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Gas Prices Jump, Expected to Climb Higher; Medical Rescue at U.S. Antarctic Station; More Amazing Photos from Mars; Hearing Today on Theater Massacre; Oops! Wrong Airport; Drought Drives Up Food Prices; Ernesto Close to Final Landfall Again; Plenty of Pros & Cons for Pawlenty; Madonna's Russian Revolution; White Supremacists in the U.S. Military; Medalist Returns to London
Aired August 09, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, successful rescue mission. A medical crew flies from New Zealand to Antarctica and back to save the life of an expeditioner. Wait until you hear the challenging conditions that rescue team faced
Plus this --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Specifically, what he told me at one point was that if you join the military and you're not a racist, then you certainly will be by the time you leave.
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WHITFIELD: The Wisconsin temple shooting suspect, an accused white supremacist and he may have learned about hate groups in of all places, the military, as you just heard.
All right, stunning images from Mars. We're getting new ones every day. But you'll be surprised to hear why we almost didn't get to see some of first great shots.
Plus, it's been almost 65 years since the last Olympic Games in London. My father earned a gold medal -- two gold medals in those games and a bronze.
Now we return. There he is meeting up with other Olympians where it all happened in London 64 years ago. The NEWSROOM starts right now.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Carol Costello. We begin this morning talking about how much money you're going to be paying, we're all going to be paying for gas.
Overnight, the national average jumped another cent and a half. It's now $3.66 a gallon. It could be in part from this huge fire in a Chevron refinery in California.
Prices out west are expected to skyrocket. This fire happened Monday. The situation at the refinery is unstable. Another small fire broke out yesterday. People who live in the area have bigger concerns than gas prices. Hundreds of people were treated for breathing problems.
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NIGEL HEARNE, GENERAL MANAGER, CHEVRON REFINERY: First and foremost, Chevron will take responsibility for all legitimate claims that come in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You putting this poison out here killing us. And it's not just happening -- is it happening in y'all neighborhood? No, it's not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do I have to look forward to having cancer? Does my grandchild have to look forward to having cancer?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And this refinery isn't the only problem. Last month, there was a pipeline shut down in the Midwest after a leak. And there had been problems at two refineries near Chicago.
Gas prices are now 30 cents higher than they were just five weeks ago. And now the refinery could cause prices to jump nationwide.
Alison Kosik is back with us now from the New York Stock Exchange. So Alison, what can we expect?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brace yourself, Fredricka. Several analysts that we talked to say expect prices across the country to keep going up over the next few weeks.
Then you should see prices pull back around Labor Day after the summer driving season is over. But if you're on the west coast, you probably don't need to be telling you this, you're seeing sticker shock.
You're getting hit the hardest and analysts from the Oil Price Information Service, Tom Close, says that average for a gallon of gas in California is up 8 cents since Monday's fire.
In fact, he says expect prices on the west coast to keep going up for six to eight weeks. You can see a gallon of gas top $4. Now the issue here is supply. The thing is, with California, it uses a special cleaner blend of gas.
And that cleaner blend of gas is made of 14 refineries. They're located in California. The Richmond refinery that you're talking about happens to be a key unit. It's one of the biggest in California.
And right now part of it is shut down and that's squeezing the supply causing prices to go up. It's Economics 101, the law of supply and demand. But the thing is, this impact is going beyond California. It's hitting the entire west coast because gas from this Richmond refinery supplies the northwest region, too. So once again, don't expect any relief until Labor Day. But you know, I wouldn't bet the farm on that timing either because even then, Fredricak, it can change on a dime with any geopolitical issues that come into play.
WHITFIELD: Wow. In just in time for a lot of people who hit the road again to close out that summer. All right, thanks so much, Alison Kosik. Appreciate that.
All right, a rescue mission to a U.S. research base in Antarctica is now complete. An Australian medical team landed a few hours ago in New Zealand with the patient from the McMurdo Station.
The unidentified patient is believed to be an American expeditioner is now receiving treatment. A spokeswoman for the National Science Foundation says the patient may need corrective surgery of some sort.
All right, landing a plane in one of the most remote locations on earth can be very difficult, of course, the conditions in Antarctica, when the plane touches down minus 13 degrees, only a very narrow window of twilight as well.
Meteorologist Alexandra Steel joining me now. This was not an easy trip to say the very least.
ALEXANDRA STEEL, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's precarious to say the best. Now it's winter there. So predominantly it is virtually dark for six months.
As you said, there's a very narrow window of twilight. Actually, the stars kind of illuminate things as well, but it is precarious at best. The summer is when there are flights going in and out, but certainly not in the winter.
There are not native people that live there, per se. There is only this research station. And in the winter months, there are only about 60 or 70 of those. There are hundreds of them in the summer time.
So here's where it was, of course, at McMurdo Station. Now it's about temperature and visibility. Now the jet fuel, temperatures outside must be warmer than 50 degrees below zero.
OK, that may seem ultra cold, right? Current temperature there is 25 degrees below zero. Now that's about average for the winter. Believe me in, the summer the average high is only 59. It doesn't get that warm anyway.
Wind chill right now at this current time is 60 below. You know what? Fredricka, it's really all about visibility. Now that airport, of course, it's dark all the time. And the pilot has to have visibility. Now this airfield does not have any instrumentation for it to allow it to land in the dark.
So the pilot has to be able to visually see without using any instrumentation and that is just an extra kind of really difficult aspect to the cold and the blowing snow and the other visibility factors. WHITFIELD: Right. And the cold and the jet fuel and, you know, how it can sustain itself and that kind of -- those kinds of conditions minus 13 below. It's amazing. All right, Alexandra, thanks so much.
All right, "Curiosity" now is staying busy on Mars. We'll go to the other end of the universe spectrum. The rover is sending back new images from the red planet including a self-portrait taken by its navigation camera.
But did you know that we almost didn't get to see those awesome shots? John Zarrella explains.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mike Malin is the first to admit he's not real animated except when he is talking about his cameras, more precisely, his Mars cameras.
MIKE MALIN, PRESIDENT, MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SYSTEMS: You can take this camera higher than that camera and do a sweep from up there. You can look down on the rover.
ZARRELLA: From NASA orbiting satellites, Malin's cameras have taken hundreds of thousands pictures. Remember the famous face on Mars, here it is close up. This heart shape mound Malin calls love from Mars. This one, happy face. It's actually a crater.
Here's a gully on the red planet. Evidence water once flowed there. But Malin's crowning achievements may well be on the "Curiosity" rover. Four of the rover's 17 cameras are his.
Two on the mast, one on the arm and some of the mission's first pictures sent back from Mars came from his descent imager. It captured these stunning pictures as "Curiosity" came through the Martian atmosphere.
Pictures we almost never saw. To cut mission costs, NASA dumped the camera. It had already spent $1 million on. To finish the project, Malin got some of the money he needed from extra funds in another Mars project and picked up the remainder of the tab himself.
MALIN: So I paid for the rover camera. The Phoenix project paid to put it on the rover. And NASA headquarters said OK under those circumstances, do it.
ZARRELLA (on camera): How much did it cost you out of your own pocket?
MALIN: About $80,000. Do you think it was worth it?
ZARRELLA: This Mars photographer says, no, he promises the pictures we'll see from all his cameras the next two years will be worth it. John Zarrella, CNN, Pasadena, California.
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WHITFIELD: And NASA expects to get more new pictures from Mars this afternoon.
All right, right plane, a wrong airport. The feds want to know how this commuter flight landed miles from its planned destination.
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WHITFIELD: Checking your top stories, less than four hours from now another court hearing gets under way on the man accused of opening fire inside a Colorado movie theatre. Lawyers for news organizations want the judge to unseal documents relating to the case and lift part of the gag order.
Silver Airways is facing some pretty tough questions from the feds. They want to know, the feds do, want to know how the commuter flight landed at the wrong airport in West Virginia some 10 miles from the planned destination. Fourteen people were aboard the flight, which was otherwise uneventful.
All right, this summer's drought blankets nearly two-thirds of the nation and that's pushing up food prices around the world. United Nations says international prices jumped 6 percent just last month alone. Americans are seeing higher costs for corn, oil, and beef.
A massive rain maker named Ernesto is about to make land fall on the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico. The tropical storm is packing 70 mile an hour winds and could dump as much as 15 inches of rain on some areas there.
All right, now let's turn to the mystery that has haunted New York for decades. And forever changed how the nation searches for its missing children.
After Etan Patz vanished on his way to school back in 1979, he became one of the first missing children to be featured on a milk carton. Yet, there were very few answers in his case until this spring when a man allegedly confessed to killing him.
Now police are again scouring the building where the suspect once worked looking for Etan's remains in some long-awaited closure perhaps for his parents.
Susan Candiotti is in New York with more details on this. Again, the search taking place really just blocks away from where his parents still live. This has to be very difficult for them and investigators.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Fredricka. Who knows whether that family will ever have full closure? They've said virtually nothing since this man was arrested back in May. They've asked for privacy. They said virtually nothing publicly anyway.
And we haven't heard much about the case until just yesterday when we discovered that the police had been back in the basement where this man, Pedro Hernandez, claims to have murdered Etan Patz.
They didn't find anything back then. They were back in the basement in July and again yesterday. We saw them remove a shovel and five large paper bags. But so far we are told according to my sources that they have nothing new that prompted the search.
WHITFIELD: So have investigators found anything physical, any physical evidence that at least reaffirms to them that they're looking in the right place?
CANDIOTTI: Well, so far all we know is that all they have from him is an alleged confession. There is no physical evidence to link Pedro Hernandez to the death of Etan Patz.
We'll have to see what develops. It could be difficult to move this case forward to an actual trial if they have only an alleged confession.
WHITFIELD: And there was another person that was being linked to the disappearance of Etan. Where are we on that?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. That is Jose Ramos. You might remember that the parents of Pedro -- of Etan Patz sued him civilly years ago and won a judgment. A judge found Ramos civilly responsible. Of course, it's a different level of evidence.
But the parents won a massive multimillion dollar judgment against Ramos. He remains in jail in Pennsylvania on a totally unrelated -- child related sexual abuse case. He is due out in November -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, and also this fall, the next scheduled court appearance or action for Pedro Hernandez?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. He next appears in court pre-trial. This would be in October and just to see where things stand. The case has not moved forward beyond that.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you so much for that update.
We're going to come back and talk about Olympics. Usain Bolt already has gold in the 100 meters. But today, he's actually going for gold in the 200-meter race. Can anyone beat the world's fastest man? Might it be this guy, his teammate? We'll go to London for a preview.
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WHITFIELD: All right, U.S. gymnast, Dannell Leyva is back home in Miami with his bronze medal. Family and friends welcoming him there at the airport last night among the well wishers, both of Leyva's grandmothers. Leyva called the support of his fans overwhelming. Congratulations to him.
And the world's fastest man has a chance to make more Olympic history today. Our Zain Verjee is in London. All right, Zain, I don't mean to brag or anything. But I was in the stands there when Leyva won his bronze in the men's overall gymnastics.
And I was in the stands for that 100 meter win of Usain Bolt, and electrifying moment. But there's something about that Bolt, you know, when he takes to the starting blocks, the entire stadium goes silent because it happens in a blink. That's what's going to happen in tonight's 200 as well, right?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Fredricka, frankly, yes, you're bragging.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I know, I am. It's fun.
VERJEE: But, you know what? Prepare to be dazzled because it is going to be the Bolt show today, the 200 meter final happening in just a few hours. He wants to break his own record, which is 19.19.
He says it's his favorite race. He also said I'm never going to say I'm the greatest until I won the 200 meters. But there may be a lot of people who wouldn't to spoil the party. I can think of one guy, right? Johan Blake.
WHITFIELD: Yes, my goodness. Well, that is going to be something else. And then, you know, speaking of 200 meters, really one of America's darlings, you know, Allyson Felix, she nailed her goal. That was an incredible race to watch.
VERJEE: It was amazing to watch. You know, I mean, finally third time lucky, right? She got two silvers in previous Olympics and she finally did nail it. It was a fabulous race.
She got the gold and then also the U.S. placed third in bronze and Jeter got that, too. It's such a big day for the U.S. I mean, in 19 minutes, the U.S. got seven medals, right?
Which is the biggest hold that they've had in track in one day since 1992 back in Barcelona and so you know what I decided to do, Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: What?
VERJEE: I decided to get a Team USA jersey here, right? It was such a fantastic day. I just want to make sure that you're really jealous.
WHITFIELD: Yes! That looks good.
VERJEE: Yes, it does, right?
WHITFIELD: That looks great. Well, I'm not jealous because, you know, I brought home something like that, too. Only it says London on the back and USA in the front, not to be mistaken. That's fantastic.
All right, well, you've got quite the experience there. I know you've had a chance to take in some events, too, even though you've been working hard around the clock.
VERJEE: I know.
WHITFIELD: Got any faves?
VERJEE: Yes. I was actually -- yes, at the 100 meter final. I just want to show you a little picture. Not looking so hot here.
WHITFIELD: You look hot.
VERJEE: I was wearing the Kenyan cap and the U.S. flag there. But you know one of the cool things in the stadium was, you saw it right before the race, people are cheering and, you know, making all sorts of comments. And then someone in the stadium pushes a button and you hear this really big ssshh!
WHITFIELD: I love that moment.
VERJEE: And everyone just shuts up.
WHITFIELD: It's so great. People are respectful of that, too. They really are giving athletes that moment, you know?
VERJEE: Right. The pin drop silence right before and the stadium just bursts.
WHITFIELD: Good. Zain, we're going to talk more about our Olympic experiences. It's been a lot of fun. You continue to have a little bit more fun for the remaining week before the games all come to a fantastic end. Thanks so much. Zain Verjee, see you again in a few minutes.
VERJEE: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right, so the last time the Olympic Games were in London -- and there's my little photo there. My little Kodak moment with my dad, Mal Whitfield and also alongside him are bronze medalist from 1948 games, Herb Douglas.
My dad won two gold medals and a bronze medal in those games. Let me not undersell it all. It was a beautiful moment to be able to go back to London with my dad as he reunited with a number of his fellow Olympians.
That is a 1956 Olympian who just happened to be in the Olympic Park area running into. So it's been a beautiful moment after moment of reunions with Olympians. Great times there at the Usain Bolt final there as well. We'll talk about that more on that later.
All right, it has been, meantime, nearly a year, we're going to talk U.S. politics now, since Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the presidential race.
But he could still ends up at the White House, why Romney has him on the short list for VP?
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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories now, in Syria, forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad's regime have renewed their shelling on Aleppo, the country's largest city.
And an activist says some regime forces are now entering the area on foot. Rebels say they have pulled back waiting for reinforcements and are preparing for a counterattack.
Meanwhile, a peaceful transition for government toppled in the Arab uprising. Libya is now in the hands of its General National Congress. The latest step toward democracy since last year's ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. It is the country's first peaceful transfer of power in more than 40 years.
In Germany, same sex couples get a big boost from the nation's constitutional court. It rules couples and registered partnerships can get the same tax benefits as a married man and woman. Outside the court, citizens and politicians are still locked in a bitter debate.
Many people are looking at Wikipedia for any clues on Mitt Romney's possible running mate. That's because in 2008, "The Washington Post" reported Sarah Palin's wiki page revised 68 times just before McCain announced her as his running mate.
And Joe Biden's page saw about 40 changes leading up to the announcement. So as NPR reports, we're already seeing changes to Romney's potential picks.
Ohio Senator Rob Portman's Wikipedia page was revised at least 16 times on Tuesday. Someone had even deleted the, quote/unquote, "controversies section."
And Florida's freshman Senator Marco Rubio's page was updated at least nine times. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's page saw at least four edits and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's page has not been updated since July 24th.
Any signs in all that? Wikipedia has even locked some politicians' pages or protected them from being edited after what comedian, Steven Colbert told his audience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": I may have designated T. Paw the VP pick, but it doesn't to have to stay that way, folks. You get on Wikipedia and edit any of these guys' pages to give them the edge or maybe edit the page of more of a dark horse like Mitt Romney's dark horse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It's a whole different race these days, isn't it? The web site "Techpresident" first wrote about the story saying Wikipedia could be trying to protect the pages from vandalism.
And all the attention has ruined any possibility that more Wiki page changes could be a clue as to Romney's VP pick.
And you heard Steven Colbert naming Tim Pawlenty as his pick for Vice President. The former Minnesota governor does have a lot in common with Romney. But there are some key reasons why Romney may not pick him.
CNN's chief national correspondent John King explains.
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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tim Pawlenty wants you to know, he likes beer. And corned beef. And he's more than happy to go pub to pub, Ohio and elsewhere making the case against President Obama.
TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Have you have enough of sky high unemployment across America? Have you had enough of runaway federal spending? Have you had enough of Obamacare?
KING: Why might he share the ticket? Well, policy wise he's very much in sync with Romney.
But personally, he's the anti-Romney. His economic views shaped not by personal wealth but by a blue collar upbringing on the streets of South St. Paul.
PAWLENTY: The dominant focus economically for the town back in the '60s and '70s were these mammoth meat packing plants, they all suddenly shut down. And as a young boy, I saw this massive job loss, economic dislocation, heartache, worry. It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to have lived it and experienced it.
KING: Friends who shared the ice with young Tim Pawlenty or walked the halls of South St. Paul high in the late 1970s say what you see is what you get.
PAUL VOIGHT, PAWLENTY CHILDHOOD FRIEND: He woke up in the morning and delivered papers before school. He bagged groceries to get through college. He's been working hard for a long time.
LAVERNE MEYER, PAWLENTY CHILDHOOD FRIEND: Everybody worked hard in this community. Everybody lived moderately but not excessively.
KING: Blue collar roots are just one Pawlenty asset. Other pluses, a Catholic-turned-Evangelical Protestant; like Romney, a GOP Governor who had to deal with Democrats; a record of holding the line on government spending; and no Washington baggage.
His former chief of staff says Pawlenty's skills and interests fit the moment.
CHARLIE WEAVER, FORMER PAWLENTY CHIEF OF STAFF: By the time he left, I think the average increase in state spending over his eight years is one percent. No one talks about education and challenges in the country (ph) keeping up in a global economy. He gets fired up around that.
KING: And the down sides -- he raised cigarette taxes which angered conservatives at the time. Like Romney he has limited foreign policy experience, there is zero evidence he would put deep blue Minnesota in play and a rap that national ambition led to a cautious course as governor. MAYOR R.T. RYBAK (D), MINNEAPOLIS: People thought he could be a kind of breakthrough figure who could bring moderate voices from different sides together. He got into office and became deeply partisan, unable to get much done. And in this case, spent most of his time running for national office.
KING (on camera): They said Tim Pawlenty is a nice guy. Tim Pawlenty talks a great game but Tim Pawlenty did nothing, wasted eight years as governor.
PAWLENTY: Well, Mayor Rybak of course is a leading spokesperson for the Obama campaign so I would expect nothing less of him.
KING (voice-over): Comfort level is a big reason Pawlenty is on the short list.
(on camera): So you tell us those words. Yes, Pawlenty and Romney sparred at the start of this campaign.
PAWLENTY: If it was Obamney care on Fox News Sunday, why isn't it not Obamney care standing with the governor right here?
But when his bid stalled Pawlenty was quick to endorse Romney.
PAWLENTY: Are you ready for Mitt Romney to be the next president of the United States?
KING: They were governors at the same time and they share a disappointment from the 2008 vice-presidential search.
(on camera): It left a bit of a mark on you. Does that had an impact on how you view the things, view that this time through?
PAWLENTY: Well, we don't talk about the vetting process in the Romney campaign. But in general, you know, I've been through this before. So it's -- you've done something before, it's easier and more casual and more relaxed the second time. So I don't want to say it's no big deal but it's a little bit of deja vu -- familiar. And I think it just comes a little easier.
KING: John King, CNN, Yellow Springs, Ohio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And tonight on "THE SITUATION ROOM," our John King will profile possible Republican vice presidential contender Senator Rob Portman from Ohio.
All right, the Material Girl is in hot water. But for a change, it's not about her music. Why Madonna is taking a stand against an anti- gay law in Russia.
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WHITFIELD: Madonna is no stranger to controversy. But now the singer's actions and specifically her plan to speak out in protest of a Russian anti-gay law could actually get her arrested.
We go now to Los Angeles and to entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner. The U.S. State Department and gay activists are all asking the Material Girl --
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- to now back down ahead of a concert in St. Petersburg. But ever since the law was passed, Madonna has said that she is going to protest this law in person.
TURNER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: How is she responding? Because hasn't she already made some very overt gestures about her feelings?
TURNER: Yes. Well, the first thing she did to -- she posted on her Facebook page yesterday, Fred, that she is making available pink wrist bands to anyone at the concert tonight that wants to wear them in support of the LGBT community.
Now she is performing in St. Petersburg, Russia. And she once again is promising to deliver a little politics with this performance. She also plans to protest this law which criminalizes what it calls quote, "The promotion of homosexuality to minors".
Now although the way the law is written, activists say any mention of homosexuality could actually be considered a crime. It's something like, you know, what she did at the MTV Awards show, that kiss between her and Britney Spears a few years ago would definitely be a no-no.
Now, Madonna has promised not to shy away from this controversy. She also posted this on her Web site a little while ago. She said "I will come to St. Petersburg to speak up for the gay community, to support the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone who is or feels oppressed. I don't run away from adversity. I will speak during my show about this ridiculous atrocity."
And like you said you know this could be a volatile situation. The State Department is warning that there could be physical violence against concert goers at this show and this also comes after she got attention during her Moscow concert --
WHITFIELD: Right.
TURNER: -- by calling for the release of three women facing charges for protesting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
WHITFIELD: Yes and their -- and then she kind of underscored, you know, that she has freedoms to allow her to speak out.
TURNER: Right.
WHITFIELD: But those freedoms don't necessarily apply, you know, in Russia. So I wonder kind of waiting in the wings might there be, you know, armed guards, police, et cetera, who are ready to make an arrest if she and you know, does indeed make her statements about the anti- gay laws or rulings?
TURNER: Well, you know, she didn't -- nothing happened when she made the statements with the -- about the band in Moscow. Nothing happened to her then. And she did kind of get the crowd going with her.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TURNER: So you know, I have to think though, Madonna has -- whatever you think about her -- she has been pretty, you know, consistent about speaking out for things that she does or doesn't believe in.
WHITFIELD: Yes, right.
TURNER: So we'll have to see what happens there.
WHITFIELD: Ok.
Now let's talk about country singer Randy Travis. He will never be able to escape the mug shot alone and, of course, there is still --
(CROSSTALK)
TURNER: No.
WHITFIELD: -- you know questions about what exactly happened? DWI, the bruising, not wearing clothes.
TURNER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: What's the latest?
TURNER: Yes. You know, first of all, that will be a legendary mug shot in the Nick Nolte vein and James Brown vein. We're going to remember this one for a very long time. But Randy Travis was arrested again late Tuesday after police say they found him naked, smelling apparently of alcohol and lying on a remote stretch of roadway in northern Texas just before midnight.
Now the Texas Highway Patrol tells CNN that Travis was driving his black 1998 Pontiac Trans Am when it drove off the north side of a two- lane highway and struck several barricades in a construction zone.
Now while in custody, they also say that he threatened to shoot and kill the troopers working the case. So not only is he being charged with public intoxication and a misdemeanor DWI offense, he's also facing felony retaliation charges. And Fred also this is his second alcohol-related arrest in the last year. He also had another one right after the Super Bowl.
WHITFIELD: Yes. You can't help but feel so humiliated for him. Because those images will, you know, they have staying power -- forever.
TURNER: Right.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. TURNER: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Nischelle Turner, I appreciate that from Los Angeles.
TURNER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, they take an oath to support the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Our nation's military is filled with those willing to risk their lives for others. But we're discovering hate groups are also using the military to grow their ranks.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Checking your "Top Stories".
A shake-up in the management of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Organization, the breast cancer advocacy group says president Elizabeth Thompson seen here on the left is leaving. And Nancy Brinker is stepping down as CEO for a new position. The organization came under fire over its initial decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood projects.
All right. Police in Washington want to know how a man received an assault rifle instead of the TV he ordered online. The shipping box was labelled with his name and address but the invoice listed a Pennsylvania gun shop. He reported the mix-up to police because assault weapons are illegal in the District of Columbia.
Football fans rejoice. Today the NFL pre-season opens in earnest and one of the big subplots will be Peyton Manning ditching the horseshoe emblem of the Indianapolis Colts and taking snaps as a Denver Bronco. It will be his first action since several neck injuries sidelined him for the 2010 postseason.
And a scary scene for drivers in Las Vegas. A mannequin was hanging from a noose off a billboard. Drivers called 911, worried that it was actually a real person. Police say it was a publicity stunt in very bad taste. The billboard's owner says it's a victim of vandalism.
All right, that deadly shooting at a Wisconsin temple sheds light on a problem many may have not realized. Just how prominent are white supremacy groups on military bases? You might be shocked by what we found. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wade Michael Page's belief in white power was tattooed over all his body as this MySpace photo shows. But back in Fort Bragg, you couldn't tell by looking at him.
CHRISTOPHER ROBILLARD, FORMER SOLDIER: He didn't have the tattoos when he was in the army.
LAWRENCE: But fellow soldier and friend Chris Robillard says Page wasn't shy about sharing his views and ranted against non-white people.
ROBILLARD: He would often mention the racial holy war that was coming.
LAWRENCE: A criminologist who interviewed Page said he started identifying with the Neo-Nazi movement while he was in the army because he thought African-American soldiers got preferential treatment.
PETE SIMI, CRIMINOLOGIST: Specifically what he told me at one point was that if you joined the military and you're not a racist, then you certainly will be by the time you leave.
LAWRENCE: Well before pictures like this were posted on Facebook, the FBI had identified hundreds of veterans involved in white supremacist incidents. And federal investigators say small numbers of white supremacists have infiltrated most parts of the military.
While Page was at Fort Bragg in 1995, three soldiers were caught and convicted of murdering a black couple outside the base. All were identified as Neo-Nazi skinheads. The army cracked down on racists in the ranks and kicked out dozens of soldiers. But the problem goes way beyond one base.
TJ LEYDEN, FORMER MARINE AND SKINHEAD: Every major military installation you have at least two or three active Neo-Nazi organizations actively trying to recruit on duty personnel.
LAWRENCE: TJ Leyden would know. He's a former Marine and skinhead who says some military units ignore overt racism.
LEYDEN: I used to hang a swastika flag on my wall locker. And everybody in my unit all the way up to my commander knew it. The only time they ever asked me to take it down was when the commanding general would come through. Just so they wouldn't get in trouble.
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WHITFIELD: Chris Lawrence joining me now from the pentagon. Chris, just how widespread is it believed that the white power movement might be within the U.S. Military?
LAWRENCE: Well, Fredricka, when you look at the sheer size of the military, you know, the millions that are a part of it, the numbers are actually very, very small. There was an uptick, a lot of federal investigators feel in the mid-2000s while the wars were going on. But overall, you're talking about very, very small numbers. Although, they do say everywhere from boot camp all the way into some special operations forces.
WHITFIELD: And so, you know, is the Pentagon vowing to do anything about scrubbing some of these, you know, this covert kind of operation taking place or even kind of modifying, I guess, their view or their approach to trying to single out or find people who might be suspect of this kind of behavior? LAWRENCE: Well, they're already on the lookout. I mean you can't be in the military if you're an active member of sort of a hate group, so to speak. They also look at some of your tattoos. You can't have overtly racist or sexist tattoos. That's not allowed either.
But sometimes it comes down to the individual commander and how much he or she is going to enforce the rule. TJ Leyden, the Marine we spoke with, said it was very lax in his unit. But he said where his brother was, the commander was extremely diligent and really scrubbed all that stuff out whenever he found it.
WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much at the Pentagon. Appreciate that.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. We're going to change -- change the beat a little bit. It was a trip back to where it all started for my dad. He won two gold medals and a bronze in London way back in 1948. We make a return trip to London 64 years later.
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WHITFIELD: Now that explains why all those things are my favorite foods -- chocolate, blueberries and salmon.
All right. So a family visit to the Summer Olympic games was a return to glory for my dad and a rather emotional one for me and my brother Lonnie (ph) as well.
My father, Mal Whitfield, as you see right there, back in 1948 winning two gold medals and a bronze in track and field in those London games. He won the 800 meter and was a member of that winning four by four relay team and then clinching bronze in the 400-meter run.
Zane Verjee back with us again from London. So Zain, this was an incredible experience. I love that you're wearing your USA Olympic team jacket there. You know, yes there you go.
So we've been talking about sharing pictures and all of our personal Olympic experiences, I figure let's go back down memory lane and how this, you know, first entire week of the Olympic games has kind of unfolded. It was a great journey for me going with my dad and with my brother Lonnie.
So let's show you some pictures of our experience. Beginning with that Olympic day nine, that was that historic day, Zain, right of Usain Bolt's 100 meter final. And there is my dad, far right with the USA hat, Mal Whitfield. My brother Lonnie. And then Herb Douglas was a 1948 bronze long jumper.
And then here just getting through the Olympic park with my dad, Zain, is like an Olympic feat in and of itself. People would stop him. They'd want autographs, photographs. And this man right here was a 1956 Olympian who spotted my dad. And they had to exchange their points of view on the Olympic experience.
It was really fantastic. And just seeing the crowds there, Zain, you see them every day. But sometimes I think on that day it was something like 200,000 people in the Olympic park because there was something going on in all of the six venues. Wasn't that extraordinary?
VERJEE: It was really amazing. First of all, Fred, I would have loved to have met, what is it, Marvelous Mal.
WHITFIELD: Mal, Marvelous Mal. I know.
VERJEE: Right. And didn't he get another gold in Helsinki?
WHITFIELD: Yes, he did. He repeated it in the 800.
VERJEE: Yes, right, right. I would have been -- it would have been awesome, exactly.
Yes, you know, it's amazing being in the stadium. The energy is incredible. You have people from all over the world. Everyone is talking to each other. And the ushers who walks around and kind of tell you were to go and everything are so funny. They just make fun of every country and all the flags going in, right.
You were at the 100 meter final, what was it like for you to watch Usain Bolt?
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. It was amazing. I mean I think it was an electrified stadium. Everyone was really pumped up excited. There were so many other events that were taking place that evening, too. There were prelims for 1,500. There was long jump. There were so many events going on. However it was that 100 that everyone packed the stadium for. It was a full house. Not one empty seat. Then to see all the flashes going off in the stadium. Like you mentioned earlier that, you know, over this speaker, the whole hush -- that was a cool moment.
My dad's not drinking a beer there, by the way. It's a Coca-Cola because that is one of the big sponsors. I just like to get at that photo. But it was really thrilling and cool. And Zain, next time when we're all in the same confines, got to get you together with my dad. I know he'll have lots of stories to share.
VERJEE: We were in the same stadium.
WHITFIELD: I know.
VERJEE: We were in the same stadium, we just had a different perspective of the (inaudible)
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WHITFIELD: But you were a still few hundred meters away. It was tricky.
All right, Zain. Thanks so much. We'll see you again. Appreciate it.
That's going to do it for me, Fredricka Whitfield here in Atlanta; Zain Verjee there in London.
Much more of the NEWSROOM continues with Kate Bolduan right after this.
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