out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUKE BRYAN, MUSICIAN (singing): Oh say can you see --
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So far so good. Country star Luke Bryan was singing the anthem at the all-star game when right before he got to the ramparts part, he o so subtly glanced at his hand.
BRYAN: Through the perilous fight.
MOOS: Some of Bryan's fans suggest that he was just looking at his watch so he'd be on time for the stealth bomber flyby.
BRYAN: O'er the land of the free --
MOOS: But others suspected a Star Spangled cheat sheet. As one sports commentator tweeted, "Luke Bryan sings the National Anthem the way I used to take geometry tests."
MOOS (on camera) (singing): Oh say can you see, the lyrics written on me.
MOOS (voice-over): Bryan definitely didn't want to end up like Christina Aguilera at the Super Bowl getting the words wrong. We've written the right ones on the screen.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MUSICIAN (singing): What so proudly we (INAUDIBLE) at the twilight's last gleaming.
MOOS: By the dawn's early light, what was so gallantly streaming over Twitter was Luke Bryant's heartfelt and charming confession, "I had a few key words written down to ensure myself I wouldn't mess up. I just wanted to do my best. I promise it was from the heart."
(voice-over): The last key words we remember written on someone's hand were "Energy, tax cuts and lift American spirits" on Sarah Palin's palm.
SARAH PALIN, (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR & FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Got to start reigning in the spending, we've got to jump start these energy projects.
MOOS: Luke Bryant had plenty of energy. And at least he didn't come to a full stop, like Michael Bolton.
(SINGING)
(BOOING)
MOOS: On the bright side, by looking at his hand, Michael Bolton got an extra 1.6 million views on YouTube.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Watching stars sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a little like watching a tightrope walker walking across Niagara Falls. We wait for a stumble. Whatever you do, don't look down.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
(SINGING)
(BOOING)
MOOS: -- New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Another violent night in Chicago. Eight people were wounded by gunfire. It is a horrible scene being played out night after night in that city. Among the latest victims, a 13-year-old boy. he was shot as he sat on the front porch of his home. Four other teens were shot in separate incidents.
This is the biggest project the FBI has ever taken on, one that might actually reveal if innocent people are sitting in jail for no reason. It is the biggest ever review of old cases the Justice Department has ever done. We're talking about thousands and thousands of criminal files, some of them dating back to more than 30 years ago. So why would the FBI jump into this investigation of old evidence and case files?
Michael Bromwich can help us answer that. He investigated the FBI lab when he was the U.S. Justice Department's inspector general.
First of all, what do we make of what these reviews, the reviews of these old cases, could produce? Could we actually see people who are exonerated, taken out of jail, being wrongfully accused?
MICHAEL BROMWICH, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL: Yes. We certainly could see that. Depending on the results of the reviews, we could find that flawed forensic evidence was used and played a significant role in their criminal convictions. And if there is not substantial other evidence of guilt, it could well lead to the exoneration of a number of defendants.
MALVEAUX: Are we talking about just paper review or are we actually talking about things like that looking at hair and blood and fiber and DNA evidence?
BROMWICH: I think that's still an open question. The initial stages will certainly be a paper review, both of the reports that FBI lab analysts prepared and also of the testimony they gave in court. And whether that will be extended to include DNA testing of the hairs I think remains to be seen.
MALVEAUX: Why is this happening now?
BROMWICH: Well, I think information about a couple of cases, particularly in the District of Columbia, have come to light very recently, and that was on top of some doubts that the FBI itself expressed a number of years ago about the validity of microscopic hair examination. So I think it was the accumulation of those events that led both the FBI and Department of Justice to realize that that in interest of justice they need to do something and something quite significant to determine whether there were people behind bars who shouldn't be there.
MALVEAUX: Do we suspect that is going to be a high number, be the number of people who are behind bars wrongly convicted?
BROMWICH: I don't think we have any way to predict that. I did an investigation of the FBI lab back in the mid '90s and we thought that there would be a number of people who would be freed based on the information we developed in that investigation, and there were none. So, I think it's hazardous to predict what the outcome will be. But I think it's an important step that the FBI and Department of Justice has realized that this is a problem and have moved to address it.
MALVEAUX: "The Washington Post" says the Justice Department actually knew that there was bad forensic work and it sent people wrongly to prison. That is a very strong accusation. When you were at Justice, did you see anything like that?
BROMWICH: I didn't see that. And I think what the "Post" article have suggested is that after the convictions were obtained, information questioning the value of the forensic evidence came to light and not enough was done about that. I don't think the suggestion is that people knew that the evidence was flawed at the time that it was presented, which is an important difference.
MALVEAUX: And can you give us an example? you said there were a couple cases out of Washington, D.C., where they suspect that people were wrongly accused, that the evidence was flawed? BROMWICH: Well, yes. A couple of cases, including some court proceedings just this last Tuesday, where in a quite unusual circumstance, the United States Attorney's office joined with the public defenders office to move to exonerate the defendant and release him and erase the conviction from his record, based on the fact that DNA testing showed that hair evidence, which was part of the basis for his original conviction, could not have come from the defendant, could not have come from him. And so because that was such a powerful finding and a powerful development, the government took the unusual step in joining to vacate the conviction of that defendant.
MALVEAUX: And the reason why this is done, do they believe that this flawed forensics, these mistakes that were made, do they think there was anything behind it or is it just a department that was not able to do its job?
BROMWICH: It raises larger questions, Suzanne, about the quality of forensic science evidence that has been introduced into our courtrooms for decades. The more we learn about the lack of scientific underpinnings for some of the evidence submitted, the more concerns that have been generated. And a lot of evidence that was submitted and submitted as forensic evidence was not well grounded scientifically. It was not that the testifying agents intended to put innocent people behind bars. They were just relying on inadequate scientific protocol, instead of protocols that's provided support for their work. It's no less troubling but it does suggest it was not intentional.
MALVEAUX: A huge undertaking, a huge project. We will have you back to tell us more about what you find.
Thank you very much, Mr. Bromwich.
BROMWICH: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Troubling development for the U.S. housing market. Foreclosures jumped dramatically in the second quarter of the year.
I want to bring in Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange to talk about it.
Why did it get worse?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. So let's talk about that jump. the foreclosure filings jumped 9 percent from the first to the second quarter. Now part of the reason for this is because, Suzanne, the huge $26 billion foreclosure settlement that was reached back in April. It involved the country's five biggest banks in 49 states. And what happened was they all agreed to a ton of new terms for people who hold their loans, and that includes much clearer guidelines on how these banks should move forward when they go through the foreclosure process.
Now during this time, while this whole legal issue was being worked out, banks kind of put a stop on the foreclosures. They were waiting for the new rules of the roads. There was a huge backlog to work through. Now that they've gotten a green light, we've seen a jump in the filings for May.
I talked to a RealtyTrak official who compiles this report, and he says the banks now have more confidence to push the properties through foreclosure because they won't be accused of being improper like they were before -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Alison, all of these new filings, does that mean these folks will lose their homes?
KOSIK: This is a lot of people. We're talking about one million filings in the first six months of this year alone. The good news is that many of these homes, they won't actually end up being repossessed because now the government has measures and other prevention efforts in place to try to help these people work out payment issues and keep their homes. Plus, prices are rising on these homes in some areas. People have a better chance of avoiding foreclosure since they no longer owe more than their homes are worth -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Tell us about the Dow closing lower in the last five days in a row. Do things look better today?
KOSIK: Yes. Looking a little better, actually. Stocks are off their lows of the session. What's worrying investors, they're worried about Europe, that European leaders aren't going to be able to get a permanent bailout fund in place despite their efforts that we've talked about over the past couple months. What that's doing is overshadowing a big drop in initial jobless claim here in the U.S., showing claims fell down to 350,000 last week, to the lowest level that we've seen since March of 2008. Right now, stocks are modestly lower, only down about 4 points.
MALVEAUX: Tell us about Wells Fargo. I understand they've reached an agreement with the Justice Department involving the allegations they were racially biased with their loans.
KOSIK: Wells Fargo is paying $175 million to settle allegations it discriminated against black and Hispanic borrowers. Wells Fargo is the country's biggest mortgage originator. The Justice Department says what Wells Fargo did was steer minority borrowers into riskier subprime loans from 2004 to 2009 or actually charge them higher fees. $125 million of the agreement is actually going to go to the victims of discrimination. And $50 million of it is going to go to down payment assistance to borrowers in these effective communities. I'll have more details on this in the next hour -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Alison.
He came, he spoke, he moved on. Did Mitt Romney take on a different tone with the members of the NAACP than he did with Latino leaders just a couple weeks ago? A closer look at the scrutiny over the candidate's speeches.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Coffee and coffins, not two things you normally think of going together, but a funeral home in South Carolina, trying to give those grieving the dearly departed a little something extra to ease their pain, a cup of Starbucks Joe.
Graham Moore of the affiliate WSPA has got the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRAHAM MOORE, CORRESPONDENT, WSPA (voice-over): Chris Robinson's family has been burying the dead for decades, always offering a home brewed cup of Joe to those filled with grief.
CHRIS ROBINSON, OWNER, ROBINSON'S FUNERAL HOME: We've been serving coffee for literally generations.
MOORE: It's personal touches those that have made his one of the most popular funeral homes. Now it's undergoing a little renovation.
ROBINSON: The menu will be there and --
MOORE: The menu? Yes, the menu, the Starbucks menu. A new addition that Robinson thinks will soothe the pain of losing a loved one.
ROBINSON: So if this provides them a little escape and gives them a break from the stress they're going through, then that's what it's all about, is to make them feel better.
MOORE: Starbucks will be right next to the new chapel, the two doors and a wall will keep it somewhat separate. And, yes, Robinson will make money from the venture. The store will have employees, a cash register, all the things you would expect to find in the Starbucks. But he says, they'll still serve the free stuff as well.
ROBINSON: Well, we'll always still offer the Robinson coffee that we've always given to the families we're serving, but this is just an added service that they can choose to participate in if they'd like to.
MOORE: And given the wildly successful history of Starbucks, it will be no surprise that this latest shop, despite its less than lively surroundings, will be a hit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: That was Graham Moore of affiliate WSPA.
Two speeches, two tones, what Mitt Romney said to Latinos and African-Americans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney's speech at the NAACP made the rounds on the late night talk shows. Check out what Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Romney told the crowd that if he were elected president, he would fight for all millionaires, black or white. How about that?
(APPLAUSE)
LENO: There you go. There you go.
(APPLAUSE)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL: He did have one strong moment. He hit on something that the crowd really seemed to enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My policy will be, number one, create jobs for the American people. I do not have a hidden agenda.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: And I submit to you this. If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney said he expected to get booed at the NAACP convention. He did get a negative response when he told the crowd he would repeal Obama-care if elected president. Now, Romney says his message to the NAACP is the same that he delivered across the country.
I want to bring in our CNN contributor, John Avlon, to get your take on all of this, the Romney speech and the one that he gave last month to NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
This to me, John, looks like the tale of two speeches. I want you to, first, take a look at the passage that's getting so much attention. this was before the NAACP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: And I'm going to eliminate every non-essential, expensive program I can find. That includes Obama-care, and I'm going to work to reform and save --
(BOOING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right, John, so he knew -- he knew this was coming, essentially. Do you think that this speech was given for the audience that was in front of him or for a larger audience, say, the Tea Party or conservatives, the conservative base, to offer up a little bit of red meat? JOHN AVLON, SENIOR POLITICAL COLUMNIST, THEDAILYBEAST.COM & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think this was a bank-shot speech, designed to increase his approval among the top radio crowd. I do think it was an attempt to set an inclusive tone. But as in the last speech, it is inconclusive in terms of policy. That booing is a really good illustration of the problem here. He's so used to talking to conservative populist crowds, the Republican base, that he used slang for the Affordable Care Act, Obama-care, which many people in that audience, the NAACP, saw as disrespectful of the president. That's what was being booed, using Obama-care as slang. And he should have known it was coming but he doesn't have a lot of practice speaking to these kinds of audiences.
MALVEAUX: Let's take a look at the speech he gave to the NALEO conference. That was three weeks ago. He attended this very prominent group of Latino policymakers. He seems to be addressing their concerns directly. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Our immigration system should help promote strong families as well, not keep them apart. Our nation benefits when moms and dads and their kids are all living together under the same roof.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The message, John, seems twofold here. It goes to the heart of what Latino voters say is important, and that is keeping the family together, and it also seems to attack President Obama for breaking all records when it comes to deporting illegal immigrants. So do you see signs of a more serious effort by Romney to win over the audience that he is in front of in this case?
AVLON: I don't actually, for this specific reason. Yes, he takes President Obama to task implicitly over deportations. But given Mitt Romney's record, talking about illegal immigration and attacking very far to the right of the Republican primary's issue, there's no fact that he would decrease the number of deportations, decrease border security. Again, you've got the same fundamental problem. A speech that is inclusive in tone. And presidential candidates should reach out. They have an obligation to reach out. And more importantly, Republicans have a political need to reach out to these communities. But the promises that Republican candidates, in particular, make to get to the nomination end up alienating them from these audiences. And it's not just a matter of stringing pretty words together and setting an inclusive tone. It's about specific policies that can appeal to these communities. And that's where the rhetoric stops meeting reality --
(CROSSTALK)
AVLON: -- and his credibility is ultimately hurt.
MALVEAUX: John, let's listen to Romney's remark before the NAACP, go back tot he NAACP, where he seems to just give himself credit for showing up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: If I'm elected president, and you invite me to next year's convention, I would count it as a privilege and my answer will be yes.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right, John, clearly taking a dig at the president for not showing up in this case.
AVLON: Yes.
MALVEAUX: This is a point, he's saying, look, you can't take me for granted, take him for granted there. I assume that this is not going to be an issue that's really going to have much legs looking forward in the weeks to come.
AVLON: It won't in terms of the specific audience. I mean, the overwhelming proportion of the African-American population is going to vote for President Obama, even as Mitt Romney tries to make a case about rising unemployment, for example, in the African-American community. The larger issue and the larger opportunity and the larger obligation is for a Republican nominee like Mitt Romney to say, I'm going to try to restore credibility to the party of Lincoln. I'm going to build on my father's legacy, which he spoke about in the speech, as working with civil rights groups, as opposed to against them, as some Republicans of that generation did. So I think there's an obligation to try to reframe the Republican Party and reach out. It's not just good politics and good policy. it's a necessity for any party that wants to be able to cobble together a broad governing coalition in the 21st century. That's the larger missed opportunity here.
MALVEAUX: All right. John Avlon, good to see you, as always.
We'll have more after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Let's take a look at some live pictures here of some breaking news. This is out of Windsor, Ontario, rather. Police say that the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is currently closed to traffic after what they are saying is a non-specific, anonymous bomb threat that was received. You might recall the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel connects Detroit to Windsor, Canada. It is closed to traffic because of a bomb threat that is taking place right now. Take a look at the Google map, and locate where it is. Approximately 27,000 to 29,000 vehicles actually pass through this tunnel on a daily basis. So this is a big deal here. Handles almost nine million cars throughout the year. We are talking about mostly, overwhelmingly cars, but trucks as well. It is one of two major thoroughfares between Detroit and Windsor, and it is right now closed because of a bomb threat. We're going to try to get more information. But we're just taking a look at these live pictures. You can see some of the vehicles that have gathered there. Those are -- looks like police vehicles. Right now, it is closed to traffic. And a tremendous amount of traffic that goes through that tunnel. But it is now at a standstill. That is because of a bomb threat. As soon as we have more information, we're going to go back to that picture and back to the ground.
We also want to show you a little bit of our favorite video of the day. A South Carolina woman, reeling in her first fish when a huge bull shark beat her to it. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He took it off my pole.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all mine! It's all mine! (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Son of a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: TerrifIED family. You can hear the bleeps, of course, as the shark was about five feet long, weighed 200 pounds. They actually caught it, on purpose, for the second time, and then happily let it go.
Several stories catching our attention today, photos as well. I want you to take a look at these. This is in France. Fans going wild. Guys in Speedos cheering on the pack during the 11th stage of the Tour de France today. It is the world's most famous cycling race, covering more than 2,000 miles.
And an artist with a giant skull tattoo on his back inks a woman. It is Madrid's (ph) Tattoo Festival on the street of Madrid. Participants have until Friday to attend. Pretty cool.
And CNN NEWSROOM is continuing now with Brooke Baldwin.
Hey, Brooke.
