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Afghan Gunman Kills 2 U.S. Troops; Blame Game in Family Research Council Shooting; Ann Romney Speaks Out; Betting on Mark Zuckerberg; Tax Attacks & The 2012 Race; Dallas' Air Assault to Kill Mosquitoes; Cops Shoot Homeless Man 46 Times
Aired August 17, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Soledad. Have a great weekend. Great to see you as always.
And happening now in the NEWSROOM, desperate in Dallas. In a rare move, not executed in nearly 50 years, the city is taking to the air overnight to stop the deadly West Nile virus. This morning, we're asking, are the residents at risk?
Ann opens up. Mitt Romney's wife getting personal in primetime. The tax issue, her M.S. diagnosis, and standing by her husband. The revealing interview is straight ahead.
Cash out. Facebook stock, and some say confidence, is plummeting. The social network is struggling to maintain its value. Now one writer is saying that Mark Zuckerberg should step down. We'll talk to him live this hour.
And Bill Clinton meet Bill Clinton. A snapshot 14 years in the making. A Ugandan boy, the 41st president. A touching reunion from half a world away.
NEWSROOM begins right now.
And good morning, everybody. So glad you're with us on this Friday. I'm Alina Cho in for Carol Costello. And we begin this hour in Afghanistan. And the latest deadly attack on U.S. troops by the very allies they are supposed to trust. And it's not the first time.
The latest incident earlier today in Farah Province. A uniformed Afghan police officer opened fire on U.S. troops and killed two Americans. It's the third such attack on Americans in just the past week. That makes 31 times this year that Afghan security personnel have turned on NATO troops, including Americans.
At least 39 coalition forces have been killed just this year. Most of them Americans, 21 in all. That compares to 15 such fatalities in all of last year.
Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon watching the story for us.
So, Barbara, good morning. You know, these are the very troops that Americans are training to take over once they leave the country, and they are turning the gun on them. How concerned is the Pentagon?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alina, good morning. Let me start with a brief update. We're getting word from NATO there was a second attack today. Two U.S. troops wounded in another one of these attacks, thankfully not killed.
It's important to remember that as difficult as this is, as dangerous as it is, it is a small number of Afghan forces or alleged Afghan forces that are engaging in all of this activity. That said, the -- leader of the Taliban says they are infiltrating the Afghan forces on a regular basis to conduct these attacks against the U.S. and the coalition. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressing extreme concern about all of this. Have a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: One of the reasons the Taliban is targeting in this manner, we believe, is the success that our Afghan partners are having on the battlefield. The reality is that the Taliban has not been able to regain any territory lost. And so they are resorting to these kinds of attacks to create havoc. And there's no question it's of concern. It's dangerous. And we've got to do everything we can do to try to prevent it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So what are they doing? Are there really any new ideas out there about how to protect U.S. and NATO forces in the field when they're out -- they are working with these Afghan troops, and they may not be certain if any of those Afghan troops are going to turn against them.
Panetta is talking about trying to get better intelligence, trying to get better screening of the security procedures that allow Afghans to join their military service, trying to identify who might turn out to be a turn coat.
But this is tough business, Alina. And you know, right now, the attacks of this very tragic nature are on the rise -- Alina.
CHO: The question is, will all of the U.S. troops still pull outcome 2014. We'll have to wait and see.
Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you very much.
Meanwhile, the man accused of shooting a building manager at the Family Research Council in Washington will not be released on bond. Instead, he'll be given a mental health evaluation. But there's an interesting debate going on right now about who is to blame for Wednesday's shooting. Here is what the head of the Family Research Council said. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Corkins was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center, that have been reckless in labeling organizations hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Interesting comments there. Sandra Endo joins me now live. She's been following this story and she's here to explain these controversial comments.
Sandy, good morning.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina. It's certainly a twist in the story with still no official word on the motive of the shooter. And now the head of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, is definitely taking issue with the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling FRC as a hate group in 2010. He said in a news conference yesterday that FRC has been linked to Chick-fil- A, a company which has stirred up a lot of controversy over the staunch public stance it pronounced against same-sex marriage. And it's a view the FRC shares.
Now Perkins believes that's why the FRC may have been targeted. The suspect, 28-year-old Floyd Corkins, was carrying 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backpack at the time of the shooting. But authorities have not indicated any connection between that and the company.
Now the head of Chick-fil-A says law enforcement officials have not yet reached out to Chick-fil-A as part of this investigation.
And the SPLC released a statement late yesterday afternoon saying, in part, "Perkins' accusation is outrageous. The SPLC has listed the FRC as a hate group since 2010 because it has knowingly spread false and denigrating propaganda about LGBT people, not, as some claim, because it opposes same-sex marriage. The FRC and its allies on the religious right are saying in effect that offering legitimate and fact-based criticism in a democratic society is tantamount to suggesting that the objects of criticism should be the targets of criminal violence."
Alina, there are certainly two sides to this story as this investigation continues.
CHO: Interesting developments. All right. Sandy Endo in Washington for us. Sandy, thank you very much.
Turning now to the presidential race and its shifting landscape. CNN is crunching the numbers of the latest polls, and the very latest is this. The battleground state of Wisconsin now considered a true toss-up. It had been labeled leaning toward Obama, but the president's lead has evaporated to a virtual statistical tie.
That news comes in the wake of Wisconsin native Paul Ryan being named as Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate.
The Republican ticket shows Romney and Ryan, but make no mistake there's a second Romney who looms large in this campaign, and her name is Ann. Ann Romney says her husband's success may not have been possible without her, and that is just one of the comments that's raising a few eyebrows in a primetime interview from last night.
Here to walk us through it is my old friend John Berman of CNN's "EARLY START."
John, good morning. Great to see you.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina.
CHO: Ann Romney, of course the fierce defender of her husband. No surprise there. On a variety of issues, including tax returns in particular. What did she say about that?
BERMAN: Well, you know, Ann Romney, Alina, is such a key player in this campaign. And the Romney team likes to have her out there on the trail speaking about any number of issues. And lately, she has been a fierce defender of her husband and really herself because they file jointly on the issue of these tax returns. And she did an interview last night with NBC's primetime show "Rock Center." And she defended her husband's decision not to release more than the two years he's already agreed to release. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: We have been very transparent to what's legally required of us. But the more we release, the more we get attacked, the more we get questioned, the more we get pushed. And so we have done what's legally required, and there's going to be no more -- there's going to be no more tax releases given.
And there's a reason for that, and that's because of how -- what happens as soon as we release anything. Mitt's financial disclosures when he was governor are huge. If people want to really look and see, any question they have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Just a few minutes ago, the Romney campaign manager Matt Rhodes reiterated in a public letter that Mitt Romney will not be releasing any more than those two years of tax returns. So don't expect those to come down the pike any time soon.
Ann Romney, she also discussed her battle with multiple sclerosis. She does say it's in remission, and her health is good, but still obviously an emotional subject. She got misty eyed when describing the day, it was back in 1988 when she first received the diagnosis. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROMNEY: Walked into the doctor's office, and he did the testing, which is, you know, don't look. Can you tell where I'm moving your toe, and I'm like, no, I don't know. Can you feel this? No. Can't feel that. Stand up. And then close your eyes and turn. And I would -- I couldn't -- I was too, you know, lose my balance. And that's when I started to cry. And it's like, wait a minute. I'm failing every test he's giving me. And Mitt is sitting there. And you can see his eyes cloud over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now she says she suffered a flare-up of her condition in the spring when the pace and the stress of the campaign had become so much. She said it jolted her with a real scare and made her realize that she had to ratchet down on the demands.
And, you know, Alina, she said at the time, she kept it a secret. She didn't even tell her husband that she had this flare- up. So, you know, obviously, it made her nervous but not so nervous that she had to talk to anybody -- Alina.
CHO: Always interesting to see Ann Romney.
Meanwhile, it's always interesting to see you, John Berman. You know, I did the math. Do you know it's been 10 years since we've actually appeared on television together?
BERMAN: And -- they got the band back together again, Alina, I'm so excited.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: On another network. But I'm so glad you're here at CNN. All right. John Berman, thank you so much. Great to see you.
Mark Zuckerberg is the face of Facebook. He is its founder, creator, and CEO. But the stock is plummeting. By half since its IPO. Is it time for him to go? And who would replace him?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Fourteen minutes after the hour. Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Top stories we're following this hour.
Firefighters will face blistering temperatures and possible storms in their ongoing battle against wildfires in the west. At least 70 large fires are burning tens of thousands of acres in 13 states west of the Mississippi.
Three members of the all-girl Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been convicted by a Russian judge of hooliganism. They face a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison. The band had criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin while performing in a church earlier this year. A Labor Department survey finds 90 percent of singles who lost jobs in the economic downturn are now working. Just 22 percent of married people who were jobless have found work. Part of the reason is that singles tend to be younger, more flexible about relocating, and possibly more desperate about finding work.
Best video of the day, a monument now marks the spot where Barack and Michelle Obama first kissed. It was where an ice cream shop once stood in 1989 in suburban Chicago. That's Hyde Park. She was a Chicago lawyer. He was a summer associate at the same firm.
The monument was commissioned by owners of a nearby shopping center. That will get people to go there.
Well, a few companies are as tied to their CEO as Facebook is to Mark Zuckerberg. The hoodie-wearing computer programmer who created Facebook in his Harvard door room, became a billionaire many times over. But Zuckerberg is now in the middle of a wild ride on Wall Street and it's not good. Facebook stock is freefalling, losing nearly half its value. That's $50 billion, just since its IPO in May.
Just yesterday, the first day insiders who were given stock were allowed to dump it, and Facebook shares plummeted nearly 7 percent, to a new low of $19.69, before closing at $19.87.
Zuckerberg himself has lost millions. So, the question some are asking is: is it time for him to go?
Our next guest thinks so. He's John Abell. He's a columnist for "Reuters MediaFile". He joins me now from New York.
John, good morning. Great to see you.
JOHN ABELL, COLUMNIST, REUTERS MEDIAFILE: Good morning. Great to see you.
CHO: You write that the masses need a hero, and that hero is not Mark Zuckerberg. He needs to get out of the way.
You know, Mark Zuckerberg is literally the face of Facebook. A lot of people really can't see how that company would run without him. So who would replace him?
ABELL: Sure. I think the proper term is stepping aside rather than stepping down. He is the visionary behind something which no one has ever done before. I'm not suggesting that he leave the company. I'm not suggesting that he not remain the controlling shareholder. He should remain chairman of the board. Nothing should happen without his OK.
I think, though, that once you become a public company, you sort of have to love wooing Wall Street. He's not good at that. There's no reason he should be. Other people are. He should cede that role.
CHO: So what is the question, then? If he's not stepping down and he's stepping aside, what would his value be to Facebook if he is no longer the CEO? What would he do?
ABELL: Well, the CEO is pretty much a fiscal responsibility. He is a strategy guy. He's a programmer and a strategy guy. And that's what he should do. He shouldn't have to worry about quarterly results and silly things like impressing institutions and investors.
He should be in the lab. And allow other people who are business people by training and by vocation and by choice to do that silly sort of Wall Street stuff.
CHO: You actually write, which I found interesting, and this does in fact bolster your argument, that there is a precedent for this. You look at companies like Microsoft, Google, and this has been done before. Talk about that.
ABELL: Sure. Well, Bill Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft, late in his career stepped aside. He still kind of runs the place. He's a strategy guy. Still very much at Microsoft. But Steve Ballmer runs the show.
Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google, was pushed out of the corner office. But he returned. He is now running an immensely successful company.
One of my favorites, which isn't maybe a perfect fit, is Steve Jobs who was fired from Apple. Returned 12 years later to a company on the ropes and the rest is history.
So it's not even a case that Zuckerberg would have to leave forever and go into sort of an ice floe exile. He'd still be there and he'd come back.
CHO: All right. OK, I just have to squeeze in a last question, because Charles Cooper of CNN as you know wrote his own opinion article, and he says in part, Zuckerberg brought Facebook this far. No reason why he can't lead it into bigger things in the future if he stays true to himself.
Now, there are people, investors, who believe that this is really a buying opportunity, that now that the stock is at $19, people should get in. That it's going to go up again. And are we jumping the gun here?
ABELL: Well, you know, I don't pick stocks. I don't recommend stocks. Personally, I think the valuation will go down a bit more for technical reasons. A lot more people will be allowed to sell their shares through the early part of 2013. So this might not be the best buying opportunity.
Look, Facebook is going to make money. Nobody does it like Facebook. The question is, how much money it will make and whether it's worth what it said it was when it went public. That's the big question.
CHO: Well, it's got us talking. All right. John Abell of "Reuters MediaFile" -- we thank you for joining us. Have a great weekend.
ABELL: My pleasure. You, too.
CHO: Coming up, Whitney Houston's final film opens in theaters today. And we'll show you how Hollywood handles real-life tragedies when they affect major movies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: A bittersweet opening for Whitney Houston's final film "Sparkle" opens today, a little more than seven months after the legendary singer died in Los Angeles. Houston's death came shortly after the filming had finished, and that caused a bit of a crisis for the movie's producers.
Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter explains how Hollywood handles these types of tragedies.
Kareen, good morning. I mean, thankfully, this doesn't happen often. But it does put the producers in a dilemma. What do you do?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, you're absolutely right, Alina. It's really a bit ironic if you think about it. They are the very headlines that often go on to become the movies themselves. But when these unthinkable situations happen, well, it's all hands on deck for the people behind the scenes who sometimes have to make those tough choices when tragedy strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): It's likely Hollywood will one day make a movie about the life of Whitney Houston. But what about the movie the star had just finished shooting when she died?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know y'all don't love each other that much.
DEBRA MARTIN CHASE, PRODUCER, "SPARKLE": Inevitably, there's that first question of, well, do we need to change anything?
WYNTER: Houston's sudden passing left studio execs and filmmakers like producer Debra Martin Chase scrambling for answers about the film's release date and its script.
CHASE: There are a couple of lines in the movie that in light of events, you hear them and you're like, oh, my God. I can't believe she is saying that.
WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER/ACTRESS: Was my life not enough of a cautionary tale for you?
CHASE: The world was asking would we speed up the release of the movie.
JASON E. SQUIRE, CINEMATIC ARTS PROFESSOR, USC: Second thought is, all hands on deck.
WYNTER: Cinematic arts professor Jason Squire --
BIANCA GOODLOE, ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER: Oh, yes, all the time.
WYNTER: -- and entertainment lawyer Bianca Goodloe agree that "Sparkle is" is part of an unfortunate trend in Hollywood, feature films requiring crisis management.
GOODLOE: You really need to repackage them and repurpose them that will not put off audiences.
WYNTER: Like earlier this year when neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
SQUIRE: Changing the title, "The Watch," it used to be "Neighborhood Watch" because it was simply inappropriate after the headlines.
WYNTER: And even more recently in July, when a gunman opened fire on a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises." Tragically, that same audience was the first to see a preview for another film which in a horrific coincidence showed mobsters shooting at theatre patrons.
SQUIRE: In this case, they can move very quickly, and they did -- removing the trailer for "Gangster Squad," and shifting the release date of that movie.
WYNTER: Not only do studios want to react respectfully to an unexpected disaster, they also have a bottom line to consider.
SQUIRE: You spend mountains of money, obscene amounts of money, so they have to take great care when this issue comes up.
HEATH LEDGER, ACTOR: Forgive me, but I --
WYNTER: Heath Ledger died while filming "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.": Filmmakers were forced to cast additional actors to finish the movie.
Sometimes, sensitive footage has to be removed, like the World Trade Center scenes in "Spiderman" following 9/11. Or falling a movie from an entire country which happened to the tsunami thriller, "Hereafter", following the Japanese disaster.
(on camera): Real-life catastrophe, it's something Hollywood never expects. But with more and more movies coming out every year and increasingly uncertain times -- well, studios should always be prepared.
GOODLOE: Keep everything in perspective. Give it time. Let it breathe. And this too shall pass.
WYNTER (voice-over): As for "Sparkle," in the end, no changes were made to the film's content or release date.
CHASE: We just said no, because she wouldn't have wanted us to. This was a movie that she loved and she was passionate about.
WYNTER: A movie with its own set of challenges that Martin hopes moves audiences this weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me feel as if I have done something right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: Alina, it's really fascinating when you look at the big picture here, when art tragically imitates life. It's not just the studios and the filmmakers who feel this ripple effect. You know, at last night's "Sparkle" premiere here in Hollywood, one of the film's stars, Jordin Sparks, who play's Whitney's daughter in the movie, said it's so surreal to be part of a project that featured a star, a talented actress who is no longer here -- Alina.
CHO: Kareen Wynter joining us from Hollywood -- Kareen, thank you very much.
WYNTER: The Obama team wants to play let's make a deal on taxes. I'll tell you what they want from the Romney campaign in return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: And good Friday morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Thanks for joining us.
It's half past the hour. Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM.
Another deadly day in Afghanistan, this time in Farah province. An Afghan police officer opened fire on U.S. troops killing two of them. Just yesterday, seven U.S. service members died when a NATO helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan.
Amateur video captured more fierce shelling in Aleppo, as more Syrians fled to neighboring countries. CNN cannot independently confirm the video's authenticity. The opposition reports that 61 Syrians were killed just today. Western and Arab diplomats are gathering at the U.N. to seek an end to Syria's deadly civil war.
In Louisiana, a 100-foot sink hole the size of a football field is still growing. Yesterday, two workers who were part of a cleanup operation at the site had to be rescued. They were on a boat that was tied to a tree when more land gave way, and it trapped them on their boat.
All right. Turning now to politics, and the issue that just won't go away for Mitt Romney. I'm talking about taxes. Tax returns to be specific.
Now, the Republican candidate is finally speaking out about what he's paid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did go back and look at my taxes, and over the past 10 years, I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 percent or something like that. So I paid taxes every single year. Harry Reid's charge is totally false.
I'm still waiting for Harry to put up who it was that told him what he says they told him. I don't believe it for a minute, by the way. But every year I've paid at least 13 percent. And if you add in addition the amount that goes to charity, well, the number gets well above 20 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The response -- well, after initially telling Romney to, quote, "prove it" when it comes to his taxes, just this morning the Obama team is offering a truce. Well, sort of.
In a letter, Obama's campaign manager said in part, "If the governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more."
So there you have it.
Joining me now is Jason Johnson, chief political correspondent for "Politic365" and a professor of political science at Hiram College. Great to see you.
And in Washington, we have Republican strategist Ron Bonjean.
Ron, let's start with you.
All right. The Romney campaign is rejecting this latest offer saying it will instead continue to focus on the economy. It has followed the letter of the law.
Come on. Wouldn't it just be easier for the Romney campaign to release these returns, get this story over with? And by not doing so, doesn't it make some people wonder what does he have to hide?
RON BONJEAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you know, first of all, it would have been a lot easier a long time ago had he released his tax returns. That's absolutely correct. But now, you're in a situation where if you give in to the Obama campaign, they are not going to stop. If you think that they're going to stop at five years, there's no way. They are going to say, no, let's see more.
Any commitment to not going after him on this issue is just false. It's not going to happen. So what Mitt Romney has to do, they have to reject it, they have to move on, they have to talk about the economy. And they just shouldn't talk about the issue anymore.
And, you know, in the letter, Matt Rhoades, the campaign manager for Mitt Romney, said, look, if you want to talk about tax returns from now until the election, that's fine. We're going to talk about the economy. We're going to talk about solving America's problems. And that's what they really care about.
CHO: Just last night in a primetime interview, Ann Romney said, you know, mitt is an honest man. He did what he had to do.
Meanwhile, Jason, I want to go to you in just a second. But first, listen to something.
Just this morning, the Obama team released the latest ad in the Medicare wars. It's nice to be talking about issues. It's running in eight states. Let's watch it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm Barack Obama, and I approved this message.
NARRATOR: Now Mitt Romney's attacking the president on Medicare? The nonpartisan AARP says Obamacare cracks down on Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse, and strengthens guaranteed benefits.
And the Ryan plan? AARP says it would undermine Medicare and could lead to higher costs for seniors. And experts say Ryan's voucher plan could raise future retirees' costs more than $6,000. Get the facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: All right. Again, that's an ad that will run in eight states. Just yesterday, Mitt Romney as you know had a white board to prove that his plan would keep Medicare solvent while the Obama plan would add -- cut, rather, $716 billion to Medicare.
This weekend, Paul Ryan heads to Florida where his mother lives and happens to be on Medicare. I mean, the gloves are off, aren't they?
JASON JOHNSON, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITIC365: The gloves are off, but this is the kind of campaign that Barack Obama has always wanted. He wants a comparison of ideas, instead of a referendum on whether or not he's done a good job.
Romney can't win this argument and neither can Paul Ryan. Ryan's idea was to put grandma in a home and sell the family home to buy a RadioShack. It's not something that seniors will like.
So the Republicans need to get back to talking about what Obama hasn't done, because if they are comparing ideas, they lose that battle.
CHO: All right. You know, Romney did come out with that white board yesterday and said, just take a look at it. It's here in black and white. My plan will keep Medicare solvent. Obama is going to cut $716 billion from Medicare.
I mean, you know, that's compelling, isn't it?
JOHNSON: No, because white boards don't work very well. We learned that from Ross Perot.
CHO: The Obama campaign came out with their own white board. Remember that.
JOHNSON: Right. Well, it's still not a good idea. It's generally a good idea to speak in terms of what are the policies that we've already had. Arguing about the numbers and minutia, nobody ever believes that. The public is not compelled buy it. It's based on who they believe is going to protect the program.
You have two years of people criticizing the Ryan budget as something that would hurt Medicare.
BONJEAN: Let me say this. This is a brilliant move by Mitt Romney to get in the face of the Obama campaign on Medicare because they are going to be attacked on it anyway. They have jujitsu-ed this.
They have taken their opponent's energy inflicted and got in their face and said, President Obama stole $700 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare. That has caused Obama now to put out ads defending himself.
Look, they are talking about the economy. They're still talking -- they have been talking about the economy for months, and they'll get back to it. But it's a good idea to try to neutralize this issue right now, which I think they are being very effective at.
CHO: And with that, I tell the both of you have to have a great weekend. Thank you for joining us with that spirited discussion.
Jason Johnson and Ron Bonjean, thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
BONJEAN: Thanks so much.
CHO: All right. I want you to take a look at something. Bill Clinton, meet Bill Clinton. That's right. It happened in Uganda, where a 14-year-old boy who was born the same month that Clinton first visited the east African country was reunited with the former president during his most recent trip. Both named Bill Clinton.
Now, President Clinton encouraged his young namesake to stay focused on his dream of getting a medical degree, and even offered to fund his education.
A West Nile emergency in Dallas sends the city to the skies to fight the deadly virus, spraying a large part of the county with insecticide from the air, 49,000 acres. This morning, we're asking, did it help?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
Overnight, two more people died from the West Nile virus, this time in Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Dallas, Texas, has started aerial spraying 52,000 acres to kill mosquitoes spreading the virus. Dallas County is in a state of emergency, the worst outbreak in the country, 155 cases and 10 of those people have died. That's a quarter of all infections nationwide.
This is the first time in 45 years that the area has sprayed insecticide from the sky.
Joining us now to talk a bit more about this is Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent.
So, Elizabeth, let's start with the spraying. You know, people -- some people almost went to court to try to stop it. It didn't happen, went ahead overnight. I mean, how -- is it safe, I guess, is the first question, right?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course. You always are going to wonder when we're spraying these amounts of pesticides from the sky.
And we called environmentalists who we thought would be up in arms about this, and actually they are not. They said, look, this is approved by the EPA for residential use. They are using a very low volume. They are doing it at night when people are mostly inside. The chemical breaks down in the sunlight. So by the end of the next day, it's broken down.
And they said, you know, you don't want to use this unless you have to. But when you have, you know, 26 people dead, you need to do something.
CHO: Right. And it's interesting. I actually saw that -- a saw a local news report that said a lot of people in Dallas obviously because of the hot weather, concerned about getting back into their pools, right? And they said because it breaks down so quickly, there's no waiting time in terms of getting back into a pool.
But I guess the bigger question is, you know, whether they do the spraying or not, across the country, how scary is this West Nile virus in your estimation?
COHEN: Well, obviously, this is something to be concerned about, as we talked about. Hundreds of cases, and 26 people are dead.
But I do want to put this in perspective. Out of all of the mosquitoes out there in this country, only a small percentage carry West Nile. When they bite you, you've got an 80 percent chance of being completely fine after being bitten, 80 percent chance that you're not even going to know it.
CHO: Interesting.
COHEN: The other 20 percent, most of those people will get sort of a flu-like kind of disease, and only a very small percentage of those people will actually become gravely ill, with these complications we have heard so much about.
So, should we be concerned? Yes. But I don't think people should be freaking out.
CHO: All right. And what's the best way to protect and prevent mosquito bites in the first place?
COHEN: That's the other reason not to freak out, is that there are things that you can do. Let's go over the four Ds.
So, the first one is, when you're outside, get a repellent with DEET and use it. Look in the ingredients list.
Also, dress in long sleeves and long pants.
Be careful especially at dusk and dawn because that's when mosquitoes like to get out and party.
And also drain any standing water you have. Like you fill up the kiddie pool. Drain that thing once you're done with it.
CHO: Mosquitoes love standing water.
COHEN: They love that. And keep in mind that the people most vulnerable to West Nile are the elderly.
CHO: Interesting.
COHEN: Right. So, if an elderly person, a mosquito bite, starting to feel sick, pay particular attention.
CHO: Got it. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, great to see you, as always.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHO: Thanks for that important information.
Another bit of health news to pass along. U.S. health officials are warning baby boomers to get a blood test for hepatitis C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus can go for years without any symptoms or liver damage. Many people don't know they have it, and baby boomers make up about 2/3 of all infected Americans. Fifteen thousand people die each year from the disease, and the CDC says that number is growing.
Well, it's not a shoe store. It's a crime scene. You are looking at $18 million of fashionable fakes.
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CHO: Forty-seven minutes after the hour.
Checking your "Top Stories", a man wearing an Afghan police uniform opens fire on U.S. troops in southwestern Afghanistan killing two of them. The killings are the latest in the so-called green on blue attacks by Afghans in security uniforms. NATO says there have been 31 such attacks just this year causing 39 deaths.
Two groups are pointing fingers over Wednesday's shooting at the Family Research Council in Washington. The group's head wants to hold the Southern Poverty Law Center accountable, which lists the FRC as a hate group. The Southern Poverty Law Center says that's outrageous. A Virginia man is charged in the shooting which wounded a security guard.
In a free speech case followed globally, three members of a Russian female punk rock band have been found guilty of hooliganism. The members of Pussy Riot had performed a song criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin. A judge's sentence is expected shortly.
Get a load of this customs agents have seized more than 20,000 pairs of fake Christian Louboutin shoes. Oh, my goodness. The counterfeit shoes came in a Los Angeles port in five shipments over the past five weeks. They came from China. Officials say the shoes could have sold for $18 million in the online and underworld markets. Wow.
Ever had to suffer through a meal next to someone on their cell phone? Well, one Los Angeles restaurant feels your pain. Eva Restaurant is offering a five percent discount for leaving your phone in that box there for the duration of your meal -- what a great idea. It says nearly 50 percent of customers have taken advantage of the discount.
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CHO: Welcome back, 52 minutes after the hour.
We have to warn you that the story we're about to show you contains some disturbing video. It shows Saginaw, Michigan police officers gunning down a man with a history of mental illness, shooting him 46 times after he stepped toward them with a knife.
Now, a video of the incident is shedding some more light on the controversy. Here's CNN's national correspondent, Jason Carroll.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A joint investigation is underway into the shooting. Amateur video details what happened during the final moments. I do have to warn you, the video is graphic.
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CARROLL (voice-over): This amateur video purchased by CNN and not made public until now, captured the confrontation between six Saginaw police officers and Milton Hall, a 49-year-old man who his family says suffered from serious mental health issues. Hall, seen in the middle of your screen, police say had just had a run-in with a convenient store clerk. He was in a standoff with police and holding some sort of knife. A female officer is heard shouting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put the knife down.
MILTON HALL: (inaudible) aren't putting down (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put the knife down.
CARROLL: If you listen carefully, Hall is then heard continuing to yell at police.
M. HALL: My name is Milton Hall, I just called 911. My name is Milton and I am pissed off.
CARROLL: Hall seems agitated, but not intimidated by a police dog.
M. HALL: Let him go. Let him go. Let the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) dog go.
CARROLL: Heard on the tape, a witness describes what he sees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About to go ham on him.
CARROLL: Then as Hall appears to take a few steps, everything comes to a head. Local media report 46 shots were fired. CNN counted the sounds of at least 30 shots on the video tape. Anthony Baber witnessed the shooting.
ANTHONY BABER, SHOOTING WITNESS: All of a sudden, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop and he drops. You know? Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. And he drops. I was about where that blue van, I was parked in my van.
CARROLL: Tabitha Perry saw it, too.
TABITHA PERRY, SHOOTING WITNESS: I heard one of officers say something to the fact where put the knife down or I'll let the dog go.
CARROLL: And do you believe the officers were justified in what they were doing?
PERRY: No, I don't. No I don't because what they did, there was a better way to do it. I think their judgment was off.
CARROLL: Perry is not alone. Paul's mother says Saginaw police overreacted.
JEWELL HALL, MOTHER OF MILTON HALL: Emotionally, I have a lot of pain and I'm stunned that six human beings would stand in front of one human being and fire 46 shots. I -- I just don't understand that.
On the day of the shooting, July 1st, the Saginaw police chief defended his officer's actions.
CHIEF GERALD CLIFF, SAGINAW POLICE: This is someone from our understanding, has a long history. Not only with the police from our department, but with the county. Known to be an assaultive person.
CARROLL: Over the last month, members of the community have voiced outrage about the Hall shooting, not satisfied with the police investigation into the officers' response.
We showed the video of the shooting to city councilman, Norman Braddock.
NORMAN BRADDOCK, SAGINAW CITY COUNCIL: I can see why people are traumatized at looking at something like that. And we need answers.
CARROLL: Braddock has been critical of what he calls the slow pace of the shooting investigation.
(on camera): Could it be that investigators are just trying to make sure they're doing a thorough job and that's why the investigation is --
BRADDOCK: I'm sure that has something to do with it, but at the same time, it should be a top priority.
CARROLL: The Michigan State Police lead investigator would not discuss the case, instead referring us to the Saginaw County prosecutor, who told was we can't tell you when the case is going to be completed. The matter is being thoroughly investigated by in independent police agency, the Michigan State Police along with the Michigan Attorney General's office.
Hall's mother already feels he knows the answer to the question of whether police used too much force.
HALL: It appeared to be a firing squad dressed in police uniform and it, there was another way. They did not have to kill him.
CARROLL: The six officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. And again at this point, there's no telling how long that investigation will last. This is a prosecutor telling me that he wants to make sure that this investigation is done precisely to get to the bottom of exactly what happened out here.
Jason Carroll CNN, Saginaw Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: Jason thank you. In a written statement to CNN, Michigan State Police said, quote, "Our focus is on conducting a complete and thorough investigation rather than a hasty one.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a quick break.
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