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Iowa Girls Vanished Into Thin Air; 83-Year-Old Sues To Overturn DOMA; Damascus Seized By Fighting; President Obama Holding Four Fundraisers; Romney Slams "You Didn't Built That" Remark; "Our Life Was in the Hands of God"; New Weight Loss Pill

Aired July 17, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello, everyone. I am Deborah Feyerick, in today for Brooke Baldwin. We've got a busy hour ahead. Live pictures right now out of San Antonio, where President Obama is addressing a group of supporters. He's looking to raise some mayor cash in the lone star state. And we'll bring you some of his comments in just a few moments.

And police say he went on a shooting rampage at an Alabama bar overnight, injuring 17 people. We're just getting word the suspect that you see right there has been caught.

But first, if it's interesting and happening now, it is "Rapid Fire." Let's go.

As Olympic athletes begin arriving in London, major holes in security have put the man in charge in the hot seat at a parliament hearing. The CEO of security firm G4S faced hostile questions and criticism about his company's failure to recruit enough staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Buckles, it's a (ph) humiliating shambles, isn't it?

NICK BUCKLES, CEO, G4S: It's not where we'd want to be, that is certain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a humiliating shambles for the company, yes or no?

BUCKLES: I cannot disagree with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And the British government has called in more than 3,000 military personnel to make up for the contractor's security shortfalls.

Well, the head of the NCAA says it's too early to say what penalties Penn State's football program might face in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. When asked by PBS host Tavis Smiley if the so-called death penalty might be imposed on the program, Mark Emmert said nothing can be ruled out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK EMMERT, PRESIDENT, NCAA: I don't want to take anything off the table. You know, the fact is, this is completely different than a impermissible benefits scandal, like happened at SMU, or anything else that we've dealt with. This is -- this is as systemic a culture problem as it is a football problem. You know, there have been people that said, well, this wasn't a football scandal. Well, it was more than a football scandal. Much more thanandal. It was that but much more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And the NCAA has shut down only one university's football program, Southern Methodist University, for recruiting violations. And that was back in the 1980s.

Well, an unbelievable catch caught on video. Look at the window. That's a seven-year-old autistic girl falling from a third story air conditioner. It happened yesterday in New York City. A city bus driver positioned himself to break her fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE ST. BERNARD, BUS DRIVER WHO CAUGHT GIRL: I ran over there hoping that she wouldn't fall. And when I got there, she was still standing there. And I just like positioned myself. Hopefully I would catch her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And bus driver Steve St. Bernard suffered only a muscle tear in his arm. The girl is fine. And I'll speak to St. Bernard about the rescue coming up in the next hour.

Well, movie stars on Capitol Hill shining the spotlight on a real life tragedy. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is an advocate for the group Don't Sell Bodies. Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, she spoke about the rise in Americans who are becoming enslaved in the sex trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: Fighting slavery doesn't cost a lot of money. The cost of allowing it to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher. It robs us of the thing we value the most, our freedom. And we know what that freedom is worth. We have paid a high price to defend it here and abroad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And Pickett Smith says her daughter first drew her attention to the problem of human slavery.

Well, the FBI is investigating sewing needles founds inside sandwiches on four Delta Airlines flights. All of the flights originated in Amsterdam. All were headed to the United States. One passenger was slightly injured, but did not need treatment. Delta's caterer, Gate Gourmet, prepared the food. It's promising full cooperation with investigators.

And in just a few hours, we'll be hearing from Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He plans to release his findings into President Obama's citizenship status. He and his cold case posse have been looking into the origins of the president's birth certificate. The White House released Mr. Obama's original long form birth certificate last year.

And just how ugly is the presidential race getting? Well, first, President Obama's deputy campaign manager suggested that Mitt Romney committed a felony. Now the national co-chair for Romney's campaign, John Sununu, is calling the Obama campaign a bunch of liars. He also said this. 10 (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SUNUNU, NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR FOR MITT ROMNEY (voice-over): The men and women all over America who have worked hard to build their businesses from the ground up is how our economy became the envy of the world. It is the American way. And I wish this president would learn how to be an American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, in response, the Obama camp says Team Romney has, quote, "officially gone off the deep end," unquote.

Now back to San Antonio, where President Obama is speaking to supporters. Let's take a listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The way I ended the war in Iraq -- the way I ended the war in Iraq. Doesn't want to set a timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan. But, you know, I'm looking around this country and I know from our history, from world history, that no nation has always been stronger than its economy. That's an issue of our national defense. And so because of our outstanding men and women in uniform, we know that we've got the greatest military on earth, but we also have to have the best economy on earth to support those troops.

And that means let's start investing rebuilding roads and rebuilding bridges and laying broadband lines into rural communities. Let's rebuild schools that are overcrowded and give them state of the art science labs. And let's rebuild our ports and our runways. That's what America's about, is rebuilding.

And we've got thousands of construction workers out there that are ready to get to work. Let's put them to work. That will be good for our economy. And over the long term, will be good for our strength.

That's the difference between myself and my opponent. As long as I'm commander in chief, we're going to make sure that our veterans are properly cared for. And we have expand our funding and improved how we are working with our veterans. But we've got more work to do. And that requires resources. We're sure not going to spend that money better on tax cuts for me. I want to make sure that a young man or woman who has served our country, who has fought for us, they shouldn't have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads when they come home.

FEYERICK: And President Obama talking about the economy and veterans. You can see all that on cnn.com.

We've got a lot more ahead in the next two hours. Just take a look.

Still no clues. Still no answers. Still no sign of two missing Iowa girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle. Looking at it, it doesn't make any sense.

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: It's as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Today, police are draining the lake where the girls' bikes were discovered, as family members brace for the worst.

Plus, sounds too good to be true? Pop a pill, lose weight. But do the side effects of the new diet drug Qnexa outweigh the benefits?

And, at 83 years old, she's going to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meet the woman whose case against the Defense of Marriage Act could be the one to overturn it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And just moments ago, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, police confirmed the arrest of the man who opened fire with an assault rifle at a bar hurting 17 people. Four were critically injured. Surveillance video shows a man with a gun at the Copper Top bar around midnight. Witnesses say the man fired one shot at the bar entrance. A hail of gunfire followed just seconds later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just like so loud we couldn't really tell what was going on. Then, next thing you know, we started getting away from the gunshot. Like going towards out front. And that's where all the shooting really took place at. And it's like, all you seen was sparks and people ducking and the glass busting and, you know, we don't -- we never saw the guy shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Tuscaloosa police say they have recovered 11 shell casings.

Well, families do it every day. They let their kids go out and ride their bikes. But this time these two Iowa girls have not come home. And after five days of searching, families of cousins eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook are no closer to knowing if their children are victims of an accident or a crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: It's as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And more than 900 people searched for the girls over the weekend, carefully scouring Meyers Lake. And one girl's mother says family members have been undergoing lie detector tests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY COOK MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF 10-YEAR-OLD LYRIC COOK: I mean absolutely we've been involved in that. And, yes, that's been hard and very stressful, but we know that it's a very necessary measure that they need to take to rule out anybody that's close by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: CNN's Jim Spellman is live in Evansdale with the latest on this search.

And, Jim, today, searchers are draining the lake. Authorities really trying to rule out the possibilities that the girls may have drowned in this lake where there was a swimming ban in place, right?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Deb.

Take a look at the lake here. You can already see how much the water level has gone down. And they have first responders teams out here in kayaks 5circling the shore here as the water goes down, looking for any kind of clues to possibly emerge.

Yes, you know, you mentioned there were hundreds of people out here investigating -- searching along this shore and in all these wooded areas and grassy areas around here and they found basically nothing. So to be absolutely sure that they can rule out this lake, they want to drain it, as much just so that there's no lingering doubt that there might be a certain -- a special clue or something in this lake. So that's what they're doing now. By late tomorrow or possibly early the next day, that part of the investigation should be done, Deb.

FEYERICK: And, Jim, this is -- the lake is, what, it's about five acres. How long do they expect this to take?

SPELLMAN: Yes, they think they should be able to have it done by late tomorrow or maybe the next day.

The other part of this investigation, more the law enforcement part of it, is -- has been expanding. They've brought in FBI, who brought in two search dogs. Last night, on the far side of this lake, they lined up family members. The dogs were able to sniff them to eliminate their scent and then go to where these girls' bicycles were found. We know that they did hit on some sort of scent and went toward the wooded area. We don't know how far they went or whether that will become an important part of this investigation.

Deb.

FEYERICK: And, Jim, do you know, was the grandmother able to provide any helpful information? Because she was really the last known relative to see the girls on Friday.

SPELLMAN: That's right. And, I mean, this is a really nice neighborhood that I think anybody would assess as safe. We have a low crime rate. It's the kind of place where, really, you would feel comfortable letting your kids go out for a bike ride. And they've been doing that. They've been staying with their grandmother, these two cousins, as one of the mothers just got a new job. And they were out for a bike ride.

They really haven't been able to narrow it down since then. They go for a bike ride. They then later, around 3:00 in the afternoon, several hours later, find their bikes and a purse that one of the girls had, near this lake. But they haven't found anything in the lake. Not even something like a flip-flop or something that would clearly, you know, show up if somebody had had an accident in the lake.

So they do want to empty the lake to rule it out. But these bikes sitting there, no sign of a struggle or anything like that, leaves them still really searching for which direction to take this investigation. Meanwhile, the family waits. Incredibly stressful for them. And the whole community here is waiting to find out what happened to these girls.

Deb.

FEYERICK: OK, Jim Spellman, thanks so much. And we do know also that they have been questioning people who are on the registered sex offender list in that area. Thank you so much, Jim Spellman.

Well, an 83-year-old woman loses the love of her life, then she has to pay more than $300,000 in federal estate taxes. Why? Because she's lesbian. She's taking her case to the Supreme Court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, she is 83 years old and she's suing the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act. Edie Windsor got hit with a $360,000 tax bill when her partner of more than four decades, Thea Spyer, passed away. The two had gotten married in Canada, but since gay marriage is not recognized by the U.S. government, she was hit with the estate tax. Edie Windsor joins me from New York.

And good to see you. So you're suing the federal government to basically overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Was this tax bill the inspiration for that? EDIE WINDSOR, SUING TO OVERTURN DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT: You're asking the inspiration for doing that?

FEYERICK: Correct.

WINDSOR: For -- OK. I -- well, I had -- I -- right after Thea died, I had a heart attack. And I was -- I was quite sick. And at the same time I was devastated by the loss of the great love of my life and very sick and had to deal with pulling together enough money to pay for the taxes. OK. And it was -- it was deeply upsetting. And I -- and I -- there was a film about me and Thea. And I thought, I have documentation of a real marriage. And if, you know, if my government can't accept that, can't see it and accept it, I have to fight for it. And that's really how it came about.

FEYERICK: You know, you -- the two of you were together for 40 years. Did you really think you'd seen it all? Did you think all the fights that had to be fought had been?

WINDSOR: I'm (INAUDIBLE). Sorry. Robbie (ph), can you repeat that question for me?

FEYERICK: Sure. You know, Miss Windsor, did you -- after 40 years of being together, did you feel that you were past having to do this? You're 83. There are a lot more ways you could be spending your time right now.

WINDSOR: Well, there were a couple of things. One, there used to be a thing called common law, in which case we would have been married just by virtue of the number of years in which we lived together as married. We had no idea that being married would be drastically different in our lives. I mean we lived together as if married. We never considered ourselves single. And -- but it did -- we received the -- when the notice appeared in "The New York Times," we received letters from people from every walk of our lives and from every age. I mean, really, playmates and schoolmates and colleagues and just everything, wishing us, you know, joy and well. So everyone treated us differently.

FEYERICK: And it's interesting, when you're taking this case to the Supreme Court, what is the heart of your argument? What do you want to see happen?

WINDSOR: Well, one, I'd -- what I want to happen altogether, what my suit is about, is I would like to -- I would like to receive my money back. New York State accepted my marriage as a marriage. And I believe, and the Justice Department and the president agreed with me, that the law DOMA is unconstitutional. DOMA is cruel. It discriminates against us for absolutely no value to the country. And we'd like to see that defeated altogether. I'd like other people not to go through what I went through.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, Edie Windsor, 83-years-old, taking on the status quo. Thank you so much for being here. And we are sure (INAUDIBLE) would be very proud of you. Thank you so much.

WINDSOR: Thank you for having me.

FEYERICK: Well, skirmishes in Syria are usually found outside the capital city, but now there is a battle in Damascus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Syrian rebels are saying the fight for Damascus is on. Government tanks and troops have fanned out today across the sprawling city of 1.7 million people. Explosions caused by government shelling shook the western suburbs. And government helicopters fired on a neighborhood near the city center. The rebels claimed to have launched a final assault. Well, some say that's open to (ph) question. But reports out of Damascus say the regime's armed opponents are probing new parts of the capital to test the government's reach.

Fighting across the country has claimed at least 45 lives today. What we're looking at here is an attack by government forces on the besieged city of Homs. Jill Dougherty is joining us now at the State Department.

And, Jill, how seriously is the U.S. government taking the claim by the Syrian rebels that they have launched an offensive against the capital city Damascus. Is that actually happening now? That changes everything.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just asked that question at the briefing here at the State Department, Deb, and what they're saying -- they're watching this very carefully. And what they're saying is that this is the most sustained and widespread fighting in the capital since the conflict began. They also say that there's fighting throughout the country. And the latest statistics, nearly 140 deaths yesterday, and a total since the beginning of 17,000 people who have died.

Now, whether this is a decisive moment, it's very, very hard to say because, after all, these groups, the opposition groups, are not necessarily united into one group. They get information from various groups. But there's certainly a very sustained effort right now by the opposition to show that they are really taking it to the Assad regime.

And, you know, in any conflict, that is what happens. You take it, then you advertise the fact that you're doing that. And you're seeing these videos right now trying to weaken the resolve of the Assad regime.

Will that be enough? Hard to say. But there's also a lot of sustained action now on the diplomatic front as well.

FEYERICK: And, you know, when you look at what's going on here, clearly the rebels, by saying the fight is now in the capital, in the state capital, this humanitarian crisis is now going to be waged right in his backyard, basically. Are events on the ground in Syria beginning to accelerate faster than the Obama administration may have expected?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I mean, obviously what they want is for Assad to step down. If this were to force him to step down, that would be the scenario certainly of having him leave. That the United States would want.

But when you get into conflicts like this, it's never quite sure how it's going to, you know, work out. Certainly what they would prefer to have happen, Deb, is to have some type of diplomatic resolution. You know, force him diplomatically to step down. He leaves and then a political transition happens. But all bets are off. It's not very clear, I think, to people here at the State Department or any other place what is going to be the next step.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much, at the State Department for us. Something we're definitely going to keep an eye on and follow up within our next hour. Thank you so much.

DOUGHERTY: OK.

FEYERICK: Well, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, they're on the campaign trail today, both in big states with big promises.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: When you run a campaign you need money and President Barack Obama, he is a moneymaking machine today. He just wrapped up a speech at the first of four, yes, four fundraisers in Texas.

He will almost certainly lose that state in November, but Texas has enough big money donors that it's definitely worth his time.

Let's bring in our Dan Lothian. He is at the White House. Dan, the president did not let up on his outsourcing attacks on Romney in this speech. Let's take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My opponent has a different idea. You know, his main calling card for wanting to be president is his private sector experience. So we asked the voters to examine that experience.

He invested -- he made money investing in companies that have been called pioneers of outsourcing. I don't want pioneers of outsourcing in the White House. I want somebody that believes in insourcing. Let's bring those jobs back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: So Dan, there he is. He's talking about the economy. Is that something he will be talking about at these fundraisers trying to drill that in to the people who are there to support him?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He is. The reason for that according to campaign officials is because they believe that it is working. They are taking a look at state by state polling that shows that more and more voters out there are asking questions about the time that Mitt Romney spent while at Bain Capital. They want answers and so the campaign will continue pushing that even as there is this sort strong defensive now from the Romney campaign. But in addition to Bain Capital, you're also hearing the Obama team going after Romney for not releasing more of his tax returns.

That is the message in a new TV ad that the Obama team put up in the battleground state of Pennsylvania today. There's a big fight going on for that state. It's a state that the president won by ten points back in 2008. But that state very much in play this time around.

So the president hitting Romney hard there, but Romney himself on the ground there today at a rally just outside Pittsburgh where he was fighting back saying that the president's policies have failed.

So the fight is on for every vote in that key battleground state that could play a push a role in deciding who the next president of the United States is -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Boy, both really appear to be on a roll in terms of fundraising over the last couple of weeks. How much money is President Obama expected to bring in from the four fundraisers that he is attending?

LOTHIAN: Well, you're very right. You know, the president has been lagging behind Mitt Romney in terms of a fundraising effort. And what's interesting about this is that the Obama team has used this to energize its base.

If you look back now over some of the e-mails that have come out from the Obama campaign over the last couple of months, they always start out by telling their supporters that, look, we are being outraised and we will be outspent.

And if it continues to be this way we will lose this race. So they're clearly aware of the money factor, if you will here, they're trying to use that to energize supporters to their campaign not only just to come out and support the president, but also support him financially.

FEYERICK: Sure, a lot of big money out there. Dan Lothian, thank you so much. We appreciate that.

Well, rival Mitt Romney visiting a state that no Republican nominee has won in 24 years, Pennsylvania where recent polls show him trailing the president. Romney just wrapped up the rally in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

And I want to bring our Jim Acosta. Jim, Romney really went after something that the president said on Friday.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. President Obama said this down in Roanoke on Friday and let's play what Mitt Romney had to say.

This was a feisty speech from the GOP contender. He went right after the president today in sort of this war of words that's been going on for the last week. But let's listen to what Mitt Romney had to say and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said this, if you've got a business, you didn't build that somebody else made that happen. We value school teachers, firefighters, people that build roads.

You couldn't have a business if you didn't have those things, but you know, we pay for those things. All right, the taxpayers pay for government.

What the president said was both startling and revealing. I find it extraordinary that a philosophy of that nature would be spoken by a president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, Mitt Romney continued with that theme during the speech at one point also saying I'm convinced he wants Americans to be ashamed of success.

Deborah, he also claimed that the president is the one to blame for this war of words saying he is always looking for somebody to blame.

And then Mitt Romney at one point during speech, Deborah, said that all of these attacks that have been happening lately on his private business record sort of took him and his family by surprise.

He mentioned his family. So it's a sign that he is taking this personally and his family is taking it personally and he expressed that today.

FEYERICK: You know, and Jim, we talk about a war of words, but let's be clear about this. Romney's campaign, the national co-chairman, John Sununu earlier said today that President Obama basically that has to learn how to be American.

He's also called him a liar. Now it seems that not only the gloves coming off. It's look likes the knives are actually coming out.

ACOSTA: That's right. And you know, Mitt Romney, yesterday, in an interview on Fox said that, you know, he's been accused of a crime, he said and when that happens he's going to respond in kind. I'm paraphrasing there what he said.

He basically said that and so it's no surprise that John Sununu would come out today with those tough words. I was in a conference call with reporters earlier this morning.

But Deborah, there was another person on that conference call, a local businessman from Ohio who said that President Obama believes in socialism. We're almost right back where we were in late 2008 when the McCain campaign and the Obama campaign were going after each other with these very personal attacks. But Deborah, a big difference between now and then, those attacks were going on in October. These attacks are happening in July. It's sort of extraordinary to see this level of personal attacks going on so early in the campaign.

FEYERICK: Yes, unfortunately, this could be a really ugly one. All right, Jim Acosta, thanks so much. Really appreciate you bringing us that.

Well, on the lighter side of politics, it took a couple of tries, but President Obama laid one on his first lady during Team USA's basketball game in Washington last night.

Take a look there. The Obama's were a little shy when they appeared on the kiss cam in the first quarter even getting booed by the crowd.

But they got a second chance in the fourth quarter and President Obama did not disappoint.

Look, two Americans in Egypt kidnapped and then freed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) let us down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: A CNN exclusive conversation with the former captives. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: From three days of captivity to the first full day of freedom. Two Americans are now talking about their experience in the hands of kidnappers in Egypt.

Pastor Michel Louis and Lisa Alphonse were released yesterday. The two are from Boston. Both were on a bus in Sinai, Egypt headed on a church mission to Israel when a man got on board with guns.

They first grab Alphonse and then the pastor stepped in and asking for them to take him instead. Louis and Alphonse were let go, they headed to Israel to be with their families.

CNN's Elise Labott is in Jerusalem and spoke with the freed hostages. Elise, this was a tricky one. The gunman, first of all, wanted the release of one of his uncles. How did this couple get through this ordeal knowing they were essentially being ransomed?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: That's right. Well, essentially, you see the Sinai's are a very lawless area. This is very common these kidnappings.

A lot of times the better ones are doing it for money. They will kidnap some Americans and they'll let them go after a couple of days with some money. As you said, this is much more complicated because the leader of the Bedouin tribe, his uncle was arrested in another Egyptian city of Alexandria on drug charges. They wanted to get them released.

So Michel Louis and Lisa Alphonse really -- they said they put their faith in God that everything was going to be OK. Let's listen to what Michel told us just a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR MICHEL LOUIS, AMERICAN KIDNAPPED IN EGYPT: They said if they kidnap two American people and they will make big news and also when I talk to them I said OK. The only thing they want, they don't want no money. They don't want nothing from us except for his uncle to be released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: And Deb, as I said, they put their faith in God that everything was going to be OK, but they had these guns pointed at them. They were moving around every night. They didn't keep them this one place.

They kept moving them around. They only had their belongings. Michel didn't have his medication. They really didn't know if they were going to get out alive.

FEYERICK: You know, it's amazing especially because since he was the one who sort of offered himself of so no one would get hurt. But you also spoke to Lisa Alphonse, what did she have to tell you?

LABOTT: Well, she was really surprised that there were no women. You know, she doesn't know anything about Bedouin culture. The tour group was there really retracing on these biblical steps of Moses, which is where Moses was supposed to be getting the Ten Commandments.

And these Bedouins take them to this tribe. She was really surprised at what she found. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA ALPHONSE, AMERICAN KIDNAPPED IN EGYPT: All the time we went to different place and there's so many, it was only me as a lady. More than 10 guys --

LABOTT: There were no women there?

ALPHONSE: No, only me, only me. Every night they change. I sleep with them. I always say Jesus protect me. They did nothing. Nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: And Deb they had a short negotiation between Egyptian officials, Bedouin leaders and the kidnapped. They were able to be let go and now they are continuing their tour. They crossed over the border into Israel and they're visiting some sights here and they're going to be making their way to Jerusalem this evening.

FEYERICK: Well, pretty remarkable. What about the kidnapper? Is he still free? Is he still out?

LABOTT: He is. I'm still in the Sinai. His uncle was not released. They didn't meet his demands, but he did have a conversation with Egyptian authorities.

And I think it's a larger issue not just about his uncle, but about how the Bedouins are treated in there. The Egyptian officials said that they will take his concerns into account.

FEYERICK: All right, Elise Labott for us there in Israel. Thanks so much. Good interview there with those former hostages.

Well, it could be the next diet drug to be approved by the FDA, but is Qnexa safe? Up next, I'm going to be talking to a woman who took it for two years. What were her results? It might surprise you. She'll tell us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Want to lose weight? You're getting more options. Last month, the FDA approved the first prescription weight loss pill in 13 years. That pill was called "Belviq."

Now Qnexa, a drug being labeled a miracle pill for those battling the bulge is expected to get the nod from the FDA. During trials, people first weighed in at an average of about 227 pounds.

They lost about 23 pounds each by taking this drug. They did it in part by keeping track of what they ate and also exercising. Well, we've got Meg Evans with us today.

And Meg, thanks so much for joining us. First of all, you took this pill for two years during the trial. During first year, you lost 48 pounds.

But how much do you think the pill contributed to that weight loss and how much do you think curving calories and also exercising contributed to that?

MEG EVANS, QNEXA TRIAL PATIENT: The pill probably a third. Exercise a third and watching what I eat a third. So it definitely needs all three factors.

FEYERICK: OK, now, the second year you decided your weight loss was so successful losing 48 pounds that you decided to stay on for the second year of the trial.

You only lost 2 pounds though and then put on 20 pounds. So this pill, did you find that without the pill or even once you did stop taking the pill you sort of went back to the behaviors that have caused you to gain the weight in the first place?

EVANS: A combination. I didn't watch my diet as hard and as faithfully as I should and exercise in the last year, I've really cut down to zero. That's hurt a lot.

That's a major part of the thing. So I think the pill helped me. I think it helped curve my appetite somehow or the other though I never felt it, but it appeared to have worked.

FEYERICK: It was a really incentive. It was really sort of a motivation. You wake up. You take the pill. All of a sudden you're able to move on. Stay with us for one second.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen had some questions about Qnexa to ask Meg. She's going to be doing that right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The FDA is expected to give the green light today to a new prescription diet drug called Qnexa. Back in 2010, an Advisory Committee voted against its approval because of some serious safety concerns.

Take a look. Here are some of the side effects increased heart rate, confusion, language problems, and birth defects. Meg Evans was part of the recent clinical trial.

Meg, you lost nearly 50 pounds as we were talking before the break. Did you suffer any of these particular side effects?

EVANS: No, not a one.

FEYERICK: So you didn't. You were happy with the results?

EVANS: I actually thought I was on the placebo because there was no side effect that I could feel other than lack of hunger pains and that's it.

FEYERICK: Right and that's exactly what this drug does. It basically staves off the hunger. It makes you feel full.

I want to bring in our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, one of the ingredients in this is something called Qnexa.

It's phentermine, OK, now that's also an ingredient in Fen-Phen and we all know about the problems back in the '90s with Fen-Phen is that they were causing heart defects.

So that was eventually taken off the market. Is this -- can we expect the same problems with this particular drug.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's not such a concern. Phentermine is half of Fen-Phen, but it was considered to be the safe half of Fen-Phen. It was the Fenfluramine that was considered problematic and you can't take that anymore. Now there are those other concerns that you mentioned and I want to talk about birth defects for a minute. As you say, you know, Meg didn't worry about that because she wasn't of childbearing age when she took the pill.

But when people have taken topiramate, which is one of the ingredients in Qnexa. When they've taken it for other reasons not weight loss, those women when they've had children have seen a higher -- have seen an increased risk of cleft lip and cleft palate.

FEYERICK: OK, what's fascinating about this medication is that one of things we were talking about in the break is that you are actually encouraged to be on birth control while taking this weight loss pill.

COHEN: Right, it's more than just encouragement. You were told, lady, we'll give you this pill, but you're going to have to be on birth control.

They told the women in the clinical trials to go on birth control, but still a couple of thousand women they had 34 pregnancies.

So that tells you either the women didn't listen or the birth control failed. So this is a serious consideration. The FDA really looked at this hard while they've been considering this drug.

FEYERICK: Right. And Meg, one of the interesting things is when that we were talking to Meg earlier and that is, you know, the fact is that the pill is an incentive to be counting your calories, to be doing exercise. How much of it is really psychological? How much is the fact that you have this feeling of just being full?

COHEN: I think it's more than an incentive. I mean, phentermine is a known appetite suppressant and topiramate, they believe what happens is it just makes feel fuller faster.

So you can eat less and feel fuller. But I think it really is important to note that Meg and others in the study also received nutrition counselling and received exercise counselling.

So, you know, she said it right here it's not just the pill. She also knew how to eat healthier and she also worked out more.

FEYERICK: Right. She even thought she was on the placebo, which is fascinating because if I thought I was on a placebo, I'd probably stop taking it.

Then all the results would be off. But Meg said she lost 48 pounds the first year and only lost two the next year. And then when she was off the drug, she put 20 back on.

And I think that in terms of managing expectations, the huge weight loss comes right at the beginning, right? Not necessarily after that.

COHEN: Right, the bigger weight loss is often in that first year and then the years to follow or often maintenance. Now I asked the medical director, you know, of this company about that. And I've asked other people as well and what people have said about diet drugs is that some people may have to be on them forever. I mean, that may be the case. As we saw, she gained back a good chunk of that weight.

FEYERICK: Meg, we don't want to let you go before asking you another question. Is this the kind of drug that you would take again once it becomes available?

Were you frustrated that you put the weight back on? Do you want to go back on the drug and see if you can lose however much weight you want to lose the second time around?

EVANS: Definitely frustrated that I put it back on and would love the opportunity to try it again.

FEYERICK: OK, and was there something in terms of the exercise with this? It is something -- did you just sort of lose the motivation because that is a big part of all of this?

EVANS: I pulled an Achilles tendon playing soccer in August of the last year. So I am still in the recovery phase of that.

FEYERICK: We saw you playing soccer. You looked great. So Meg Evans, thank you so much. Elizabeth Cohen as always, it's so interesting. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

There's Meg. You can see some of the pictures there and that's when she loses all that weight.