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Boston-Area Pastor Kidnapped; Scranton's Financial Meltdown

Aired July 14, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow, in for Don Lemon. You're in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's get you up-to-speed on the news of the day.

First off, top stories: two Americans kidnapped overseas. Now the people who grabbed them are making demands. Here's where it happened -- in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

A pastor from Massachusetts, Michel Louis, a woman traveling with his group and their Egyptian tour guide were all abducted. We're told they were stopped by Bedouins in northern Sinai. And that is where they are still being held. We're live from the family's home near Boston in just a moment.

Also in Egypt today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meeting with the country's newly elected president and pledging U.S. support for the return of civilian leadership there. Mohamed Morsi won that seat just two weeks ago, but Egypt is nowhere near politically settled. There's still no cabinet, no parliament, and the new president is at odd with his own military.

Just two weeks before the start of the London Olympics, the company providing security guards said it's failed to recruit enough staff. The firm G4S could lose as much as $77 million for not fulfilling their contract. The cover the shortfall, the British government has to deploy an additional 3,500 personnel.

The U.S. Olympic Committee says it's too late to change the made in China uniforms that our athletes will wear at the opening ceremonies in London. The uniforms are designed by Ralph Lauren, but manufactured overseas. And the USOC says athletes will wear uniform made in America in 2014 Games.

Here in the United States, Visa, MasterCard and a host of big banks have agreed to pay -- get this -- more than $6 billion to settle a huge antitrust lawsuit. It has to do with alleged price-fixing of so-called swipe fees that are charged by retailers when they accept a credit card for you.

Don't celebrate just yet, though. That deal also means that retailers are going to be able to pass that charge along to you. It could be 2 percent or 3 percent. That could hit you. That deal still needs to be approved by a judge. And one of the world's largest banks is saying today, sorry. Barclays officials took out full page ads and a big one in paper, apologizing to consumers and clients for the interest rate-rigging scandal that dominated business news this month, while the chairman and chief executive of Barclays have resigned.

Well, the rule is, if you can't see the road, don't drive down it. But that is not stopping drivers in Houston who seemingly have no choice at this point. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in some areas over the past three days. Flood warnings remain in effect throughout the city.

And a Boston area community in shock today after learning that a local pastor and one member of his church are in the hands of kidnappers. Not a lot of information available, but it happened in Egypt in the dangerous area of northern Sinai. Pastor Michel Louis, we're told, that he was on a tour bus in Egypt. He was stopped and taken hostage along with a woman from the group traveling with him and their Egyptian tour guide.

Now, the kidnappers have made some demands.

I want to go straight to Liam Martin. He's with CNN affiliate WCVB. He joins us now live right now outside of the family's home in Worchester, Massachusetts.

And, Liam, you've had the opportunity to talk to the family, really get a sense of whether they're hopeful. What can you tell us about what they've learned about the pastor's situation?

LIAM MARTIN, WCVB REPORTER: Well, Poppy, all they know right now is that he is OK. The Egyptian Bedouin who kidnapped them has said that they're going to be OK. He's been feeding them dinners and taking care of them. He essentially just wants to exchange them for his uncle who is in prison in Egypt right now.

We're at the home, as you said, of Michel Louis in Boston. Several of his family members have been here all day they say to find strength in one another. Louis has been a pastor of two Pentecostal churches here in the Boston area for 34 years. Tonight, this community is turning its prayers toward him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

JEAN LOUIS, KIDNAPPED PASTOR'S SON: We don't have any more information other than what we hear in the news and what you guys are hearing. We're all in good spirits, because we know that the God that we serve is in control of the matter. The only concern that we have at the moment is that he is diabetic and the longer they hold him, I want to assume that it's not going to work in his favor.

TAMISHA CIVIL, CHURCH MEMBER: I don't know, there's no words that I can describe as of right now how we're feeling. It's just that we want him returned to Boston safely.

(END VIDEO CLIPS) MARTIN: All right. Louis' wife was also with him during that trip. She is still in Egypt tonight, fighting for his released, waiting for him to be released. And as we mentioned, he is a diabetic. He does take medication for it. So they need to get him out of there sooner instead of later, before this takes another turn toward the tragic, Poppy.

HARLOW: Well, you know, Liam, it's interesting because you learned that this pastor travels to this region of the world once a year. So, he makes frequent trips there. Is this a case that has just released put him in a wrong place at a wrong time?

MARTIN: Wrong place, wrong time, Poppy. They take that trip every year to Israel to do missionary work there, the church members, and they get a tour bus. Well, this time, they happened to cross over in Egypt to go to Mount Sinai, as supposed site of the Ten Commandments, and that is where the Egyptian Bedouin came on to their tour bus, kidnaps him, another church member, and one of their tour guides.

HARLOW: Can you give us a sense, Liam, of how the family is getting information from Egypt right now? I mean, have they had a chance to speak to the pastor on the phone, or anyone?

MARTIN: They have not had a chance to speak to the pastor. The Egypt Bedouin who kidnapped him did talk a number of media outlets to say that they were asleep at the time. They did -- they were able to talk with the tour guide that was able to translate a little bit of it. But they are apparently doing OK, though. He is a diabetic and they are concerned about that.

They are apparently talking to the U.S. embassy in Cairo about this. The U.S. embassy keeping the family here updated about what is going on with their father.

HARLOW: Yes. Of course, you know, the policy in this country, they're not really going to negotiate for hostages. So, we'll see what happens.

Great reporting, Liam. Thank you.

Well, President Obama made a pair of campaign stops today in the battleground state of Virginia. He campaigned under rainy skies near Richmond where he ignored Mitt Romney's demand that he call off campaign attacks on Romney's business career. Instead, he once again accused Romney of building Bain Capital by outsourcing U.S. jobs overseas.

President Obama and Mitt Romney, take a look on your screen, neck and neck in the battleground state of Florida. A Mason-Dixon/News 13 poll of likely voters has the president at 46 percent, Romney at 45 percent, and 7 percent still undecided -- 3.5 percent error of margin there.

More politics ahead. CNN's own Jim Acosta spoke one-on-one with Mitt Romney. They covered a lot of ground, including the current back and forth over this whole Bain Capital record. We're going to show you that complete interview at the bottom of this hour.

Moving on, the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is flat broke. It's paying its police officers and firefighters minimum wage. One of those firefighters joins me live next.

And take a look at this X-ray. We're going to tell you who's very, very lucky to be alive after this knife close, very close to paralyzing him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, perhaps nothing illustrates the nation's financial crisis more than this simple fact. Scranton, Pennsylvania is paying its police officers and firefighters minimum wage. The people who protect us, who put their lives on the line -- how did Scranton get to this point?

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Judge is a 10- year veteran of the Scranton fire department. When he opened his paycheck recently, he was upset, but not surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $7.25 an hour.

TODD: Minimum wage. A sudden 80 percent pay cut for Judge, his fellow firefighters, police, and other public servants in Scranton.

JOHN JUDGE IV, INTL. ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 60: I have members in our bargaining unit whose sons and daughters who are out for the summer in high school that are working at pools as lifeguards or working at a small part-time job, they're making $8.50, $9 an hour. And their father is running into burning buildings for $7.25 an hour, and it's just -- it's absolutely ridiculous.

TODD: Judge places most of the blame on this man, Scranton mayor, Chris Doherty. Recently, Doherty went against a court order and unilaterally cut the paychecks of nearly 400 city workers, including his own to minimum wage. Doherty says he has no choice that his city can't pay its bills.

MAYOR CHRISTOPHER DOHERTY, SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA: Right now, we have a $60 million deficit. And what I'm trying to do is keep the city operational. You know, not only paying employees, but also keeping the garbage trucks running, keeping the fire trucks running, keeping the police cars running, being able to pave streets, take care of our parks, so it's a challenge for us.

TODD: One local financial analyst calculated that Scranton had only $5,000 cash in the bank last week that it's now up to about $130,000. It's a result of decades of financial troubles for one of Pennsylvania's biggest cities.

(on camera): Unpaid bills have forced Scranton to borrow to stay afloat.

Now, lenders are spooked because the city didn't pay a debt issued by its parking authority and because Mayor Doherty and the city council can't agree on a recovery plan.

(voice-over): The mayor wants to raise taxes drastically. The council wants to find other sources of revenue. Analysts say this kind of financial turmoil is all too common place in America's cities.

Two other cities, San Bernardino, and Stockton, California, recently opted for bankruptcy. But analysts say even in this climate, Scranton's problems are rare. One analyst who tracks city's cash supply says last year, less than 2 percent of American cities found themselves without enough cash to cover more than a month's worth of expenses.

In recent days, Scranton averaged only about enough for one day.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Well, you know what? We're going to bring this home.

You see the man on your home? That is Bob Zoltewicz. He is a firefighter in Scranton. He's being doing this for 10 years and he joins us now live.

Thanks for coming in. We appreciate it.

BOB ZOLTEWICZ, SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA FIREFIGHTER: Thank you.

HARLOW: So you are the face of what's happening in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Your pay has been cut 66 percent. You're making $7.25 an hour. You're supporting a family, two young kids.

Did you think this would happen, Bob?

ZOLTEWICZ: No. We really had no idea. We were given less than a week's notice that this would occur.

HARLOW: What does it mean for you personally? Bring it home for our viewer, that is saying, you know, I can't believe this is happening, or this might not happen in my hometown, what does it mean for you and your family when you opened that last paycheck?

ZOLTEWICZ: You know, I'm a very proud parent. I'm proud to be a firefighter. But also, you know, I'm more proud to be a parent and to be able to provide for my family. You know, I'm very concerned that if this maintains, I won't be able to do that. It's very stressful right now.

With that being said, I'm very fortunate to have a job in this economy. But I need to pay the bills.

HARLOW: Yes, you're putting it on perspective. There are men out there and women trying to support their family not having jobs at all. But on minimum wage, you could be flipping burgers, you could be working at a restaurant, doing some other job and not putting your life on the line. You are putting your life on the line every single day.

Do you think about that? Does that change how you do your job?

ZOLTEWICZ: Yes, it does. Through this, you know, we've remained unified. We are protecting the city. We're going to work as usual, really hoping for a quick resolution to this. This measure of stalled politics is basically has us caught in the middle right now.

HARLOW: What about safety? I mean, you know, you say we're going to work in the same way, but you also think about what you're making and do you worry that you might hesitate before running into a burning building or your colleagues might hesitate before doing that?

ZOLTEWICZ: No, I've always aspired to be a firefighter and I never really thought I would become rich in becoming a firefighter. We're really -- we're not hesitating. You know, we're there protecting the residents of the city of Scranton. It's not their fault that this is happening, just like it's not our fault.

But we're relying upon each other right now in the stations to keep each other positive. But this is a catastrophic blow, you know, to the majority of our members.

HARLOW: A catastrophic blow indeed.

Tell me a little bit, Bob, about what you're most concerned about right now, right? When you go home and you sit at the dinner table with your kids, your family, what are you thinking about?

ZOLTEWICZ: Well, with two small children, you know, the stress associated with bringing home enough money to buy formula, diapers and food, that's coming into play right now. That's not considering mortgage costs, small amount of student loan debt that my wife and I have and just regular utilities. We've always maintained a very frugal lifestyle because we're very happy and satisfied with the career paths we've chosen. So, it's getting tight right now.

I'm going to be -- I'm living on savings right now, and that can last us about three weeks.

HARLOW: Three weeks?

ZOLTEWICZ: Correct.

HARLOW: So what's your plan? What if this doesn't get resolved in three weeks? Do you move? Do you go to another city where they need firefighters? You lift -- you uplift your family and go somewhere else?

ZOLTEWICZ: You know, I believe in the area. I'm from the area. I'm not going to ahead and I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to uproot my family at this point. I would like to remain optimistic right now and high pressure that both sides can come to a speedy resolution.

With that said, I need to provide for my family. And if it does maintain, you now, my wife and I will have some decisions to make about our family here for the future of it.

HARLOW: Absolutely understandable. Bob, thank you. I appreciate it. Good luck and we'll keep following this. Thanks so much for coming in.

ZOLTEWICZ: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, folks, Scranton is not alone. Other cities are cutting salaries and services. Just this week, San Bernardino, California declared bankruptcy. Tonight at 10:00 Eastern, we have a special for you. We're going to talk a lot more about Scranton, the possible threats to public safety and security in a number of cities that are clearly threatened right now by the financial crisis.

And coming up next, disturbing images of a woman assaulted in India. This video has gone viral.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Again, today, Syrians enduring another bloody day, wondering what it's going to take for the international community to step in.

This video was taken yesterday when 80 people were killed according to activists there. So far today, at least 49 people have been killed in Syria. The opposition is accusing security forces of using helicopters to fire down on civilians, at the same time, the U.N. is trying right now to determine what happened in one town where a massacre on Thursday left more than 200 villagers dead.

Chaos and a trail of death after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a wedding in Afghanistan today. The U.S. embassy reports that more than 20 people were killed during that explosion. Among them, a leading member of the Afghan parliament.

Now a video from northeast India that's gone viral. But before we show this to you, we have to warn you the images you're about to see are very disturbing.

You see a 23-year-old woman hopelessly encircled by the crowd. They grab her, they hit her. Police have identified a total of 14 suspects in this. But only four have been arrested thus far. The suspects face charges of molestation, unlawful restraint, vulgar behavior and causing harm. If convicted, they, of course, face time in prison.

And you're looking at the X-ray of a person who is incredibly lucky to be alive. We'll tell you the occupational hazard that led to this.

But first, when it comes to planning for your child's future, experts suggest saving sooner rather than later, of course. But CNN education contributor Steve Perry says it takes a lot more than just money, of course, to ensure college success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: The best time to start planning for a child's education is as soon as you decide to have a child, because it's never too early to start thinking about what you're going to need to do in order for the child to go on to college. Not just from a financial perspective, but more importantly, academically how you at home are going to prepare your child fore college.

So I want you to start thinking about it in elementary school. But when you get to high school, that's when the real clock starts ticking. So I need you to make sure that your child has four years of English, at least three years of math, and preferably up to calculus if at all possible. Three years of a foreign language. And I want them to take the highest science that they can in the school.

Now, grades matter, of course. But it's also important to know that grades are not the only thing that colleges are looking for. Because what colleges also want to know is that your child is involved in extra curricular activities.

So, they should play at least two sports a year. Or be involved in at least two activities, they should have a leadership role. They should also participate in some sort of community-based activity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, it is most certainly not breaking news that jobs are hard to come by. But they are especially hard for young Americans.

CNN Sandra Endo looks at how some cash-strapped cities are getting creative.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 19 years old, Tegra Crudup has already endured plenty of hardship.

TEGRA CRUDUP, UNEMPLOYED YOUTH: Our house went into foreclosure. And after that, we had to go from house to house living with other people. And that's not comfortable at all.

ENDO: After three years of bouncing around to multiple homes with her single-parent mom and three siblings, her living situation took a toll. Crudup was forced to drop out of high school in order to help support her family.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds looking for a job is more than double the 8.2 percent unemployment rate nationwide. In this economy, they're competing against more experienced workers also looking for a job. For many young people, it's their first time entering the job market, to gain experience and build a resume.

With no job, Crudup is working toward getting her GED, taking classes at a Baltimore youth center.

(on camera): The downed economy, coupled with a lack of federal funds for summer job programs is making it tougher for young people to find work. Many state and local governments that are also facing tight budgets are left to find creative ways to invest in their youth.

(voice-over): Twenty-one-year-old Tiye Lewis considers herself lucky. She was fired at the orthopedic rehab unit at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center through a youth jobs program. Seven thousand young people registered in the program, 5,300 actually got a job.

TIYE LEWIS, YOUTH WORKER: This is what I like to do. So this gives me more experience to show me how things work so when I get to grad school. If I didn't have this job, I wouldn't be able to pay for some of my bills that I have or for next semester -- food, expenses, stuff like that.

ERNEST DORSEY, BALTIMORE EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT: We're hoping that young people learn how to go to work, learn the soft skills that employers say they want when they hire somebody in terms of being on time, reporting to work every day, being able to follow directions.

ENDO: Federal stimulus money for programs like this one ran out in 2010. But Baltimore partnered with the private sector to keep it going. Officials say investing in youth now will likely pay off in the long run.

Sandra Endo, CNN, Baltimore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Coming up now on half past the hour. Let's get caught up on the headlines.

A family and church congregation near Boston today anxiously waiting for any news out of Egypt. This is why -- a pastor, Michel Louis, a woman from his group, and a tour guide were kidnapped in Egypt. The last we heard, they're still being held in northern Sinai. The kidnappers reportedly don't want money. They're demanding their relatives be released from an Egyptian jail.

And Visa and MasterCard, along with some other big banks have agreed to, get this, a $6 billion settlement, settling a huge antitrust lawsuit. It has to do with alleged price fixing of so- called swipe fees that retailers charge when you use a credit card.

An attorney for the National Association of Convenience Stores told CNN earlier today that his organization is not supporting this settlement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG KANTOR, ATTY., NATL. ASSN. OF CONVENIENCE STORES: Well, you have to read the fine print when you deal with credit card companies and that's true here, too. When you read the fine print, it's eye opening. They're not going to reduce the fees, even for the eight months. What they're going to do is give merchants the equivalent of that amount of cash and keep raising the fees.

The cruel joke is, by the time any merchant gets some of these -- this money, they will have raised the fees on the merchant's more than what they paid out in the first place. So merchants are paying for it themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Here's why. This allows retailers to start passing on those extra fees to you, the shopper, when you pay with your credit card. A judge still needs to approve that settlement.

Meantime, the losses mount but the stock rises at JPMorgan Chase. The bank revealed yesterday that losses linked to that big botched trade out of London climbed to $5.8 billion. Also today, "The New York Times" is reporting that federal regulators are looking into whether or not the bank had employees trying to defraud investors. Now despite the trading loss, the bank still reported stronger than expected earnings for the second quarter at the closing bell on Friday, JPMorgan stock was up almost six percent on the day and help bring up the whole market.

Meantime, a Massachusetts prison guard is lucky to be alive today. Nate Beauvais is recovering after an inmate stabbed him in the neck with a hand made knife three weeks ago. Look at these x-rays - they showed just how close the wound came to killing or paralyzing him. His wife credits the doctors and their faith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE BEAUVAIS, PRISON GUARD'S WIFE: They told me it missed the spinal cord by half a centimeter. We have faith in god and I truly believe that it was a miracle. I knew just how close he'd come dying just seeing that, it just took my breath away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: No kidding. The surgery to remove that knife took six hours.

Meantime, did Joe Paterno try to cash in as the Sandusky scandal was exploding at Penn State? That's a question raised today by "The New York Times" which is reporting that the late football coach and school officials began renegotiating Paterno's contract the same month that he testified to a grand jury in the Sandusky sex abuse case. Now the new deal gave Paterno a package worth more than $5 million, according to "The Times." His legacy has been very tarnished since the publication of a report on the scandal that came out on Thursday.

And by now, you've likely heard of Bain Capital and the firm Mitt Romney once led is a huge topic on the campaign trail. Coming up next, Romney says the Obama campaign has crossed the line. His interview with our own Jim Acosta is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, a lot of Americans are still learning about Mitt Romney's business background, and the Obama campaign is trying its best to influence what they learned. Romney says his years at Bain Capital created thousands of jobs. The Obama team insist Romney's deals sent American jobs overseas. The latest dispute, when Romney left his post as leader of Bain and whether he oversaw deals that led to outsourcing. He addressed it all in an interview with CNN political correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Governor, thanks for joining us. Let's talk first about this controversy when you left Bain Capital. I'll put one of the documents in question up on screen. There are SEC filings stating that you were CEO at Bain Capital past 1999, when you say you left Bain to run the Olympics. Why was your name still on these documents and why didn't you clear this up sooner?

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I was the owner of an entity that is filing those, that information. But I have no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after February of 1999. Not that would have been a problem to have said I was with the firm beyond that, but I simply wasn't. I left in February of 1999 to go our and run the Olympics. And while I did that full-time, relinquished all management authority and role in Bain Capital after February of 1999.

ACOSTA: And how do you explain that discrepancy that your name is on these filings and yet you said publicly you left the firm in 1999? Weren't you concerned at some point that these filings might become public and people would see that your name was still on these filings.

ROMNEY: There's nothing wrong with being associated with Bain Capital, of course, but the truth is that I left any role at Bain Capital in February of 1999. And that's known and said by the people at the firm. It's said by the documents, offering documents that the firm made subsequently about people investing in the firm. And I think anybody who knows I was out running full-time the Olympics would understand that's where I was. I spent three years running the Olympic games and after that was over, we worked out our retirement program our departure, official program at Bain Capital and handed over the shares I had.

But there's a difference between being a shareholder and owner, if you will and being a person who is running an entity. I had no role whatsoever in managing Bain Capital after February of 1999. By the way, this is all an effort on the part of the president's campaign to divert attention from the fact that the president has been a failure when it comes to reigniting America's economy. We have had now 41 straight months of unemployment above eight percent. So he continues to try and find some way to attack me, other than to talk about policy. And it's time to talk about what it will take to get America working again.

ACOSTA: Well, you also testified in 2002 in front of the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission, your campaign provided us with a document from that filing, and it says, I'll read you a line, it says "The respondent," talking about you, "Mitt Romney, returned to Massachusetts from Utah to attend meetings at Staples," Staples is, of course, a company you helped create when you were at Bain Capital. Isn't that active participation at a Bain related company?

ROMNEY: Well, actually Staples at that point was an investment by Bain Capital. Bain Capital had already sold its shares, distributed shares in Staples, and so my involvement with Staples was entirely on a personal basis. I continue to be involved with the firm but it was as a fiduciary for Staples, not as a representative of Bain Capital because Bain Capital had no further interest in Staples at that point.

ACOSTA: And you mentioned the president's campaign and what they've been saying about you -

ROMNEY: Yes, I have - there is going to be every effort to try and find some kind of attack piece on the part of the Obama campaign. But interestingly, every independent fact checker that's looked at this in depth, not just take a quick interview but looked at it in great depth, has said that the president's claims are false, misleading, wrong headed. It got multiple Pinocchios from one reviewer.

Look, what he's doing is doing everything in his power to try and divert attention from the fact that his policies have failed the American people. These kinds of attacks of his campaigns are simply completely out of character for what we expect from the president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right. When we come back, Romney has some very strong words for the president and his campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: There's no question but that his campaign is putting out information which is false and deceptive and dishonest and they know it and they ought to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Deceptive, dishonest. We're going to tell you what Mitt Romney is referring to in the second half of his interview with our Jim Acosta. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, Mitt Romney says the Obama campaign has just gone too far with this latest attacks on his business career, and recent comments made by an Obama aide really got under his skin. Our national political correspondent Jim Acosta asked Romney about those remarks in the second half of their extended interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Let me ask you about what the campaign has said. As you know, President Obama's deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, was very harsh on a conference call on Thursday. Listen to what she said and then we'll get your response afterwards.

STEPHANIE CUTTER, OBAMA CAMPAIGN DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Ether Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments.

ACOSTA: Miss Cutter suggested you might be guilty of a felony, Governor Romney. What is your response to that?

ROMNEY: Is that really what's expected from the campaign of the sitting president of the United States? Of the Republican nominee of his party? Is this the level that the Obama campaign is willing to stoop to? Is this - is this up to the standards expected of the presidency of the United States? I don't think the American people think so. I certainly don't think so. I think it's a very disappointing revelation on their part.

Let's talk about what it takes to get America working again and to help the American people in very difficult times, as opposed to having a campaign doing what they said from the beginning. He announced early on, one of their insiders said that their campaign was going to be based upon the strategy of "kill Romney." That's what they are doing. It's disgusting, it's demeaning and it's something which I think the president should take responsibility for and stop.

ACOSTA: And do you believe you're being swift boated in this campaign?

ROMNEY: Well, I hadn't heard that term, but I give it some though. I think what the president is doing is terribly destructive to the political process and beneath what the people of America expected from someone who said he was going to rise above partisan politics and bring a new era of change to Washington. We're not seeing that in this campaign so far.

ACOSTA: Because both campaigns on Thursday, Governor Romney, were basically calling each other liars. Is that the kind of campaign the American people should expect? And shouldn't your campaign take some responsibility for calling the president's campaign and their people liars?

ROMNEY: You know what? The president's campaign has done so far is run advertisement after advertisement, which is then shown by independent fact checkers to be wrong, false, misleading, yet they keep running them and hold press conferences continuing to speak about them. At some point, you have to respond. You can't just have the airwaves covered with these ads day in and day out without saying those are false. ACOSTA: So is the president lying about your record, Governor Romney?

ROMNEY: There's no question but that his campaign is putting out information which is false and deceptive and dishonest and they know it and they ought to stop.

ACOSTA: They've called on you to release more of your tax returns. You released your 2010 tax return and 2011 estimate. Bill Clinton was on the "Today" show saying that you should release more. As you know, during the Republican primaries, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry all called for you to release your taxes. Those are leaders from both parties saying that you should release more of your taxes. When are you going to release more of your taxes and how many years?

ROMNEY: I've indicated that - well, first of all, we've complied with the law. The law requires us to put out a full financial disclosure and that I've done. In addition to that, I've already put out one year tax returns. We'll put out the next year tax returns as soon as the accountants have that ready and that's what we're going to put out. I know there will always be calls for more. People always want to get more, and you know, we're putting out what is required, plus more that is not required. And those are the two years that people are going to have and that's all that's necessary for people to understand something about my finances and look, if people believe this should be a campaign about attacking one another on a personal basis and go back to the kinds of attacks that were suggested in some campaigns in the past, I don't want to go there.

I want this to be a campaign about the direction for America and about who can get America working again and who can reign in the excessive deficits that you're seeing in Washington. The president apparently is not ready for an honest and important debate about the future of America.

ACOSTA: Well, we have to go, governor.

ROMNEY: He's insisting on trying to make this a campaign of attacks.

ACOSTA: I understand and we have to go, Governor Romney but I wanted to ask you, there was an item in the Drudge report that said that your campaign is vetting Condoleezza Rice or looking at Condoleezza Rice as a front runner for vice president. I know it's been your position not to talk about the vetting process or the vice presidential process. But are you concerned about your campaign and your candidacy being associated with so many members of the Bush administration? You were holding a fund-raiser with Dick Cheney on Thursday. John Bolton is associated with your campaign and apparently you've also been talking with Condoleezza Rice.

Are you concerned about that kind of association when that administration is still not very popular with the American people?

ROMNEY: Well, I don't have anything to say about the vice presidential process. Of course, I speak with people of a wide range of political backgrounds and views. John Bolton is a very different person than Condoleezza Rice, who is a very different person for instance than George Schultz and Henry Kissinger. I speak with people I agree with and people I disagree with. But I can tell you this, my policies as it relate to foreign and relate to domestic policy are mine. They're not the carbon copy of any person's in the past. Particularly with regards to our domestic policy right now, what we have to do to get this economy going is very different than what happened under prior presidencies of President Bush.

This is a very different time with a very serious ongoing, distressed economy. I know what it takes to get this economy going. My jobs' recovery plan will do just that. And it's something I'm proud of and the American people deserve to have a discussion about that issue, not these attacks coming from the president.

ACOSTA: All right. Governor Romney, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

ROMNEY: Thanks, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Really interesting interview there. And tomorrow on "State of the Union," Romney's senior campaign adviser, Ed Gillespie will talk about his candidate's history at Bain Capital. Then also a look at how state budgets will play into the race for the White House, very important and more on CNN's "State of the Union" with Candy Crowley, Sunday morning 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

Well, children lured into the U.S., in the U.S. lured into prostitution. Why this plight caught the attention of actress Jada Pinkett Smith and why her own daughter caused to get involved in this issue. That's next.

And don't forget you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work or out and about on your smartphone. Just go to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, more than 100,000 children here in the United States are lured into prostitution every year, that's according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith said it was actually her 11-year-old daughter who suggested that she do something to help. She sat down one-on-one with CNN to talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JADA PINKETT-SMITH, ACTRESS: One day, my 11-year-old daughter, Willow, came to me and said "Mommy, did you know that there were girls my age in the United States that are being trafficked for sex?" And I didn't.

Having your 11-year-old daughter come to you and talk to you about sex trafficking is probably seemingly unusual for most. I think for my daughter and the kinds of conversations that we have and engage in, it wasn't shocking that Willow would approach me with the idea of sex trafficking and approach me with the idea that she wants to lend her voice and her face to a cause like this. What was shocking was the idea that there were children her age being the exploited in our country.

Any of us could be any of these children that are having to endure this violence and this enslavement.

When I was growing up, luckily enough, I wasn't really exposed to trafficking of human beings. I was more exposed to trafficking of drugs. That was the biggest issue in Baltimore, Maryland is that we had a huge, huge drug problem; big time heroin, and so heroin and crack. I feel bless to have the opportunity to have grown up on the streets of Baltimore and survived because everything else seems quite easy in regards to what I was confronted with.

I didn't distance myself from drugs in Baltimore. I was actually smack dead in the middle of it. Where I got to learn a lot about life having that opportunity to be able to navigate and survive what I survived in Baltimore definitely prepared me for the life that I have now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Good perspective there. You can see more fascinating interviews like that one. You can just go to cnn.com/video and you can search Red Chair.

Moving on, a man arrested for driving under the influence sings for police. Literally. And it's all caught on tape. Amusing dash cam moments straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Police dash cams have caught some pretty memorable moments over the years. The one you're about to see might be one of the more amusing ones. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What would we do without police dash cams showing us half-naked speeders and even a bank robber eating the evidence. The give me the money note. But this Royal Canadian mounted police dash cam recorded something special. A guy in Edson, Alberta was pulled over in a pick up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see you. I was intoxicated. But you grabbed me. And I have an ear, but it doesn't even matter.

MOOS: Maybe he couldn't speak so well, but he sure managed to sing all of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Momma, just killed a man, put a gun against his head pulled my trigger. Now he's dead. MOOS: He sang the lyrics flawlessly for almost six minutes. Even after they arrived at the station house, the mounty let him finish the song.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby.

MOOS: The mounty only admonished him once.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, calm down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't.

MOOS: A lot of people can't stop singing the "Bohemian Rhapsody."

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOOS: Parts of the dash cam solo were frightening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Momma -

MOOS (on camera): You've got to give the guy credit. Even Beyonce messed up the words to the song and she was stone cold sober at a concert.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOOS (voice-over): Actually it's put a gun to his head, not a bullet.

Authorities have charged Robert Wilkenson with drunk driving. He's an unemployed home brewer. Wilkenson told the smoking gun that he's the one with the dash cam video go onto Youtube.

(on camera): Our police cruiser did improvise just once at the very end of the song and he did it in a witty way.

(voice-over): Instead of saying nothing really matters, he sang -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing really matters, even the RCMP -

MOOS: In fact, he put on his glasses and awaited his removal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have to cuff me? Physical violence is the least of my priorities.

MOOS: His priority is rhapsodizing like a bohemian.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Well, I'm Poppy Harlow at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. We'll see you back here at 10:00 Eastern. "CNN presents Cruise to Disaster" begins right now.