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Paul Ryan Campaigns In Florida; Obama Team Fires Back In Medicare Battle; Conflicting Reports of Syria V.P. Defecting; New U.N. Arab League Envoy Appointed; Seven Arrested in Louisiana Deputy Shooting; Supreme Court to Address Affirmative Action; Keeping the Mentally Ill Out of Prison; Dodgers' Legend Honored; War Vet Reunited With Bomb Sniffing Dog; Salmonella Cases Linked to Melons; 12 Killed In Bus Crash In Mexico

Aired August 18, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, much of America heard the name Paul Ryan for the first time just one week ago today. Almost as quickly as people learned his name they learned about his numbers, that is the Ryan budget plan and how it aims to privatize Medicare for example.

Well, now, for his first time since he became Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick, Ryan is in Florida, which has the most senior citizens of any state, 17.3 percent of the population. And the reception in the town called The Villages has been as warm as Florida's weather, alongside his mom there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here is what Mitt Romney and I will do. We will end the raid of Medicare. We will restore the promise of this program. And we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom's health care or your mom's health care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's political editor, Paul Steinhauser, live at the event. So Paul, for those who know Florida, no surprise, Ryan got a friendly welcome in the villages because it is a very heavy Republican state. However, there were some surprises today, yes?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: There were. There were two Ryans, I guess, you could say, Fred, there were two Ryans on the stage today. And Paul Ryan used his mother quite often throughout his speech to make his points and attack President Obama and his policies.

But Ryan introduced his mother right off the bat at the beginning of this event. She is a retiree. She spends part of her year in Florida and part of the year in Jamesville, Wisconsin, where she raised Paul Ryan.

Fred, you play that sound just a moment ago. This was all about Medicare today. No doubt about that. Paul Ryan criticizing President Obama saying President Obama has taken over $700 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare as it's called, the president's health care law.

The politics here is simple. Medicare, very popular. Polls indicate the president's health care law, Americans are divided on that. That was the argument from Paul Ryan. The Obama campaign though, Fred, they've been pushing back against these attacks.

Take a listen to a brand new commercial playing in key battleground states this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm Barack Obama and approve this message.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now Mitt Romney is attacking the president on Medicare? The nonpartisan AARP says Obamacare cracks down on Medicare fraud, waste and abuse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: You can see why the battle over Medicare is so important, as you said, especially in Florida. It's got the most electoral votes than any of the battleground states. Yes, senior citizens make up one in four voters in the last presidential election. They're very important this time.

As you mentioned, the villages where I am, heavily Republican crowd here, a very heavily Republican electorate here in the villages. Sarah Palin got a big crowd here four years ago. Paul Ryan got a very big reception today -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And what does that say about the, I guess crowd? Were they handpicked by the campaign or was it, you know, a free for all? Anyone who wanted to attend could? What do we know about the audience?

STEINHAUSER: Exactly. Anybody who wanted to attend could, but this is a very pro-Republican community. And as you mentioned, the largest retirement community in the United States. It's one of the reasons I think you saw Paul Ryan talk about his mother throughout his speech.

He also used his mother to go after the president on the economy. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: Mom? I am proud of you for going out, getting another degree. I'm proud of you for the small business that you created. And, mom, you did build that! That's what America is all about! I'm so proud of her for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Of course, Paul Ryan there continuing the Romney attacks on the president over that you didn't build a comment. The Obama campaign says was taken utterly out of context, but Paul Ryan again, two Ryans on the stage today, Paul Ryan and his mother, Betty -- Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much in the villages there in Florida.

All right, so Ryan also, by the way, released his tax returns for the last two years. His most recent return shows he and his wife made more than $323,000 in 2011 and paid close to $65,000 in taxes. And that would be 20 percent of gross income.

That 20 percent is a higher percentage than his running mate, Mitt Romney paid in 2011. Romney paid 14.5 percent of his income in taxes that year. And what about 2010? Ryan also paid a higher percentage of his income in taxes, 16 percent to Romney's 14.5 percent.

President Obama is campaigning in New Hampshire today. He holds two events there, one in Windham, two hours or so from now. Even though we understand a lot of people are getting into position already. We'll bring that you to live.

And a second rally taking place later on today in the town of Rochester. Obama won New Hampshire back in 2008, but the state is now up for grabs in November.

All right, turning to international news now, leader Kim Jong-Un is telling his troops to be prepared for, quote, "a sacred war" during upcoming training exercises between South Korea and the U.S. State media says Kim ordered the forces to deal a deadly blow to the enemy if a single shell is dropped on North Korean territory.

And now to some major developments in Syria. Rebels are saying the Syrian vice president has defected, but may still be in the country. Syrian State TV released a statement saying, quote, "The vice president didn't think for one second to leave the homeland," end quote.

Our Nic Robertson is live in Abu Dhabi right now. So Nic, you know, do we know which report is correct or how do we even go about, you know, clarifying these discrepancies?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, the best test may come tomorrow because it is the end of Ramadan here right now. There will be a big service, a big service in Damascus.

Normally you would get the president and the vice president standing there. If they're not there together then I think that's the best indication that the government doesn't have their hands on this.

What the rebels are telling us is they've been trying to get him across the border. The commanders who have been trying to smuggle him out of the country, they say they lost contact with him recently. The government just adamant and still commenting on going issues connected with the violence in the country right now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, what is this about U.N. monitors, many of them being asked to leave or required to leave?

ROBERTSON: The U.N.'s calling them out of the country. They cannot continue with the mission that they're on, which was monitoring a cease-fire. It never got off the ground in April. They had to kind of switch over the past couple of months.

It kind of more sort of less monitoring a cease-fire that wasn't happening and more trying to sort of mediate between the two sides to let humanitarian relief supplies are delivered around the country. Almost all of them are being pulled out.

The U.N. has named a new representative to Syria, a very experienced Algerian diplomat, well respected throughout the region. But we don't know what his new plan is going to be. But those forces of 330 or so, majority of them being pulled out -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then the refugee crisis is growing. But the face of the refugees, it seems to be, mostly they're very young.

ROBERTSON: You know, they are and they're vulnerable and the families oftentimes men will stay back in their homes. They'll send their wives and the children out. They're ending up in refugee camps with very little facilities.

But, you know, the refugees that we're seeing, 170,000 outside the country in the neighboring countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, we've seen over the past few days 350,000 leaving to Turkey.

But, you know, that's the tip of the iceberg. The U.N. estimates there are a million people internally displaced inside Syria, cut off from their homes, cut off from easy access to water. Their situation is very, very desperate -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thanks so much for that update from Abu Dhabi.

All right, closer to home now, state side in Louisiana, four men and three women have been arrested in connection with a shooting that left two sheriff's deputies dead and two others wounded.

The shootings happened 25 miles outside New Orleans on Thursday. The suspects first attacked a deputy while he was directing traffic then took off to a nearby trailer park. Later, more deputies arrived to investigate and the suspects opened fire.

A criminal suspect is shot dead in police custody with his hands cuffed behind his back. Now there's newly released dash cam video taken moments before his mysterious death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now the mystery surrounding a young man shot in the backseat of a police car in Jonesboro, Arkansas. No one disputes that 21-year-old Chavis Carter died of a gunshot wound to his head, but his hands were handcuffed behind his back so who pulled the trigger, the suspect or police?

A dash cam video taken from a police cruiser reveals Carter by the side of a pickup truck. It was patted down, but no gun was found. And then officers say they put him in the back of the same squad car and handcuffed in that vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: Patted him down I don't know where it was hidden. We were talking about to get back into the car -- we thought we heard a funny noise. We heard a pop we got in, smelled of gun powder and he was leaned over.

UNIDENTIFIED QUESTIONING OFFICER: Was he handcuffed or sitting?

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: He was handcuffed behind him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Carter's mom doesn't believe that her son shot himself. Earlier CNN's Randi Kaye asked the Jonesboro police chief about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is it physically possible to be handcuffed behind your back and somehow pull a trigger on a gun that you weren't holding when you were handcuffed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the average person that's never been in handcuffs, that's never been around inmates and people in custody would react exactly the same way that you just did about how can that be possible? Well, fact is, it's very possible. It's quite easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Investigation is ongoing. Police say they are waiting on a complete autopsy and forensic report.

All right, fed up with fees? Spirit Airlines is being sued over a passenger fee. Our legal guys are standing by to let us know if this seems like a fair fee or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. Supreme Court will revisit affirmative action in October to hear arguments in Fisher versus the University of Texas. The case was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white student denied admission to the university back in 2008 and claimed she was discriminated against because of her race.

Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Tustin, Michigan. Changing things up a little bit there, Avery. Good to see you. And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

All right, gentlemen, let's talk about this case. The University of Texas, it's about University of Texas. This woman saying that affirmative action, you know, based at admissions meant that she was denied entry. So, Avery, you know, she is claiming that since University of Texas has this program where the top 10 percent of high school graduates would automatically be admitted, she's arguing that she should have been admitted to UT.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. She's got to prove she was turned away, Fredricka, because of race. The fact is that she was not. This is a case that I think in terms of the issue, affirmative action, it grabs at the soul of our nation.

It really defines us as a just and decent people. But legally, the law in my mind at least since 2003 when Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion on affirmative action when it comes to higher education is the law of the land.

There really is nothing left. University of Texas very much like University of Michigan, the Sandra Day O'Connor opinion deals with holistic issue, race, geography, poverty, family responsibility.

It's exactly what universities should be doing. It's incomprehensible to me that the Supreme Court despite some angry members of that court could ever hold this law unconstitutional, this policy unconstitutional.

WHITFIELD: Richard, how do you see it? Because Texas officials are saying that race is considered among many factors, as Avery just spelled out, you know, academic record, personal essays, leadership skills, all of that. And that's the criteria.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Exactly. It's only one criteria. It's not the sole criteria. It's only one. Let's also understand that the person bringing this claim was not in the top 10 percent of her high school class for starters.

But Texas has every right to include this as Avery said. That is the law of the land. The tests before the courts have been to compel an interest in diversity and to break down racial stereotypes. These are some of the thoughts and rational behind it.

For this court to overturn it would really be an atrocious error by the court, even Judge Rehnquist said in cases where the law has been set, we really don't want to overturn them.

Edwards -- I mean, the current court also acknowledged that. I don't think it's going to be overturned. Worst case scenario, it's a tie vote. If it's a tie vote, the court of appeals will hold up and nothing will happen with the affirmative action.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's move on to another case. This is involving airline fees. You both likely paid a whole lot of fees in order to get to the destinations of Las Vegas as well as Tustin, Michigan.

So now let's talk about Spirit Airlines and there is a claim by many passengers who say they have this thing called the passenger usage fee. The passengers in this, you know, class action suit are saying it's unnecessary and gratuitous. But maybe, Richard, you can break down what is the Spirit Airlines intent on passenger usage fees? What is it?

FRIEDMAN: You know, you got me.

HERMAN: Norman Greenbound wrote that song "Spirit in the Skies." This airline may be the spirit in the sky after this case. I took a look at the complaint. It's a devastating civil fraud complaint seeking among other things travel damages, triple damages here, Fred.

If they give you a fee, $180, that's how much it costs. And they punch in, you know, another $50, $60 in fees on it and hide it, so you don't understand what's your paying that's a problem here. They've been cited for this in the past.

They paid fines. Last week they paid $50,000 in additional fines. Again, I read the civil -- the complaints filed in the southern district of Florida and Miami. It's a devastating complaint. And Spirit, they got their hands full on this one.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And the other fines you talked about, the basis of that, I guess, the Department of Transportation in one case said it was deceptive advertising.

So we're talking about $375,000 in fines on one occasion, another $450,000 in fines on a separate occasion. So Avery, are we talking about the same thing kind of repeating this same deceptive, you know, advertising or is it something else?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I actually think that the allegation -- remember, Fredricka, these are mere allegations right now in a class action. But here's the way they came up with that.

Each of these so-called passenger usage fees, which is quite a name. It is called puff. Of course, it is. They charge $7 -- $9 and $17 times five million trips and the plaintiff's lawyer is saying that's $40 million in profits.

Yes, Spirit keeps getting whacked with deceptive advertising and the president of the company said, well, you know, we don't like the idea of transparency in the government rules. Well, that's exactly what the government should be doing.

And you know what? I think this is a potentially very serious case. It's in the federal district court. You know what? The discovery is going to be fascinating. I think the plaintiffs actually have a chance.

WHITFIELD: Wow. In all fairness, Spirit Airlines is responding in a statement saying "Spirit believes the claims are without merit and intends to defend the case." So they believe they do have merit to have this kind of passenger fee.

HERMAN: Have you ever heard that before, Fred?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, right. HERMAN: You have heard that before?

WHITFIELD: That's their point of view on this one.

All right, we're going to see you guys again in about 20 minutes to talk about another lawsuit. This one is claiming that a strip club, the drink policy may have played a role in one teenager's death. We're going to get into that.

So we'll see you again about 20, gentlemen. Also, we're going to get an update on the medical condition of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. from a long time friend who has battled the same kind of disorder, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're learning more about the condition of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. from his long time friend former Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Kennedy visited the Illinois Democrat this week at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where Jackson is being treated for bipolar depression. Kennedy told CNN that Jackson is suffering from, quote, "deep, deep depression," end quote.

The son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy has also battled with bipolar disorder and he says he understands why Jackson didn't immediately talk publicly about his condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Our brain, like every other organ in the body, sometimes gets sick. But because it's our brain, we stigmatize the illnesses because the symptoms of these illnesses are behavioral.

If he was there for cancer, you wouldn't be doing this show tonight. Most Americans wouldn't care because they'd say well Jesse, go get the help. If you have cancer, get treated.

But because Jesse has a mental illness as I do, myself, and is fighting for his recovery, it somehow sparks this interest. We have a fascination with mental illness because it's something we don't understand very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jackson is the 47-year-old son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

So mental illness is a pervasive issue that many are suffering. In fact, the Department of Justice says a majority of inmates in local jails are suffering from some kind of mental illness.

But a project under way in Georgia is trying to keep those numbers down by getting people convicted of petty crimes out of jail and into treatment.

CNN's David Mattingly reports the program could save taxpayers millions of dollars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The path to the county jail in Savannah, Georgia, is well known to Billy Carruthers. He's been down the road 18 times in 13 years. The grinding end to a life on the streets that he says began at age 11, a seemingly endless spiral of hopeless drug addiction and mental illness.

BILLY CARRUTHERS, PEER NAVIGATOR: It was leading me toward a path of death, but unfortunately, death is not my discretion. It's God's discretion.

MATTINGLY: He's working for an experimental program to keep the mentally ill from being institutionalized at taxpayers' expense. "Navigators," they call themselves, navigating the mentally ill out of jails and state hospitals and in to treatment and jobs, intense supervision claiming a cost of just $25 a day.

(on camera): How much does it cost for someone to go into a county jail?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about $50 a day.

MATTINGLY: What about a state prison?

NORA HAYNES, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS: State prison is about $60 a day for a psychiatric inmate.

MATTINGLY: State mental hospital?

HAYNES: It's $4.30 a day.

MATTINGLY: So you can save that much money per day by keeping someone out of the system?

HAYNES: Absolutely.

CARRUTHERS: Right here. This was my spot.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Carruthers says he could make hundreds of dollars on a good day panhandling in this park.

(on camera): How much cocaine did you do?

CARRUTHERS: As much as I could.

MATTINGLY (on camera): How much as you day?

CARRUTHERS: As much as I could. What is your idea of adequate treatment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking my medication. MATTINGLY (voice-over): As a navigator, Carruthers now helps others in recovery working through their own problems.

(on camera): If you weren't in this program, how many of you would be institutionalized right now? Everybody? Jail?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than likely.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): And it's a daily struggle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought my neighbor was spying on me and there was a camera in the ceiling fan and I --

MATTINGLY (on camera): So paranoia?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I was hearing voices, too.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): This man is number 39 in the program, schizophrenic and an alcoholic, he went from jails to a homeless shelter before a navigator got him into recovery and into a job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was always there at the doctor's appointments. He would always come before work.

MATTINGLY: But 24 hours after our interview, 39 was back in jail testing positive for alcohol, a violation of his probation.

CARRUTHERS: The first thing on my mind is make sure they're getting treatment.

MATTINGLY: Carruthers makes many trips to jail like this ready to try again. In spite of setbacks, organizers of the navigator program say repeat trips to jail and state hospitals are down for the 100 people now in the program, with a taxpayer savings of $10,000 per person. David Mattingly, CNN, Savannah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: He is 73 and she is 27. He claims she convinced him they were in love and was tricked into buying her a $775,000 apartment before dumping him. Well now he's suing. Does he have a case? Our legal guys are standing by to weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, in Houston, a family says a drunk driver killed their 18-year-old daughter Catherine Emily Jones a year ago, but they claim the strip club where the driver was drinking is actually the one to blame because of the drink policy.

So the family is now suing the strip club. Our legal guys are back, Avery Friedman in Tustin, Michigan and Richard Herman in Las Vegas.

All right, gentlemen, we've seen cases similar before where not only the person who is convicted of, you know, intoxicated manslaughter may be held accountable, but then they go after maybe the outfit where the alcohol may have been served, which is the case here.

So now we're talking about Rick's Cabaret. Apparently, this nightclub had a policy of sorts of a discount to how much you would drink. And so, Richard, at issue here is whether the nightclub should be held responsible. What is this family up against?

HERMAN: Houston, we have a problem with Rick's Cabaret. They have big trouble here, Fred. The promotions that these clubs do, I only know this because I represented some of these clubs. So that's straight.

But what happens is the entertainers, the entertainers that come in, they have to sell a certain amount of drinks. And this way they get promotions and benefits for themselves because they have to pay a fee to work there.

So they pump the booze into the patrons. This guy who was in there drinking that night had about 15 drinks. He ran out of money. They threw him out. They didn't get him a cab. They didn't drive him home. They just threw him out of the club.

He gets in his car. He got caught, cracked up, killed someone, three times over the limit. He is serving 15 years in prison for manslaughter.

And now the issue is whether or not the club knew or should have known that he was intoxicated and they kept pumping him with alcohol and didn't make arrangements to get him home safely.

They unleashed him on to the streets. I think with that plan that they had there. They're going to get a few witnesses to say he was loaded and kept throwing shots down him. The club is going to get hammered here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so Avery, apparently, there is videotape, you know, showing -- at least the teen's family alleges there is videotape of Ramirez, you know, drinking at Rick's Cabaret.

Is an establishment, does it have a responsibility to call a cab? Is that universal or does that have to be a policy that has to be posted and has to be common knowledge?

FRIEDMAN: Well, most states have dram acts, Fredricka. It requires that place's responsibility on the -- well, the strip club, they call it a gentleman's club. I've never been able to figure that one out.

But in any event, Texas has a dram act. It's been on the books for 35 years. Unfortunately, the Texas Supreme Court watered down, diluted that saying well we're going to divide up responsibility.

Well, based on the evidence in this case, Fredricka, if a jury finds that Rick's Cabaret was 51 percent responsible for the death of Emily Jones then they're responsible for the whole thing. The familiar little never collect off Ramirez. It will never happen.

So I think that based on what we see now, the family has a good shot at a wrongful death case against Rick's Cabaret under the Texas dram act.

WHITFIELD: OK, we did attempt to obtain a statement from Rick's Cabaret, but they have not responded just for the sake of, you know, some balance here.

All right, let's move on to another case. This involving a New York condo, one estimated at $775,000. Apparently, this Italian theatre director, Antonio Calenda, was convinced he was -- it was love.

That because of his relationship with this young dancer Natasha Diamond Walker that he would buy her this condo, but then parentally she dumped him and now he says I want my money back and some.

So, Richard, you know, is this kind of jilted love, you know, bad real estate move? Is this, I guess, you know, the road to a good legal solid case?

HERMAN: It depends -- Fred, I'm sure that they were in love there. He is 73. She's 27. So I'm sure this was just true love at first sight.

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.

HERMAN: This guy -- yeah, he smitten. He was pumping her with gifts and jewelry. She wants a condo in the upper west side in New York. He puts down $775,000. We hear that there is a written agreement calling for a balloon payment of that $775,000 six years from now.

What she is saying is, guess what? I'm not even going to pay that because this was all a gift. You intended to give me a gift. You gave me a gift. I'm not going to pay it. So he's jilted.

He's going after her in court, trying to get everything overturned. If there is a written agreement saying there is a six year balloon repayment, he's getting nowhere. She'll be in there six years without paying one dime on that note.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Really? Avery?

FRIEDMAN: That's right. Yes. I mean, look, give the guy credit. He is 73 years old. He falls in love. What the heck? It's been characterized as a luxury condo in Manhattan. It's $775,000. That is not a luxury condo.

He gave it to his 27-year-old girlfriend. Fine, so even if he can establish that it was a loan and no interest loan, the first time he can go back to court, Fred, is in 2018.

WHITFIELD: My gosh!

FRIEDMAN: Yes. So the bottom line is say goodbye to the lawsuit. The earliest this guy gets back into court is 2018.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, we're seeing a lot of pictures of the dancer. You know, Natasha Diamond Walker's attorney, Eric Cohen, did release this statement saying, "Mr. Calenda's allegations are gross mischaracterization of the facts and assault on Ms. Diamond Walker's reputation.

Ms. Diamond Walker is a serious and talented artist now dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company and she will defend herself against these false claims."

FRIEDMAN: Yes!

HERMAN: I'm sure she will.

FRIEDMAN: That's what she's going to do. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: So she'll stay in that unit for a while?

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HERMAN: For six years at least.

WHITFIELD: Case closed at least according to our legal guys. But we know it still has a long road ahead for those two in court. All right, thanks so much, gentlemen. Good to see you.

FRIEDMAN: See you soon.

WHITFIELD: We love to see our legal guys every Saturday at this time giving us their take on --

HERMAN: Every Saturday.

WHITFIELD: What?

HERMAN: Fred, you're sparkling. You're glowing. You are glowing these days.

FRIEDMAN: Yes!

WHITFIELD: You are very sweet because I can count on you every weekend. And for that I look forward.

HERMAN: OK, that's good.

WHITFIELD: That's it.

FRIEDMAN: We have him all set for each weekend.

WHITFIELD: Cool. Richard and Avery, thanks so much. You all have a great one.

I know you are fascinated with this legend that I spoke with, Brooklyn Dodger pitchers Don Newcombe, he is being honored with Major League Baseball's Beacon of Hope Award. He joins me to talk about playing with Jackie Robinson and advice for today's players.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Major League Baseball is about to play its sixth annual Civil Rights game in Atlanta. The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers and as part of the ceremonies, Brooklyn Dodgers legend Don Newcombe is being honored with the Beacon of Hope Award.

He is joining me right now to talk about his ground breaking career and this honor of this reward. Good to see you.

DON NEWCOMBE, DODGERS PITCHING LEGEND: Thank you, Fredricka. Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: What a great honor. So you, Jackie Robinson playing together back in the day, if you were to impart some of the lessons learned to some of today's players, what would they be?

NEWCOMBE: One that changed could take place if somebody had the backbone to get it started. We have a man that owned the Dodgers at the time. I got to meet my God one day. I'm going to do it before that happens.

And he made it happen. And he signed Jackie. He signed Roy. He signed me. And he said you men will do it and I get no help from the other Major League owners, then we'll do it by ourselves.

WHITFIELD: And this was the love of the game. Is that what fuelled you to be the great player that you've been?

NEWCOMBE: It was a great job to have. We thought it turned out to be. We didn't make a lot of money. I think the minimum salary that time for a rookie was $5,000. Now it's $500,000 so big changes have been made.

WHITFIELD: What's that like to you? The incentive, I guess, for a lot of young players today, money, great. Hopefully, the love of the game is there. But it was the flip side for you as you just explained.

NEWCOMBE: Well, we had something in mind. We had to do, Jackie, Roy and I. It was to change baseball and we were veterans in getting all of this to happen. The Civil Rights Movement was moving along.

It was too slow for a lot of people. And we had to hurry it up and we did hurry up a whole lot rather than just a little, Fredricka. And we did our job and we made it happen.

WHITFIELD: And you worked hard over the years to really inspire get young people involved in the game. Are you happy with those efforts?

Do you see that, you know, there are a lot of kids who are interested in baseball or does it disappoint that you so many schools have eliminated baseball programs because they don't have the funding for it and maybe there isn't the interest that there once was?

NEWCOMBE: Well, back then all we had was the Negro leagues. If you were lucky to get a chance to play in the Negro leagues, you went from there and lucky if you got the chance. And luckily with the Negro league we had the chance. Jackie with the Negro league Kansas City and Roy in Baltimore and me in Newark, New Jersey and we became the veterans and -- had the wherewithal to make it happen. And we were very happy that we were slated.

WHITFIELD: You are going to be a given this Beacon of Hope Award during this Civil Rights game. What does this mean for you?

NEWCOMBE: It's a great thrill and great honor. And I just bless God. God blessed me and we got together and said listen, let's do it together, me and God.

And we accepted the award and my wife got in touch with some people with the commission's office and they put it together. And there were some people I think Frank Robinson who is now with the commissioner's office had something to do with it and his wife.

And we got it together and here I am. I'm going to be fortunate enough to accept it.

WHITFIELD: But you're no stranger to awards. Cy Young awards, you know, MVP, I mean, the list goes on. Where does this stack up when you look at the legacy of your career and being recognized as a real trailblazer?

NEWCOMBE: It's always great to be the first. I was the first to win the Cy Young Award. I was the only one for 55 years, Fredricka, to win the rookie of the year in his career and Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player award. Nobody did that.

WHITFIELD: Incredible.

NEWCOMBE: Until Justin Verlander with Detroit Tigers, he won it in his career. He did it with the Tigers. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006. So now he's a member of my team. So there are two of us now. I had it for 55 years. I was proud of that.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Congratulations. And, you know, I want to ask you before you leave, what are your thoughts on Magic Johnson, you know, being a part owner, owner of the Dodgers.

And, you know, seeing that there are celebrities whether they're in music industry or sports that are getting a piece of ownership in sports teams?

NEWCOMBE: I'm proud of him. He was going to buy the Dodgers. I was hoping it would happen. He made it happen and now he's there. I see him all the time. He is a wonderful person. Big, wonderful things for the Dodgers and Magic Johnson and he's going to be a big part of it happening.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Thank you so much, an honor to meet you.

NEWCOMBE: Thank you, Fredricka. Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: Congratulations on the award. Well deserved.

Here's a question for you. How do you start your morning with coffee? Are you drinking some right now, in fact? If so, guess what? You're being healthy. We're going to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking other stories making news now. First to California, where flash floods turned some intersections into a muddy mess yesterday. Take a look. This is San Bernardino County. That is a mess.

Mudslides blocked some roads entirely. Police say some people were trapped in their cars surrounded by rushing water. No reports of injuries however.

In Kansas City, Missouri, a war veteran has been reunited with his dog that saved his life. Logan Black and Diego the bomb-sniffing dog worked at least 40 missions together in Iraq.

After retiring, Black wanted to adopt Diego, but the pup was still owned by the government. But then last week after five years, he was finally allowed to take him home. They're happily together again.

All right, health officials are warning people to be aware deadly salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupe this time. Two people have died and more than 140 others have gotten sick across 20 states.

The tainted melons are from a farm in south western Indiana. Health officials are telling consumers to throw out any cantaloupes from that region.

All right, doctors are discovering more health benefits for coffee drinkers. Several studies found evidence that coffee prevents a variety of illnesses including Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease and depression. The study only shows an association between that cup of Joe and health benefits, not a causal effect.

All right, teenage moms and their babies facing huge challenges in Colombia in particular. Meet a "CNN Hero" trying to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Colombia, nearly one in five teenage girls is pregnant or already a mother. This week's "CNN Hero" explains what unique about what's happening in Cartagena. Meet Catalina Escobar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATALINA ESCOBAR, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Teen pregnancy in Cartagena is a very big issue. When you go to the slums, it's unbelievable what you see. Many of my girls live here. This is so wrong. You see these girls. They're babies holding babies.

About 10 years ago, I was volunteering at this maternity hospital and I was holding this baby. He passed away with me. His teen mother failed to raise the money to cover treatment. Four days later, my own son passed away in an accident.

I realized I didn't want any mother to feel the same grief that I went through. My name is Catalina Escobar and I'm helping teen moms get a healthy and productive life for them and for their babies.

When we first started at the maternity hospital, we reduced the infant mortality rate. My girls end up being pregnant because they don't have sexual education and many of my girls are sexually abused.

When my girls come, they drop their babies in the day care center. We have different workshops so they can develop their skills. We are changing the lives of these girls. If you give them the right tools, they're capable of moving forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And remember all of our heroes come from your nominations. So if you have someone you'd like to tell us about go, to cnnheroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, looking at our top stories right now. Republican vice presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, campaigning in Florida today. He is in the Villages Retirement community. Ryan walked on stage with his mom, Betty. Ryan talked about the need to keep Medicare intact right now, but reform it for future generations.

And in just an hour or so, President Obama will hold a rally in New Hampshire. He's expected to focus on the economy. We'll bring that event to you live. Later on in the day, he holds another rally in the state before heading back to the White House tonight.

In Syria, there are conflicting reports over whether the Syrian vice president has defected. Rebels say he has, but Syrian state TV says in a statement that he, quote, "didn't think for one second to leave the homeland," end quote.

Meanwhile, an Algerian diplomat has been appointed new U.N. Arab League special envoy to Syria.

A bus packed with tourists has crashed in Mexico. We're told it veered off the road and slammed into a deep ravine in Mexico's northern state of Durango. At least 12 people are dead and 22 others injured according to state run media. The cause of the crash is now under investigation.

All right, coming up later on in the CNN NEWSROOM today, why are baby boomers being urged to get Hepatitis C testing?

Plus, caring for elderly parents. That's at 2:00 Eastern Time and then coming up at 3:00 Eastern, we'll look at some cool back to school gadgets.

Our expert tells us it's all about broadband, blogs, and Bluetooth. And our movie reviewer, Grae Drake is in the house. She takes us behind the scenes of movie reviewer's rottentomatoes.com. And does Whitney Houston's last film "Sparkle."

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.